#georgian — Public Fediverse posts

I’d argue Jane over Mary in P+P. Ooohh, even Anne could work. #AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

I would argue they are equal but for different reasons. #AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Did you know Excessively Diverting has an irregular newsletter? We do! The newsletter comes out occasionally when something is too long for social media. You can read back issues and subscribe ➡ https://excessivelydiverting.substack.com/. #AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Catherine.

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Nottingham Forest plays today but I won’t know the score until after this has posted. I’m heading to my brother and his family this weekend to watch my nephew play basketball. (He’s 6!) I’m coming home Saturday afternoon and then back to my usual routine on Sunday.

What are you doing this weekend?

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

It's Valentine's weekend! I'm working tomorrow, weekly virtual write-in on Sunday, and as for the holiday itself? No idea!

What are you doing this weekend?

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Austen: Harriet Smith would throw shade on TikTok. Brontë: Catherine would attempt to be an influencer on Instagram.

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Looking for something to do this winter? I've got you covered! Here isa list of upcoming Austen and Brontës virtual events scheduled for the next few months. Check the event websites for more information, including time, cost, and registration details. 👉🏻 https://open.substack.com/pub/excessivelydiverting/p/austen-bronte-issue-38-virtual-online-events-winter-spring-2026?r=1ep55&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true.

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Nottingham Forest plays today but I won’t know the score until after this has posted. I’m heading to my brother and his family this weekend to watch my nephew play basketball. (He’s 6!) I’m coming home Saturday afternoon and then back to my usual routine on Sunday.

What are you doing this weekend?

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

I’m failing to think of someone specific but! I do want to say that MARY needs a glow up and badly.

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

There are over 2 dozen podcasts dedicated to Austen and the Brontës From discussion on their work to interviews with people in the Austen and Brontës universe, Excessively Diverting has curated the list for you! You can find more at 👉🏻 https://excessivelydiverting.substack.com/p/austen-bronte-newsletter-issue-7-podcasts.

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

This is my first weekend all month I’m at the library but the day is short, which works for me! Sunday is my usual morning write-in and PBS with Kristin in the afternoon. Sunday is also February 1st! Where did the time go??

What are you doing this weekend?

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Well, it’s sleet-y up here in N. Michigan so I would take Regency ballroom for $100, Alex! #AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

There are over 100 movies and TV shows dedicated to Austen and the Brontë that are available on most US streaming services. Everything, from variations of Pride and Prejudice to modern adaptations of Austen and the Brontës books. 👉🏻 https://www.excessivelydiverting.net/

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

I’m teaching TWO classes tomorrow for two different writers group back to back so that is going to be busy! Sunday is write-in in the morning and PBS with Kristin in the afternoon. I try to make Sunday a day of no chores, but who knows what will happen.

What are you doing this weekend?

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Oh, this is easy: ROCHESTER! (Heathcliff is just misunderstood.) On the Austen side, Wickham is a walking red flag.

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Coming in hot for the first question of the week in some time!

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Did you know Excessively Diverting has a newsletter?! It’s published irregularly when it suits my mood, but it exists! It contains news, hot takes, essays, and whatever else strikes my fancy and is too long for social media. You can sign up here 👉🏻 https://excessivelydiverting.substack.com/.

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Tomorrow, under my side hustle, Nerd Girl Industries, I'm teaching a few workshops to a few writing groups. My Saturdays in January are all going to be like this, but I love teaching. My other plans are my Sunday write-ins and watching PBS with a bestie.

What are you doing this weekend?

#AmReading #AmWriting @bookstodon #WritingCommunity #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

"Bridget Jones' Diary" is one of my fav movies and I always watch it at least once during the holiday season. Since Bridget and Mark met at a New Year party her parents hosted, I plan to watch the movie this weekend.

What did you do for New Year and what are your plans this weekend?

#AmReading #AmWriting @bookstodon #books #Bookstodon
#WritingCommunity #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Did you know Excessively Diverting has a newsletter! It’s published irregularly when it suits my mood, but it exists! It contains news, hot takes, essays, and whatever else strikes my fancy and is too long for social media. You can sign up here 👉🏻 https://excessivelydiverting.substack.com/.

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

My two favorite brands of (dark) chocolate are Tony Chocolonely’s and Hotel Chocolat. A local chocolatier does bean to chocolate and it is delightful. If you like chocolate, what are you favorite flavors or brands?

