Escaping The Doldrums

April might be the cruelest month, but February freaking stinks. Bye, February, don't let the door hit you on the way out!

I hate February--my dad and I used to talk about "The Februarys," that glum malaise that hit both of us after a long winter. This February hasn't been too awful because it hasn't been that cold, and it's been busy, but I am so ready for Spring.

And, since I've been so busy (see above), I haven't been able to write, which is doubtless adding to my glumosity. And I haven't been able to find time to read! Which really stinks.

So what do you do when you are down in the (February) dumps?

Here are some things I do:

Look forward to Spring flowers

Find out what movies have come out on DVD. Watch them.


Buy a new nail polish.
Anticipate books by favorite authors



Plan short-sleeve outfits
Eat dark chocolate in tiny amounts

What do you do? Besides mock my inability to make my posts look nice, that is.

Happy March!

Regency children

Our Regency heroes were all dressed as girls for the first few years of their lives. Sad but true, and somehow they grew up normal; the upside of it was that they then enjoyed the formal ceremony of being breeched--that is, allowed to wear pants. And other than the cross-dressing, it wasn't that bad a time to be a child, if you survived, and, of course, had the additional luck of being born into a family with money and education.

Children were no longer seen as adults in miniature or full of original sin that needed to be flogged out of them. Childhood was becoming recognized as a stage in life, much as the 1950s spawned the cult of the teenager, thanks to Rousseau's Emile, a novel that explored the ideal upbringing of a child (ironically, Rousseau sent his own children to be raised in an institution, hoping they'd have a better chance in life there than as the illegitimate offspring of an impoverished writer). Wordsworth and Blake wrote about childhood as a state of mystical innocence.

Children now had their own styles of clothing, such as the skeleton suit for little boys and the late eighteenth-century styles for girls' clothes--high waisted, simple cotton gowns--later became the fashion for adults. Books, games, and puzzles were produced for children, and not all the books were improving texts.

But even in those relatively enlightened times, and in affluent families, the infant mortality rate was appallingly high. It makes you wonder what the relationships between children and parents were like--did parents love their children without reservation, knowing they might have only a short time together? Or did parents repress their natural feelings to protect themselves from the grief to come?

In a biography of Mary Wollstonecraft I read (sorry, can't remember which one), there was a truly heartbreaking excerpt from a letter Mary wrote after losing a child--but the thing that struck me as odd was that she referred to the baby as it. It could be a linguistic oddity--like the French word bebe not entering the language until the late nineteenth-century. But words are important, as we know. Does this reflect an attitude of the past that is quite alien to us now? Is this how the Regency produced Victorians?

And how do you feel about the portrayal of children in romances? Quoting myself, number seven in the top ten things a heroine would never say in a Regency romance (from The Rules of Gentility):

I don’t care if that adorable lisping child is the apple of the hero’s eye. If she doesn’t shut up I’ll slap her.

Heroines

Watching the red carpet show before the Oscars and seeing some of the actresses reminded me that we've done a lot of discussion on models and inspiration for our heroes, but not much about heroines.

Like many writers, I use pictures of actors, not only to send to the art department in the valiant hope of an accurate cover, but also to help me visualize my characters. I choose people who look right but also--at least in some fleeting cinematic moment I happened to catch despite my chronic tired mommy state--capture some aspect of my characters.

Right now, I'm using a slightly younger version of Laura Linney as inspiration for the heroine of my current mess-in-progress. She has a way of looking stressed out and lovely at the same time which is good for this particular heroine.



Also on the red carpet was Keri Russell, who happened to be the inspiration for my very first heroine: Nell, from LORD LANGDON'S KISS. Keri looked gorgeous on the red carpet and didn't appear much older than in the photo I sent in eight years ago! I find it amusing that the hairstyles look similar, at least from the front.




This is Liv Tyler, who has the moody sort of beauty I wanted for THE INCORRIGIBLE LADY CATHERINE. They gave her the Obligatory Regency Cover Smile but it was all right for the scene depicted and the artist captured the eyebrows. I was less happy with the hero--in my mind I saw him as looking like a sexy blacksmith (though in gentleman's clothes). I'll spare you the result...




I sent in a picture of Gwyneth Paltrow for Juliana in THE REDWYCK CHARM. In the cover, her hair is red because she had dyed it at that point in the story. In any case, it's not a bad likeness. I think the hero looked pretty handsome though that flip of his hair is a bit odd.




