The Lady of the House, Amelia, is sitting with her Housekeeper, Mrs Nott, making plans for the family’s time in Bath. This room was where ladies welcomed guests, gossipped and drank tea. The wooden box on the table is called a tea caddy and is where tea was kept under lock and key.
Mrs Nott has put two sugars in her tea – sugar was very expensive in Georgian times, what do you think Amelia thought of this?
During the time of Jane Austen, very few girls were allowed to go to school and university. Instead, girls would learn by reading books and they could borrow them from libraries that travelled around the country. Storybooks were usually read by girls and women but in another book written by Jane Austen, called ‘Northanger Abbey’, a male character called Henry Tilney admits that he likes to read them too!
Why not challenge yourself to read a book of a different genre than you usually read, you might be surprised what you think!
This pistol or handgun is a type of lighter. A spark would be created by the flint (a type of rock) hitting the steel and was used to help light candles.
Hidden in the cupboard is a chamber pot – a toilet right next to the table where everyone eats. Why do you think it would have been hidden in a cupboard?