#AmReading @bookstodon #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #EmilyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte #Victorian @romancelandia #JaneAusten

Monday, October 6, 2025

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/10/monday-october-6-2025/

Sunday, October 5, 2025

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/10/sunday-october-5-2025/

I'm not sure if it is because I'm a librarian or obsessed with lists, but it seems I've read nearly 50 titles of #JaneAusten and #BronteSisters related books! Hopefully some of these will end up on your TBR pile! 👉🏻 https://excessivelydiverting.substack.com/p/jane-austen-and-the-brontes-issue-23-confessions-of-an-austen-obsessed-reader

#AmReading #AmWriting @bookstodon #books #Bookstodon
#WritingCommunity #ReadingCommunity #Regency #Georgian #Victorian #EmailyBronte #CharlotteBronte #AnneBronte @romancelandia

In 1461 during the #WarsoftheRoses the 2nd Battle of St Albans was partially fought (flight of the Yorkists) on #Nomansland Common & in #C17th gangs of thieves regularly robbed travellers on the Common including the legendary ‘Wicked Lady’ Highwaywoman Katherine Ferrers.

#HarryHolt #Holt #Genealogy #Bareknuckle #Boxing #Pugilist #Regency #Georgian #C18th #C19th #History

30Aug1825 Rough Robin defeats Harry Bundollock in 18rds & 25min at #Nomansland Common near St Albans. Robin Seconded by Harry Holt & Josh Hudson, Bundollock by George Head & Harry Harmer (£25 aside)

#HarryHolt #Holt #Genealogy #Bareknuckle #Boxing #Pugilist #Regency #Georgian #C18th #C19th #History

The ‘heroic archetype’ of John Bull was created by John Arbuthnot in 1712 & can be compared with that of ‘Uncle Sam’ in the #USA (1st used 1812-16). It was used to arouse feelings of patriotism. #JohnBull #UncleSam

#HarryHolt #Holt #Genealogy #Bareknuckle #Boxing #Pugilist #Regency #Georgian #C18th #C19th #History

30May1833 (Fatal Fight)

Deaf Burke (pic) defeats Simon Byrne in 99rds & 3hrs6min at Noman’s Land (#Nomansland) #Hertfordshire near #StAlbans. Burke Seconded by Tom Gaynor & Dick Curtis, Byrne by Tom Spring & Jem Ward. Byrne died 3 days later at the age of 32yrs.

#HarryHolt #Holt #Genealogy #Bareknuckle #Boxing #Pugilist #Regency #Georgian #C18th #C19th #History

#OnThisDay 13Jan1823 the ‘Chicken Butcher’ & ‘Holt’ run 1mi for 20guineas aside near the Swan, at #Stockwell south of the Thames in #Lambeth. Holt’s identity isn’t confirmed but Harry HOLT is known to be involved in pedestrianism. No result is reported.

#HarryHolt #Holt #Genealogy #Bareknuckle #Boxing #Pugilist #Regency #Georgian #C18th #C19th #History

#JohnBull was the personification of #English nationalism usually depicted as an honest & hardworking #Englishman with a cheerful & jolly disposition who was satisfied by the simple things in life.

#HarryHolt #Genealogy #Pugilist #Holt #HarryHoltBiography #SportsHistory #Bareknuckle #Boxing #Prizefighter #LondonPrizeRing #Regency #Georgian #C19th #19thCentury #History

The thread about Marionville; the house that thread built and home to the unfortunate “Fortunate Duellist”

This thread was originally written and published in November 2019. It has been lightly edited and corrected as applicable for this post.

There’s an old Georgian villa in the east of Edinburgh called Marionville. It lends its name to the district, a few streets and a fire station. It’s your typical regular, 3-storey, 5-bay, 6-over-6 window, sandstone job and although it is quite a rarity in a largely 20th century part of town, at first glance it is otherwise unremarkable for Edinburgh.

Unremarkable that is until you find out a little bit about the place’s history! It was built some time between the 1760s and 1780s by the Misses Ramsay of Old Lyon Close, milliners renowned in the burgh for their ribboned hats. When built it was called Viewfrith (as in a house where one could view the Frith, or Firth of Forth. On account of its occupants trade, it was scornfully nicknamed the Lappet Ha‘, lappet referring to the woven lacework that was common in Georgian women’s hats. Ha’ for ball; the house that lappet built. The misses Ramsay saw out their days in their fine house and its gardens, and in October 1780 it was noted as being for sale:

About 1786 it passed to one James Macrae of Holmains Esq. who liked to be known as Captain Macrae on account of his service in the 6th Dragoon Guards (Irish Carabiniers), a Hanoverian cavalry regiment. By accounts he was both a sophisticated, cultured charmer and an arrogant, pompous “Goth“. It was Macrae who renamed the house, calling it for his wife, Maria Cecile le Maistre.

