Fame and Infamy in the Regency era

The Regency era, and those years immediately before and after, threw up a wealth of colourful characters. Some were heroes, some were creative, and some simply scandalous. This quiz introduces you to a few of them. Just pick what you think is the correct answer from the multiple choice.

Q1. For what is Harriette Wilson best known? Is it for:

a) peddling fake healing waters at Bath?

b) writing a salacious memoir detailing her affairs with famous Regency gentlemen?

c) blackmailing the Prince Regent?

d) taking London by storm with her portrayal of Lady Macbeth? 

Q2. Which of these quotes is NOT attributed to Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington?

a) “Publish, and be damned!”

b) “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.”

c) “I begin to believe the finger of God is upon me.”

d) “I don’t know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they terrify me.” 

Q3. For what crime was Jane Austen’s aunt, Mrs Leigh-Perrot, arrested? Was it for:

a) flashing at a parson after imbibing too much gin?

b) stealing a bolt of woollen cloth from a market stall?

c) stealing a hogshead of ale?

d) taking two cards of lace from a milliner’s shop when she’d only paid for one? 

Q4. In what manner did Beau Brummel famously insult the Prince Regent? Did he:

a) refer to him as a “two-legged, over-upholstered sofa”?

b) fart in the royal presence?

c) ask of Lord Alvanley, “Who’s your fat friend?”

d) mock him for wearing old-fashioned breeches rather than trousers? 

Q5. How did Queen Caroline’s supporters demonstrate their rage when she was locked out of her husband’s Coronation? Did they:

a) pelt Westminster Abbey with rotten potatoes?

b) distribute a pamphlet lampooning all the king’s mistresses?

c) fly a hot air balloon decorated with Caroline’s portrait high over London?

d) raise petitions in the provinces and march on London in protest? 

Q6. Which of these did the Prince Regent, the future George IV, NOT do?

a) write suicide notes to Caroline of Brunswick to ensure she married him?

b) secretly marry Maria Fitzherbert, a catholic widow?

c) pay women to sleep with him, then refuse to honour his debt?

d) claim he had been present at the Battle of Waterloo and had delivered the finishing blow to Napoleon? 

Q7. How did Lady Caroline Lamb react when Lord Byron ended their affair? Did she:

a) dress up as a page boy and come to his house to shame him in front of his neighbours?

b) grab a knife and try to stab herself as he watched?

c) challenge him to a duel?

d) seize a knife and attempt to cut off all his hair? 

Q8. For what is Thomas Rowlandson best known? Is it for:

a) his opposition to the Slave Trade?

b) his caricatures and satirical cartoons?

c) his torrid affair with Caroline, Princess of Wales, during her tour of Europe?

d) his invention of a steam-powered locomotive? 

Q9. For what was Mrs Dorothea Jordan best known? Was it for:

a) being the first successful female stage magician?

b) revealing her lack of underwear when falling from a horse in Hyde Park?

c) having ten bastard children with the Duke of Clarence?

d) hatching a plot to assassinate the Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval?  

Q10. How was poet Lord Byron’s coming of age celebrated?

a) His friends pronounced him “abbot” and drank his health from a human skull.

b) He was locked in a room and not allowed out until he’d completed his “Childe Harold” poem.

c) He was given a wooden boot to counteract his lameness.

d) He enjoyed a boxing match with the renowned Gentleman Jackson.

Answers:1) b, 2) b, 3) d, 4) c, 5) d, 6) a, 7) b, 8) b, 9) c, 10) a