Episode 3: Jane Austen and a Regency Scandal

English Literature tutor Dr Sandie Byrne considers how Jane Austen came to dedicate her novel Emma to a scandalous man whom she professed to hate, the Prince Regent.

Below, Sandie provides links to some of the resources mentioned in the podcast:

Learn more about Jane Austen's times and the Regency scandal:

Austen's third novel, Mansfield Park, paints a portrait of Regency politics in the character of young Tom, whose lifestyle imperils his inheritance, and who is intent on turning the family estate into a playground during the master's absence. Mansfield Park is available to read or download for free online, as part of Project Gutenberg.

Cartoons

Visit the National Portrait Gallery's website to see 'A voluptuary under the horrors of digestion' by James Gillray, published 2 July 1792. Gillray showed no mercy in this caricature of the overweight Prince of Wales.

'The Prince of Whales' shows a whale with the head of the Regent swimming in 'The Sea of Politics'. This cartoon by George Cruikshank was pubished in 1812 and is part of the British Museum's collection.

'Gent, No Gent and Regent', also by George Cruikshank, suggests the progression of the Prince Regent's behavior from honorable to profligate. Viewable on Calisphere, home of the University of California's digital collections

Online course

Enrol on our online short course on Jane Austen for an in-depth exploration of Austen's novels and the world in which she lived.

We'd like to thank the following artists for providing music:

Ludwig van Beethoven: Sinfonia Number 5 played by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Amadeus Mozart: Neal O'Doan and the Soni_Ventorum play the Mozart Quintet in Eb Major for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon. Live performance in 1980; Largetto and Allegretto. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Ludwig van Beethoven: Ecossaise in E-flat (WoO 86) played by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Episode 3: Jane Austen and a Regency Scandal