For our Georgian era heroes and heroines, dinner and supper were two distinct meals, not to be confused. Just about everyone, regardless of location and financial means, would have eaten dinner, but not everyone would have eaten supper.

Dinner was the main meal of the day, the heartiest meal, the meal at the dining table. What time this occurred depended on location and wealth. Those in town and those who could afford to burn candles late into the night would enjoy a late dinner, around 6-8pm. Those in the country would enjoy an early dinner, around 3-5pm.

Late dinners were considered ostentatious, an arrogant showcasing of wealth, either because of the candle usage during the winter months or during the summer months because it showed they did not need to go to bed early for work in the morning. The norm and most respected time would have been 3-5pm. Labourers could have dinner as early as noon, depending on their work schedule.

Supper took a few different forms, depending on the occasion, but it was essentially a late-night snack. The time served would depend on the occasion, as well, but we’re looking at around 10pm or so. Supper was something well-to-do families did, not labourers, who needed to wake up early in the morning. It was typically a snack before bed or during late evening entertainment, such as offering cheese and bread with tea to guests, who were staying late to play cards, or having a bowl of soup before retiring for the night.

The only time supper was more than snack foods was at a ball when the host/hostess would have supper ready around 1am as a refreshment break from dancing. Whomever one danced with for the supper dance was the person to accompany into supper, which could be as substantial as dinner and even served in the dining room or could be a sideboard sort of buffet to browse—anything that offered sustenance for guests to continue enjoying their evening.

So, how should we see these occurring in historical fiction? Dinner should be mid-afternoon or early evening, the main meal, and the one which will usually include guests. Supper should be late at night, offered on a tray rather than at a table, light snacks only, and usually only with family or as a treat offered to close friends—you know you’re an honoured guest if you’re invited for supper/tea.

Important to realize is these words are not synonymous nor are they interchangeable. In our modern world, we do often interchange the words depending on where we were raised, but during the Georgian era, these were distinct and never to be confused.

An absolutely fantastic post that offers references to supper in Austen and beyond, as well as includes typical items you might find during supper, comes from Regency History: https://www.regencyhistory.net/blog/regency-dining-supper-time

To read more about dinner, specifically, and what might be offered on the table and just how one dined (which was not using the courses we’re accustomed to now), check out my blog post: https://www.paullettgolden.com/post/georgian-era-dining