"Then you are most infallibly deceived, sweetest Jean" cried Lord Sydney; "my friend Trelawney does not love my sister Honoria, take my word for it. I should very deeply regret it if he did."
[Chapter 34, The Mysterious Marriage, or the Will of my Father, by Catherine G. Ward, pub 1820]
Using Christian names as a form of address
"To me, the sound of Mr. Bertram is so cold and nothing-meaning, so entirely without warmth or character! It just stands for a gentleman, and that's all. But there is nobleness in the name of Edmund. It is a name of heroism and renown; of kings, princes, and knights; and seems to breathe the spirit of chivalry and warm affections."
[Chapter 22, Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen]
Calling people by their Christian names was far less common than it is today. The use of given names was limited to family members: some husbands and wives, children and grandchildren, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and some cousins, if you knew them well.
In certain circumstances, close friends might be on first name terms. Lower servants were also known by their first names.
Relatives
In her letters, Jane Austen referred to all her brothers, her sisters, her nieces and nephews by their first names. Whenever Lord Byron wrote to his half-sister Augusta Byron, (later Augusta Leigh) he always began his letters with "my dearest Augusta."
In Pride and Prejudice, the only person who calls Mr. Bingley by his first name is his sister Caroline. Siblings Henry and Eleanor Tilney, in Northanger Abbey, frequently address each other by their Christian names, while referring occasionally to their elder brother as "Frederick", even in the presence of their houseguest Catherine Morland.
In Mansfield Park, Frances Price addressed her cousins by their first names because she had been living with the family since she was ten years old, and occupied a similar position to that of a sibling. However, in Persuasion, Anne Elliot calls her father's heir and distant cousin "Mr. Elliot", because she only meets him for the first time during the story and he isn't especially well known to her.
In Sense and Sensibility, Edward Ferrars is on first name terms with the Dashwood family because his sister is married to Mr John Dashwood, so he is the equal of a brother to the Dashwood sisters.
In Emma, George Knightley is Emma's brother-in-law, because his younger brother was married to Emma's older sister. Although Mr. Knightley was described as an "old and intimate friend of the family", a "frequent visitor", and calls her "Emma", she continues to address him as "Mr. Knightley" right through the story. The sixteen year age difference between Mr. Knightley and Emma could explain some of the formality that he speaks of later in the book, after they become engaged:
"'Mr. Knightley.'--You always called me, 'Mr. Knightley;' and, from habit, it has not so very formal a sound.--And yet it is formal. I want you to call me something else, but I do not know what."
"I remember once calling you 'George,' in one of my amiable fits, about ten years ago. I did it because I thought it would offend you; but, as you made no objection, I never did it again."
"And cannot you call me 'George' now?"
"Impossible!--I never can call you anything but 'Mr. Knightley.' I will not promise even to equal the elegant terseness of Mrs. Elton, by calling you Mr. K.--But I will promise," she added presently, laughing and blushing--"I will promise to call you once by your Christian name. I do not say when, but perhaps you may guess where;--in the building in which N. takes M. for better, for worse."
[Chapter 53, Emma by Jane Austen]
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Reading the Regency
कथेतर साहित्यA guide to Regency England for readers of classic literature or historical fiction set in the early 19th century. England, as it was in the early 1800's, can sometimes be as confusing to a modern reader as travelling to a foreign country. Their clot...
