1. What was it about architecture that made it primarily a man’s domain? After all, there were noted women artists of the time and architecture is certainly an art form. What made people view this business in an entirely different way than mere art?
2. How were city planning projects in early nineteenth-century Great Britain different from, say, twentieth-century United States projects? Think in terms of financing, authority, and concepts like “eminent domain.”
3. Would it be difficult in the Regency period for a woman to carry on her father’s trade as a draper? How were women’s roles in society changing by this point?
4. Do you think Wesley Stirling’s troubles were caused by his sister, were a result of his opium addiction, or were caused by some blend of the two? How might one have fed off the other? What do you think made opium a particularly attractive substance at the time?
5. The Industrial Revolution was in its bare infancy in 1815, therefore we must assume that most of the furniture and decoration made for the Royal Pavilion was crafted by skilled artisans of the time, and not produced in a factory. Although some limited pieces might be available for purchase from the cabinetmaker’s showroom floor, most likely the buyer would order furniture and wait months to receive it. How might the furniture-buying habits of a homeowner in the early nineteenth century be different from today?
6. The Cato Street Conspiracy, which was modeled on the plans of the French Revolution, was obviously a miserable failure. Why do you think that such schemes tend to go awry? Compare and contrast leaders like Arthur Thistlewood and Maximilien Robespierre.
7. Given that he received money based on a strict annual allowance from Parliament, how was the Prince Regent able to initiate such grand schemes as Carlton House and the Royal Pavilion? How could he assure creditors they would be paid?
8. Do you think it’s likely that John Nash married Mary Ann Bradley as a favor to the Prince Regent? If so, does it change your view of Nash? Your opinion of the Prince Regent? What does such a marriage suggest about Mary Ann’s role in society?
9. The Prince Regent secretly married the Catholic widow Maria Fitzherbert in 1785. He did this in express defiance of both the 1701 Act of Settlement, which prevented any royal from marrying a Catholic, and the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which prevented a royal marriage from taking place without the express consent of the monarch. So, in your opinion, what took precedence: a marriage performed by a clergyman or the rules established by the Crown? Was George in fact married to two women at once?
10. Do you think the poisoning rumors that circulated after Queen Caroline’s death were just wild speculation, or was there sufficient reason at the time to think they might be true?