Murder & Mayhem Regency Style

Romance writers beware, this is story extracted from the Belle Assemblee's Anecdotes of Illustrious Females for November 1813.

Mademoiselle De Scudery

This lady, who was a celebrated romance writer in the reign of Louis XIV (1638-1715) met with a curious accident when travelling with her brother, who also employed his talent in composing works of fiction and being at that time engaged in writing together a work when on their journey at a considerable distance from Paris they began to speak of the various incident they meant to bring forward in the course of the composition; the hero of with they had named the Prince Mazare.

"What shall we do with Prince Mazare?" sad Mademoiselle Scudery to her brother; "is it not better that he should die by poison, than b a poniard?"

"There is time enough yet," said her brother. "We can dispatch him when we please, but we have not yet done with him."

Two merchants in the next apartment overheard this curious conversation, which they concluded intimate a conspiracy for the murder of some Prince, whose real name these cruel people had disguised under that of Mazare.  Full of this discovery, they immediately told their suspicions to their landlady of the inn, who with the merchants resolved to acquaint the police officer with what had happened.  The officer immediately put the travellers under arrest, and escorted them, strongly guarded to Paris; and it was not without extremely difficulty and expense that they procured their liberation.

The moral of the story is -- be careful who is listening while you brainstorm your story

Until next time.

Regency Murder and Mayhem

A new series of articles to appear from time to time for your edification.  These are Taken from the Belle Assemblee February 1814

Lighting Strike

The lightning on Tuesday, February 9, slightly struck Richardson's hotel in Covent Garden, passing between a crowd of people who were standing up for shelter there, but providentially without doing injury to any one. It broke two panes of glass in the kitchen window, but did not other mischief.

Shocking Accident

As General Darican, so well known in Paris, when he commanded sections against Bonaparte, and who resides in the Polygon, at Somers Town, was riding along Union-street, his horse took fright, and galloped off with him.  The animal on reaching the end of Union-street, plunged into a hole about twenty feet deep, and threw his rider, who received a severe concussion of the brain.  He was immediately conveyed to the house of a respectable surgeon in that neighbourhood, but he is not expected to recover. The horse was afterwards tken up dead from the effect of the fall.


I was unable to determine if he did indeed succumb to his injuries.