Fashion and Fun in 1809
Last Update 28 April 2004

Visitors Since 26 April 2004

See Wikipedia's 1809 Page and the 1809 Calendar; Brainy History also has a 1809 Page

Read texts of 1809, such as Martha Ballad's Diary, 1809;

This year saw the start of the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll

Novels of 1809

Maria Edgeworth. Ennui This is a wonderful tale of the reformation of a spoiled nobleman, involving lots of Irish humor and satire of British and Irish high society.

Hannah More. Coelebs in Search of a Wife Coelebs is a dull dog as even folks back in 1809 realized, but some of the minor (i.e. immoral) characters are a lot of fun. Some of the dialogues are fascinating, and we do get a lot of hints about life in 1809 from all of the descriptions of the good heroine's household duties, gardening, and charity work.

Eleanor Sleath. The Nocturnal Minstrel, or The Spirit of the Wood This is a fun, short read in the predictable Gothic mode.

Novels Set in 1809

Mansfield, Elizabeth. The Phantom Lover. New York: Berkley, 1979.

Wolf, Joan. Fool's Masquerade. New York: Signet, 1984.

---. The Rebellious Ward. New York: Signet, 1984.

Portrait of 1809

L'Imperatrice Josephine (1809) byAntoine -Jean Gros (Musee Massena)

Dresses of 1809 from Rudolf Ackermann's The Repository of Arts

Left: Mourning Dresses. The elegant widow wears black gown with a white lace collar and gold ribbon tying under the bust and falling down the skirt. The blue scarf and slippers add some color to the dress as well. The urn adds an appropriate funerial air.

Right: Promenade Dress. This dress is very like many morning dresses. It is of white muslin with a long violet perline or short cape over it. The perline is trimmed with lace and a lace veil covers the lady's head. She carries a parasol to protect herself from the sun and preserve the desirable pale white skin color.

Dresses of 1809 from Costume Parisien (1797-1822)

Left: 1809, plate no. 968. Small black shoes peep out from under this long-sleeved white dress. The bonnet is small, very close to the head, with pale pink trim. A large orange-and-yellow-striped cashmere shawl covers the simple white gown.

Right: 1809, plate no. 1013. Pink half-boots match the pink of the large cashmere shawl worn by this lady. A black straw bonnet with a moderate-sized brim sits on the lady's head, revealing two dangling cork-screw curls.

Dresses of 1809 from Le Beau Monde, or Literary and Fashionable Magazine

Dresses of 1809 from The Lady's Monthly Museum

March 1809 Issue

May 1809 Issue

Dresses of 1809 of The Lady's Magazine

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