Today’s teaser for Glamour in Glass is a scenic location. The Carlton House Red drawing room, which appears in Chapter 1.
As the Prince Regent led her out of the Red Room, Jane felt all the eyes of those assembled fall upon her, and under their gaze the unequal nature of her station magnified.
The Carlton House was the Prince Regent’s London residence. It was a magnificent building that showed his fondness for sumptuous elegance. The history of the royal residences by William Henry Pyne (London: 1819) describes this room as:
On entering this spacious apartment, the eye is agreeably struck with the happy combination of splendid materials tastefully arranged; consisting of a profusion of rich draperies, large pier glasses, grand chandeliers of brilliant cut glass, massive furniture richly gilt, candelabra, tripods, bronzes, elegant vases, and other corresponding decorations, displaying at once the improved taste of the arts and manufactures of Great Britain. To these are added some valuable original pictures by English and foreign masters.
Thank you! I’m really enjoying these posts!
Excellent. My plan is working.
Now that is what I am talking about, Mary! 🙂
Happy to oblige.
Lovely! In one of Helene Hanff’s books (not 84 Charing Cross), she talks about the Prince Regent, and how he was condemned for ‘wasting’ the country’s money on things like Carlton House and the Brighton Pavilion. She argued that if he had done as expected and spent the money on war, we wouldn’t have these beautiful places today.
True. Although to be fair he did tear down Carlton House a decade later because he needed the money from developing the land