“The spiteful old ladies” · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: “The spiteful old ladies”
Period: 1850-1900;
Geographic: Europe; England; United Kingdom; Britain
Description: In this image elderly ladies of Meryton discuss Lydia’s circumstance. The scandal was the talk of the town, spread by the elderly ladies, whom Austen describes as ‘spiteful’. This scene occurs in chapter 50. The characters are shown in the traditional regency style. The ladies wear regency dresses with empire waistlines and bonnets. The regency period dated to the early nineteenth century (1811-1820) when George, Prince of Wales, later George IV (r. 1820-1830), reigned as regent for his mentally ill father, King George III (r. 1760-1820). The regency period is associated with the rise of neoclassicism in art and fashion.
Image Creator: Hugh Thomson (Illustrator)
Type: StillImage; pen and ink illustrations
Identifier: mta:26025
Language: eng
Source Name: Pride and Prejudice
Parent Collection: "Pride and Prejudice," by Jane Austen. Illustrations by Hugh Thomson (1894); "Pride and Prejudice," by Jane Austen. Illustrations by Hugh Thomson (1894)
Image: mta_26025_OBJ.png
Collection: Pride and Prejudice