Debrett’s

Prepare to lose yourself in the Debrett’s website once you read this entry. Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage has, of course, been the who’s who of English nobility since 1780, but in the modern day, Debrett’s offers so much more. It offers advice on planning a wedding, royal or not, pronouncing Cholmondeley and understanding teenagers. For the writer of Regency pastiches, it offers advice on such matters as how to refer to a baron in conversation or what is an earl by courtesy.

The online Debrett’s even allows a user to search through the 25,000 names in its People of Today section. Unfortunately, if you want to search for a historical figure, you will either need to buy a physical copy of the 2008 Peerage and Baronetage (3,000 plus pages, £295), or subscribe to the electronic edition for £75 a year.

And since its beginnings, Debrett’s has branched into many different areas of expertise, including titles like Thoroughly Modern Motoring Manners and Petiquette.

I know this sounds rather like an advertisement for Debrett’s, but I did thoroughly enjoy my visit to the website and will definitely find it useful as a reference.