AVOID THE GOSSIP PAGES

Endangering your reputation could mean game over

One of the biggest objectives of making it through the social season was to come out unscathed by scandal or gossip. For ladies especially, anything that had the potential to negatively affect their reputation could prevent them from securing that all-important match with a prized suitor.

Reputation was so important that a gentleman could challenge another to a duel if they felt their reputation – or that of a lady’s – had been slighted, to restore their honour.

Duels were potentially deadly and illegal, so they typically took place at dawn so that the men were less likely to be caught.

It was during the Regency era that the steampowered rotary press arrived, first adopted by The Times newspaper in 1814, making papers quicker and easier to print than ever before. Various newspaper columns and periodicals would be filled with pieces of salacious gossip, from affairs and elopements to gambling and hedonistic behaviour – often obtained from sources like servants or other ton members.

One such gossip column was the Tête-à-tête in Town and Country Magazine, which predated the Regency as it folded in 1796, but had reported on illicit meetings between members of the elite.

Although the people involved in the scandals were not explicitly named, their initials would be included and this – coupled with plenty of hints – would be enough for many readers to guess their identity. Sordid stories from the press would be shared over gambling tables, at Almack’s and in coffeehouses, so it was not long before scandals among the ton became wider knowledge. Gossip also spread thanks to the popularity of caricatures of the elite.

Even members of the royal family could not escape the papers. The Prince Regent’s brother, the Duke of York, found himself embroiled in a huge scandal when it was discovered that his mistress, Mary Anne Clark, had been illegally selling military commissions and promotions, reportedly with his knowledge. As Commander-inchief of the army, the duke faced a parliamentary inquiry and although he was cleared, his love letters to Mary were widely published in the press. Consequently, he was forced out from his position, but he was eventually reinstated.