The Vanity Helps of Times Past

romantic history by Sally Treanor


When you check out at the supermarket or walk down the periodical section at your library or book store, you're bound to see magazines claiming all sort of wonderful things. This one promises you will lose those extra pounds, that one has 110 spring recipes, another claims to have a quiz that will help you decide if your man is right for you.

The modern consumer isn't the only one who was constantly bombarded with promises of life-changing articles and reads. There were etiquette books of all sorts written almost from the time that the printing press made books easier for people to grasp. My Middle Ages friends have even shown me illuminated manuscripts with (dubious) medical cures and household practices.

I've come across some great examples of this for the Georgian/Regency era lately. There is some incredible advice and examples in these old tomes.

For example, The Complete Art of Writing Love Letters: Or the Lover's Best Instructor. For just two shillings, one could own a copy of this book with several examples of different types of letters. You can read letters from complaining lovers, forlorn lovers, raving lovers, sincere lovers, and letters that read more like essays. All of them meant to guide men and women interested in pursuing romantic relationships.

The British Library site has more books, such as The New Lover's Instructor; Or Whole Art of Courtship: This one also contains a collection of fictional letters, dialogues, and so on all on the subject of love.

Letter-writing books and pamphlets were SUPER popular in the age when romantic love started gaining ground over arranged marriages. A properly written letter was considered something of an art form. Courtship had to be carried out in a particular manner lest the gentleman be considered a dunce or the woman too inexperienced to be worth the time to flirt.

Our predecessors were as concerned with doing things the right way as we are. Whether they read books on etiquette or doing the laundry properly, the people of the past may not have had our access to helpful magazines, but they had their own helps in their eras.

See also: How to Behave: A Pocket Manual of Etiquette and Guide to Correct Personal Habits
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette and manual of Politeness


Sally Britton is an author of Regency romance and her books can be found on Amazon.com