AAR

[AndyR]

I recently picked up the regency Lady Thief by Kay Hooper (published in 1981) for a re-read. Beau Brummell is a character. It occurred to me that I don't remember reading about him in any recent regencies. He was such an integral part of the haut ton, shouldn't he appear every now and then? I vaguely recall another older regency where his exile from society is touched upon (perhaps by Lisa Kleypas?) and I believe I remember him as a character used by Georgette Heyer.

[Anne Marble]

[Yulie]

I don't know - he seems to pop up on occasion in my romance reading, though I can't give examples as it's not something I look for and remember in particular.

[NoirFemme]

IMO, many Regency Historicals have drifted away from the ultra-witty, dandied, and smallish ton of earlier regencies, period. I don't think I've even seen Prinny or the patronesses of Almack's mentioned in the last few regencies I've read.

[Schola]

+IHS+

I think I spotted him in Christina Dodd's One Kiss from You. He was mightily distressed by the way the heroine spoiled a pretty outfit while rescuing a dog in the park!
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"To be in a romance is to be in uncongenial surroundings. To be born into this earth is to be born into uncongenial surroundings, hence to be born into a romance." (G.K. Chesterton)

[Susan/DC]

Beau Brummel is a secondary character in Carla Kelly's Mrs. McVinnie's London Season. As with every Kelly book, it's well worth searching for and should be easy to find on the Internet or in a UBS.

[JaneO]

Rosemary Stevens has a series of mysteries in which Beau Brummel is the detective.
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JaneO

[angelika]

Beau Brummel is also a secondary character in Julie Garwood's "Rebellious Desire", unfortunately my least favorite of her historicals.

[Elaine S]

The story of the real man is as good as fiction. I highly recommend Ian Kelly's "Beau Brummell" which on amazon.co.uk is available in paperback for a few pence. It was a cracking read and you learn all about male dress, manners, mores, clubs, grooming and the minutiae of Regency life. Brummell's influence is still felt today as you learn about his fastidious sense of design for male clothing - e.g. buttons on cuffs, the cut of a suit collar, etc.

He ended up in debt and in exile but I don't think that the spirit completely left him and he was amusing and interesting right up until his death. If you like Regency romance/fiction, this really is one of the best sources I can think of. Kelly writes easily and I raced through the book. Great anecdotes and pictures also.

[KayWebbHarrison]

I saw a movie about Beau Brummel, called just that, on late night TV. Here is the IMBD page for it:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046759/

I can't remember when I saw it, but I was four years old in 1954, so it wasn't anytime soon after it was made. Peter Ustinov plays Prinny, Stewart Granger is Beau (both were "George"), and Elizabeth Taylor is Beau's love interest. The ending was extremely sad.

Kay

[Trish B]

There was an interesting tv movie from a year or two back about Beau Brummell and his relationship with George, Prince of Wales and I think it was titled This Charming Man (?). I think I saw it on BBC America. It starred James Purefoy as BB and according to this dramatization, Prince George was so taken with BB's fashion sense, he would actually come to BB's lodgings in the morning and watch his whole morning routine. How he dressed from skin to cravat. Ultimately all the ton's dandies did the same, again, according to this film. It also showed how BB's relationship with Prinny deteriorated when Lord Byron (whom Prinny disliked) appeared on the scene.

[Suzanna]