Planning a Trip in the Regency Period
By Madeline Hunter, Author of Heiress for Hire
When setting out on a journey in the early nineteenth-century United Kingdom, there were a variety of resources to help.
Pocket maps of towns, counties, or other areas were very detailed, often to the point of showing every building. They were lined into rectangular sections, each of which had a designated number or letter. One could cut the map along the lines, creating sections that then could be stacked in the correct order and sewn together, making for easy carrying and reference. Usually these maps also listed road and street names along the margins, with indications of which section showed what street. A well-known option was Cruchley’s New Plan of London, 1849.
Directories were published for counties and listed every town, along with information, such as the town’s places of interest, businesses, amenities, streets, and inhabitants. Each business received a description, as well as its location and owner’s name. The inhabitants were often listed by street. As an accompaniment to a good map, a directory could help sojourners pinpoint a given house and identify who lived there. Did they purchase something heavy while in a town? The directory would tell them where to find a carrier who could transport the item back to their home. Directory of Yorkshire, published in 1822, serves as a prime example.
Early on, sightseeing guides were most common for large cities, but as time progressed, they became increasingly available for smaller towns and rustic areas. By the end of the century, John Murray’s publishing company provided guides for Scotland and most of England’s counties.
London guides ranged from simple ones that focused on major attractions to very detailed versions that offered minute historical information on nearly every building of interest. To whet the traveler’s appetite, these guides often included images in the form of engraved plates of views and sites. However, providing information on accommodations did not become commonplace until the twentieth century. A popular early guide to the city was Modern London, published in 1804 by Richard Phillips.
Madeline Hunter is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly best-selling author with more than six million copies of her books in print. She has thirty nationally acclaimed historical romances to her credit, including Heiress for Hire, Never Deny a Duke, A Devil of a Duke, and The Most Dangerous Duke in London. A member of RWA’s Honor Roll, she has won the RITA Award twice and has been a finalist seven times. Her books have been translated into thirteen languages. She has a PhD in art history, which she has taught at the university level.
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In this stunning series debut from New York Times bestselling author Madeline Hunter, a duke’s mysterious bequest brings fortune—and passion—to three young women . . .
Minerva Hepplewhite has learned the hard way how to take care of herself. When an intruder breaks into her home, she doesn’t swoon or simper. Instead she wallops the rogue over the head and ties him up—only to realize he is Chase Radnor, a gentleman and grandson of a lord, and a man who makes it his business to investigate suspicious matters. Now he’s insisting that Minerva has inherited a fortune from his uncle, a wealthy duke. Only one thing could surprise her more: her sudden attraction to this exasperating man.
Chase can’t decide whether Minerva is a wronged woman or a femme fatale. Either way, he’s intrigued. Maddeningly, with her unexpected inheritance, she has set up a discreet detective business to rival Chase’s own. She may be the perfect person to help him uncover the truth about his uncle’s demise. But as proximity gives way to mutual seduction, Chase realizes he craves a much deeper alliance.
