Date of Story

jordansdream

I decided to restart the game before finishing so that I can

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figure out the final astrolabe puzzle

and have the pleasure of working out the year of the story from clues other than

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the date in the will. Incidentally, the 25 year clause probably had to do with an excess of caution regarding what is known as the Rule Against Perpetuities, common law that provides (more or less) that interests must vest if at all within 21 years of the demise of stated lives in being at the time of the creation of the interest. I long ago forgot the exact ins and outs of the Rule Against Perpetuities. If you have a taste for peerage based complexities check out the Duke of Norfolk's Case, circa 1682.

Clues to the date of Peril in Pemberley abound in the fashion details and those interested me. I could not track down exact date for

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the morning gown's being doubled only in the body and sleeves

but gather that Jane did not wish to become a fashion victim like those earlier satirized by Cruikshank. Jane's new pelisse

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which was to be velvet because velvet was in for London that winter put the date at something like 1817, which from the will I knew was too early. I am reasonably sure there is a later date I simply could not locate as I know next to nothing about fashion history. .

The date clincher comes from a conversation between Jane and Kitty

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when Jane--maybe Jane, might have been Kitty--comments with some shock that waistlines are dropping. Thank-you, ladies. The year is 1820 or at the latest 1821. If the latter, then the 25 years elapsed in May. My bet is 1820.

I also took the approach of checking Copper's

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tack. Beautiful and eye-catching though it is, the saddle is too modern to be a clue. I nobly and fancifully attribute this to a ground breaking design of Mr. Darcy's, engineered out of concern for the safety of his daughter and later copied by saddlers, that did away with slipper stirrups and high cantles.

  

Gracie_DeForest

Hi @jordansdream,

I talked to the design team and when they were looking at the sidesaddle, it seems from 1800 to 1850 was a time of innovation.  They had hoped to show that innovation moved from the country to the cities, as has so often been the case in history.  

As for the year in which the story occurs, our goal was to create a world that is somewhat timeless, which in the case of the astrolabe presented a number of challenges.  So without giving too much away, we would say that you have picked up on a number of the hints in the story and have chosen a date that is just about perfect!

Kind regards,

Gracie

P.S. - You might want to keep an eye out for the sidesaddles in the Adventure coming in February.  

iStella

Whoa that is so cool @jordansdream I have no idea how you found all that stuff out but thank you for sharing!  It's neat you posted it!

dazzlerdream

@jordansdream it looks like you did quite a bit of research and it makes so much sense!  If you think about it Jane Austen was supposed to have started writing Pride and Prejudice in late 1796 if I remember right and if you were to give a couple of years for Elizabeth and Darcy to both meet, marry and have their son William, it would be around 1798-1799.  Then if you were to give them a couple of years for Jane, she would be born in around 1801-1803!  That would make her between 17-19 in 1820, which would fit quite nicely.  Of course if you were to make them be a few more years apart like Georgiana and Darcy are, she could be as young as 15 although I like to think of her as 17 really, but that is just my personal preference.  I love to read about older fashions such as regency!

jordansdream

@Gracie_DeForest remarked that the goal was to create a somewhat timeless world.

Works for me. Anachronisms that add depth and beauty in terms of visuals, back story (game world history), sound, character, and puzzles delight me. I am glad to accept young Jane Darcy's milieu as a parallel universe differing from this one in some details but identical in others. Far from detracting, checking the history of sidesaddles added to my immersion. The bridle was beautiful, too. Perhaps because investigating sidesaddles has temporarily satisfied my curiosity, I didn't bother to check on the likelihood a lady would be allowed to ride, particularly alone, with a plain snaffle or whether flash nosebands were in use. Without further research, I now cheerfully attribute the former to country common sense and the latter to rural innovation. I haven't gotten very far into researching the paintings or the possible connection between Leigh (real world) and Legh (game world). Another time perhaps.

jordansdream

I look forward to the sidesaddles in February and wonder if the top pommel will be the tuning fork style that cradled the rider's top leg in a U-shaped hook and looks appallingly dangerous to my untutored eye because the rider's leg could remain in place while the torso dangles. If you read The Young Lady's Equestrian Manual, which seems to be the book Jane's mama sent to her, you will see an illustration of this type of saddle. I hate to think how easy it would be to get injured with a leg boxed in in that manner. Jane's saddle, however, does not have that feature. Although without the more modern leaping horn, Jane's saddle provides some support for the lower leg. These likely are the sensible developments that @Gracie_DeForest said the PIP designers--long may they continue their work--intended as moving from rural to urban use.

I realize that in other game genres, the action kinds that I don't play with those big budgets, excellent research is combined with original ideas to produce stunning visuals of things like armor for imaginary universes. This approach is not something we see often done really well in point and click and it is what point and click cries out for. PIP demonstrates that the joyous and exhaustive use of historical resources as a basis for the game is possible and well worth the effort.