Immerse yourself in the vanished world inhabited by Jane Austen and her contemporaries! Packed with detail, and anecdotes, this is an intimate exploration of how the middle and upper classes lived from 1775, the year of Austen's birth, to Jane's death in 1817. Sue Wilkes skillfully conjures up all aspects of daily life within the Regency period, drawing on contemporary diaries, illustrations, letters, novels, travel literature and archives. Were all unmarried affluent men really 'in want of a wife?' Did Mr Darcy seduce Elizabeth Bennet with the aid of a male corset? Could 'taking the waters' at Bath and other spas kill or cure? What hidden horrors lurked in elegant Regency houses? Put on your dancing gloves and embrace a lost era of corsets and courtship! AUTHOR: Sue Wilkes has written extensively on social history. She is the author of seven books: 'A Visitor's Guide to Jane Austen's England', 'Tracing Your Ancestors' Childhood', 'Tracing Your Lancashire Ancestors', 'The Children History Forgot', 'Tracing Your Canal Ancestors, Regency Cheshire', and 'Narrow Windows, Narrow Lives: The Industrial Revolution in Lancashire'. She is also a regular contributor to a variety of national history and genealogy publications. 16 page plate section