How Gossip Columns Actually Worked in the Regency Era

Gossip wasn't just chatter behind closed doors; it was a top commodity more sought after than the diamond of the season. True "gossip columns," as we know them, reserved pages in print for discussing the private lives of prominent members of society. IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOWewg3D/GettyImagesUnlike Whistledown's reckless habit of naming names, Regency gossip columnists were a bit more discreet. A TEMPLATE FOR MODERN NEWSfotosipsak/GettyImagesWhat made these papers so irresistible to Regency era society? While Lady Whistledown is a made-up mistress of secrecy, she emphasizes Regency society's appetite for speculation, establishing a template for gossip columns that would satisfy nosiness for centuries.