Meat, Drink, and Be Wary: Eating and Drinking in the English Regency with Dr Jennifer Kloester

Meat was the centrepiece, fruit was deemed indigestible, vegetables were on the rise, and alcohol could be delicious, dangerous, or deadly. The English Regency was a time of great social change and this was reflected not only in what people ate, but also how and when they ate. For the wealthy, three courses at dinner was common, for the poor, one scant meal a day might be all they could find. This was the era of the grandest dinner ever served, the era of sauces, savouries, and sweetmeats. However, while the range of available food increased, so did opportunities for its adulteration for the sake of profit. This talk will reveal the realities of Regency dining: its delectable delights, its dangers and (for some) its diversity.

Jennifer Kloester is the bestselling author of Georgette Heyer’s Regency World and Georgette Heyer: Biography of a Bestseller and her most recent book, The Novels of Georgette Heyer: A Celebration. She is a Patroness of the International Heyer Society, and a producer of the forthcoming documentary Stephen Fry’s Great Escape. Jennifer is a popular presenter and public speaker and, in 2015, with Stephen Fry, spoke at the unveiling of Georgette Heyer’s English Heritage Blue Plaque in Wimbledon. She has given talks, writing workshops, and public presentations on Heyer and the Regency in the UK, USA, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand. Jennifer also writes fiction. Her most recent novel, Jane Austen’s Ghost, is a contemporary story with a Regency twist, and is available on Amazon and all platforms.

Your ticket includes tea or Market Lane coffee served before the presentation, and time to browse our exclusive range of books, gifts, and homewares at TJC Emporium.

This event is presented on-site at The Johnston Collection. Please see your ticket for details. NOTE: Tickets for this event do not include access to our house museum, Fairhall. Guided tours of the current exhibition can be booked separately.

This event is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust.

Image: Daniel MacDonald, Still Life with Crab, Fish and Vegetables, 1843. Private Collection.