Captain Macrae had a quick temper and an overinflated sense of his own status. He was nicknamed the “fortunate duellist” on account of his propensity to call for satisfaction and on not being dead as a result. He practised by firing at a barber’s block kept specially for the purpose, or so John Kay caricatured him.

The Macraes soon built up a reputation as a home of the “gayest private theatricals, perhaps in Britain“. Being wealthy and aspirational with tastes “gay and fashionable” they had a 150-seat private theatre built, complete with stage, curtain and scenery in the house where the couple themselves took the starring roles. The great and the good of Edinburgh were invited and the shows were a hot ticket in town, being well reviewed in the papers. The Scots Magazine and Caledonian Mercury were full of gushing praise for them.

Maria Macrae was the daughter of the Swedish ambassador’s wife and had spent time in Paris with her cousins. It was there she got a taste for the private theatricals of the time and it was she who was chiefly responsible for reproducing them at Marionville. The Macrae’s inner circle was a centre of Georgian high fashion in Edinburgh, the women wore head-dresses so tall that they had to “sit on the carriage floor” and the men wore “bright coats with tails to their heels” and “wigs with great side curls“. The innermost of their circle were the Ramsays (no relation to the Misses), Sir George Ramsay of Bamff, 6th Baronet and his wife, Eleanor Fraser. They were “warmly attached and intimate” with the Macraes.

So all was good. Everyone was happy and Marionville was the place to be seen around town. Macrae was highly regarded in the right circles, but his pomposity and temper would be his unravelling. An example of this was when a messenger of the law tried to arrest his cousin, the Reverend John Cunningham, Earl Glencairn, at a private party in Drumsheugh House. Macrae was outraged that a common man would insult a gentleman, and threw the messenger over the stairwell. When it later came to light that Cunningham was a debtor who had refused all chance to settle his obligations and that the messenger had been gravely injured, Macrae made an apology and paid compensation of 300 guineas to settle the matter.

And then we come to the fateful night of April 7th 1790. Captain Macrae had been out at the Theatre Royal, which stood on Shakespeare Square, opposite the General Register Office and where the General Post Office would later be built. Being a gentleman, he was helping a lady to get a chair to convey her home (this meant a sedan chair; at this time were still the principal form of public transport of choice for the moneyed classes around town). He had secured the lady her chair when a liveried footman appeared on the scene and seized one of the poles of the chair to reserve it for his mistress. The outraged Macrae rapped the impertinent servant’s knuckles with his cane.

The footman, not to be cowed, denounced Macrae as a scoundrel and punched him in the chest. Macrae responded by striking him across the head with his cane. An almighty fracas ensued, sucking in passers-by on both sides. Somehow the conflict was defused and the lady was spirited to safety in another chair. And there it might have ended until Macrae was made aware that the footman in question was an employee of his dear friend, Sir George Ramsay.

And so, the following day Macrae sought out Ramsay at his place of business. His friend informed him that the servant in question was recently engaged by his wife and he felt that he had no hand in the matter. Macrae insisted that he would therefore apologise to the lady at once. Hurrying to the Ramsay’s house on St. Andrew Square, he found her sitting for an up and coming your artist, one Henry Raeburn. Theatrically going down on one knee, Macrae begged forgiveness for having chastised her servant. And there it would have ended. But…

A few days later at Marionville, an anonymous letter arrived stating that Macrae had meddled with the “Knights of the Shoulder Knot” (the name given to footmen for their elaborate uniforms) and they would have their revenge for the insult to their brother. The footman in question, James Merry, took the matter further by making it known he would take legal proceedings against his assailant for the injuries he had suffered. Piqued, Macrae wrote to Ramsay and demanded that the man be put in his place and discharged. For whatever reason, Ramsay declined to satisfy his friend and their relationship quickly soured as the two engaged in a protracted series of increasingly intemperate letters. This culminated in Macrae having his messenger inform Ramsay that he was not a gentleman, but a scoundrel!

