As I work on the first draft of
Betrayed in Brighton, I find I'm enjoying the research into the history of Brighton as a popular seaside resort for the Regency period of England. Think Cape Cod, early 1800s!
Because of the oppressive heat wave in London during the Season, my characters will head to the shore and enjoy the restorative powers of sea bathing, fresh air and sunshine. The more I read about people bathing for medicinal reasons, the more intrigued I become. Numerous writers refer to this popular phenomenon, which became the thing to do in the mid-1700s.
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| Brighton, late 1700s (bathing huts heading into the sea) |
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| ca. 1829 - Dippers are on the left; lady preparing to undress; other women frolicing |
Jane Austen, Fanney Burney and even the Prince Regent went bathing in Brighton's chilly waters, usually guided by "dippers," men and women who aided their forays into the salty waters of the English Channel --
Franny Burney, August 1773
“Ever since I went to Torbay, I have been tormented with a dreadful
cold and very much advised to sea bathing in order to harden me…. I was
terribly frightened, and really thought I should never have recovered
from the plunge. I had not breath enough to speak for a minute or two,
the shock was beyond expression; but after I got back to the [bathing]
machine, I presently felt myself in a glow that was delightful – it is
the finest feeling in the world, and will induce me to bathe as often as
will be safe.“
Jane Austen to her sister, Cassandra, September 1804
“…I continue quite well, in proof of which I
have bathed again this morning. It was absolutely necessary that I
should have the little fever and indisposition, which I had;–it has been
all the fashion this week in Lyme…”
But one of the big questions that keeps arising is: did women bath or swim naked? Apparently, there was a law passed against naked bathing/swimming later in the Victorian era; however, there's evidence that women (or some women) preferred to swim naked rather than wear the awkward flannel shifts we see in the above graphic by Thomas Rowlandson.
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| Rowlandson's version of naked swimming |
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There have been several fictional variations on this question -- Rosalind Laker's Sugar Pavilion (1993) has her heroine swimming naked in the early morning hours before the crowds come. Jennifer McQuiston's Summer is for Lovers (2013) also has her heroine doing likewise. One of Marion Chesney's regency romances, Beatrice goes to Brighton (1991) has her hero strutting around in the buff in plain sight of the women. The predominant evidence seems to point to both ways as acceptable. Certainly the men could swim/ bath naked; the ladies seem to go either way.
Of course, this lady has the right idea -- use a telescope or spyglass to view the naked men. Smart lady!
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