Georgians At Home
Charlotte and Alice are waiting to go to the ball and are playing music to pass the time. This room is a bit like what we would call a Living Room. To ‘withdraw’ means to ‘relax’. There were lots of things that Georgians would do for fun, from playing cards and practising music to rolling the carpet back and practising their dancing! What else might you like to do to relax in this room?
Jane Austen
During the Georgian period, families would have parties and celebrate at home with music and dancing. In Jane Austen’s book called ‘Emma’, the characters decide to dance after eating their dinner. It was not proper to dance on the carpet, so they moved the furniture out of the way, rolled the carpet back and began an evening of fun! Do you play music and practice dancing at home?
Explore an Object: The Harpsichord
Similar to a piano, a harpsichord sounded very different. In a piano, the strings inside are hammered when a key is pressed to make a sound, in a harpsichord, the strings are plucked instead. This instrument was played by ladies as part of the family entertainment.
Find this object. What was this object used for?
This may just look like a fancy mirror, but it has been designed especially to make the room seem brighter by reflecting the light of the candles in front of it. Without electricity, people had to think of inventive ways to brighten their home. Having lots of gold and reflective materials helped to give the room more sparkle. Can you count how many candles there are in this room?
