"Are you looking at me?" 

It didn't take much for a gentleman's honour to be challenged in Regency England, and once offended, the parties often resorted to a duel. Duelling in the UK was outlawed in 1819, but duels continued to be fought until 1852. The favoured weapons were pistols or swords. In theory, killing someone in a duel was counted as murder, and the winner was liable to the death penalty. In practice, a lot of leniency was upheld in sentencing.

For example, the Old Bailey records of 1811 relate that William Pigeon was charged with killing James Chiverton. A witness who knew Pigeon reported:

I carried a challenge from Chiverton to the prisoner [Pigeon] by word of mouth, and in consequence of that challenge they met [and] they fought an hour and ten minutes. I did not see the last two rounds.

Q. Did they fight fair? - A. Yes.

Q. You know that Chiverton was killed? - A. Yes.

Q. And this was in consequence of a challenge given from Chiverton to Pigeon? - A. Yes. They shook hands together in the field just before they set to.

Pigeon's defence was simply, "The young man sent a challenge to me."

The duel must have been fought with swords, since it lasted so long, and Chiverton was fatally wounded in the head. Pigeon was found guilty of manslaughter and fined six shillings and eightpence.

It was not unknown for women to fight duels too. Millingen, in his 1841 History of Duelling, writes about a duel in France in 1828 between a young woman and a soldier who had betrayed her:

She . . . insisted upon satisfaction, selecting her own weapons by the right of an offended party. Two shots were exchanged, but without any result, as the seconds very wisely had not loaded with ball. The young lady, however, ignorant of this precaution, fired first, and received the fire of her adversary with the utmost coolness, when, to try her courage, after taking a long and deliberate aim, he fired in the air, and thus terminated the meeting.

If anyone in Pride and Prejudice had a right to challenge their betrayer, it was Mr. Darcy's sister. You can find out what happens in this bonus story, Georgiana Darcy – Pistols at Dawn. Available as an eBook, PDF or audiofile.

References

Millingen, J. G. 1841. History of duelling, volume 1. Richard Bentley, Publisher. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/57326/pg57326-images.html

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 9.0) May 1811. Trial of WILLIAM PIGEON (t18110529-62). Available at: https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t18110529-62?text=field (Accessed: 6th October 2024).