That was that! Macrae had overstepped the mark for sure, Ramsay was a proper gentleman, with a title, not someone you could go around insulting. The intermediary, one Captain Amory, arranged a meeting of both parties in Bayle’s Tavern at which “rough epithets were exchanged“. The outcome was inevitable and satisfaction was demanded by Macrae. But he let it be known that he considered Ramsay the challenger, for refusing to deal with his servant.

The time and place was set for the shore outside of Musselburgh at noon the next day. What better place to settle your differences than in the cool sea breeze of the Honest Toun? And so it was that the next day the two gentlemen, each with another in tow as second, met at Wards Inn off of the Musselburgh Links. A surgeon, Benjamin Bell, was sensibly arranged for.

A parlay took place to see if things could be settled amicably, without either side losing face. Macrae demanded that if Ramsay dismiss his servant he would apologise profusely for all that had followed and consider it closed. Ramsay demanded an apology first, before any further progress could be made. Both sides were intransigent. The seconds which each side had brought as counsel declined further compromise and the course of action was now set. Each man took a pistol from a pair and made his way to the allotted spot on the Links. Each then walked 14 paces away from the other and the duel commenced. Ramsay shot first and nicked the collar of his late friend, grazing the neck. Macrae did not miss and Ramsay was mortally wounded. Macrae would later claim that he had planned to shoot high and miss on purpose, but was so outraged that Ramsay had not deliberately missed and had drawn blood that he decided to settle the matter once and for all by not missing. For a sure shot like Macrae, the outcome was inevitable.

The deed done, Macrae was suddenly remorseful and had to be convinced to leave his dying friends’ side by Ramsay’s second, Sir William Maxwell. Edinburgh society was outraged and it was Macrae, the lower status gentleman that they squarely blamed for this calamity. Being a proper class scandal, the detail was all printed at the time (then, as now, controversy was good for sales) and Macrae was immortalised as “The Fortunate Duellist” by Edinburgh caricaturist John Kay. By trade Kay was a barber, so the story of the practice target may have appealed to him as much as the chance to satirise events.

Facing a potential murder charge, Macrae abandoned Marionville and his family and fled to Paris accompanied by his second, Captain Amory. They took up lodgings in the Hôtel de la Dauphine. A summons soon arrived from Edinburgh to return and face the law. Ignoring it, both were declared outlaws and consigned themselves to live out their days in exile. To add insult to Macrae’s injury, 2 years later the Sheriffs awarded damages and compensation to the footman for his original injuries, which were paid from Macrae’s estate in his absence. Macrae stayed in Paris until the coming of the French revolution compelled his to flee further, this time to Altona in Italy. He had hoped that the passage of time would allow him to return home to Marionville, but society and the law were resolved against it.

And so it was that the gayest house in town fell into “an air of depression and melancholy such as could barely fail to strike the most unobservant passenger“. It was advertised as being to let in 1793 and the following year it was for sale. Macrae was soon forgotten by the chattering classes of Edinburgh. That is until 1814, when publisher Robert Chambers relates that “a gentleman of my acquaintance was surprised to meet him one day in a Parisian coffee house“. “The wreck or ghost of the handsome, sprightly man he had once been.” “The comfort of his home, his country and his friends, the use of his talents to all these, had been lost, and himself obliged to lead the life of a condemned Cain, all through the one fault of a fiery temper“.

Captain Macrae, late of Marionville, died alone in Paris on the 16th January 1820, 30 years an exile from his home, wife and 2 children. “Captain Macrae was a strange character. To those of his own class a tyrant and bully. To those below him he was kind and obliging”. At this time his old house was in the possession of a Mr and Mrs Dudgeon although it was for sale again shortly after, the new owner being Walter Stirling Glas, esq. The house was repeatedly for sale and let throughout the 19th century. A flick through some old Post Office directories enlightens us that from approximately 1858 to 1869, it was being used by Dr. Guthrie’s “Original Ragged Industrial School” .

In 1932, Marionville was purchased by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edinburgh and St. Andrews for use as the manse for St. Ninian’s & Triduana’s Church, which was built in the grounds at this time. Its last occupant before the church took it over would appear to be one Miss W. Crawford Brown and the house  was sold back into private use within the past few years. The church, which was never actually completed to the intended design, is surprisingly the work of that most British of British architects, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (of red telephone box and Battersea power station fame).

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