Sorry about the graininess of this picture; I can't find the original one of Jo Anderson I sent in as a likeness for Penelope in SAVING LORD VERWOOD. It was hard to find a red-haired actress who fit the part. As it turns out, I need not have bothered because they somehow transformed her into a blonde. I've heard of authors changing their manuscripts to fit the cover but as Pen had already appeared in the two previous books as a redhead I wasn't going to do it! Anyway, this cover was actually one of my nicest with a dishy looking hero, so I won't complain any more.




For LADY DEARING'S MASQUERADE, I chose Michelle Pfeiffer. Like Michelle Pfeiffer's character in THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, Lady Dearing is the Wrong Woman--or more correctly, thinks she is, because of course she does get her happy ending. The cover image for this book was absolutely tiny but the heroine looks more or less right. The hero is absolutely wrong--not only does he NOT look anything like Colin Firth but he's also got a pretty awful mullet. I'm glad the image was tiny!




So how well do you think these covers depicted my heroines? Which actresses do you use or would you like to see as inspiration for heroines?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Lucky Jane!

Congratulations to Jane! You've won copies of Amanda McCabe's TO CATCH A ROGUE and Deb Marlowe's AN IMPROPER ARISTOCRAT!

Please email riskies@yahoo.com to claim your prize.

Any of us who cannot wait for the US releases can order these books from www.millsandboon.co.uk or www.amazon.co.uk!

How To Be Sharp

I beg your indulgence today. I'm going to sound a little bit grouchy, so please forgive me, and assume it's all because

(1) Johnny Depp, Amy Ryan, and the green dress didn't win the Oscars they deserved;

(2) I spent so long caring for my sick husband (days! maybe even a week!) that my mind has irretrievably gone;

(3) I've secretly been a grump all along, and have finally lost my ever-so-thin veneer of niceness due to normal wear and tear;

(4) I'm suffering from severe lack of tea; or

(5) I'm currently being forced (by a secret government agency) to read a book lacking in either proper grammar or any respect for history, and am the worse for it.

My post today is, you see, on how to be sharp.

SHARP WRITERS:

SHARP WRITERS don't develop a pathological fear of either adverbs or the past perfect tense. And if they do, they don't start using the simple past tense in place of the past perfect, or adjectives in place of adverbs.

SHARP WRITERS never write any of the following: alot, alright, "he drug her down the stairs" (believe it or not, I've seen this nonexistent verb tense several times recently, in published books!), Jane Austin, Lizzie Bennett (Austen spells it "Lizzy Bennet"), or "here here!"

SHARP WRITERS find out what words actually mean before using them. (Yes, words like literally, embark, pigtails, castle, and unique do have actual meaning.)

SHARP JANE AUSTEN MOVIE FANS

SHARP JANE AUSTEN MOVIE FANS may enjoy learning that the following actresses, all of whom have appeared TV or film versions of Austen's works or of other Regency-interest works, were all just nominated for Olivier Awards (the most respected award for London Theatre):

Kelly Reilly, who played Miss Bingley in the 2005 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, was nominated for playing Desdemona in OTHELLO at the Donmar Warehouse.

Anne-Marie Duff, who played Louisa in the TV miniseries ARISTOCRATS (1999), was nominated for playing Joan in SAINT JOAN at the National Theatre.

Penelope Wilton, who played Mrs. Gardiner in the 2005 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, was nominated for playing Ella in JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN at the Donmar Warehouse.

Fiona Shaw, who played Mrs. Croft in the 1995 PERSUASION, was nominated for playing Winnie in HAPPY DAYS at the National Theatre.

Speaking of Austen adaptations, please join us next Tuesday (March 4) to discuss the Olivier/Garson version of PRIDE & PREJUDICE, and March 24 to discuss the Kate Beckinsale EMMA!

There you have it!

Question for the day: What would you like to add to my "Sharp Writers" list? (All answers welcome!)


Cara
Cara King, who once saw Fiona Shaw play Richard II

Fire

Last Friday, our local news reported a fire in a 200 year old historic building in Boonsboro, MD, a hotel that was under renovation. I knew instantly that this was the hotel Nora Roberts had purchased. She'd had these wonderful plans to decorate each of the six rooms with some romance theme featuring literary couples, like, Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.

Read more about this here and see the horrific photos.

My heart goes out to Nora and the town of Boonsboro for this loss, but knowing Nora, she'll find a way to rebuild.

I started thinking about fire in "our" period. How easy it must have been for fires to start when the heating, cooking, and lighting was by flame.

Here is an account of a fire from the 1814 Annual Register:

January 19, 1814
Fire in St. Paul's Churchyard
About a quarter past six o'clock yesterday morning, a fire was discovered by foot-passengers in St. Paul's Churchyard, who knocked violently for a time, but none of the family of Mr. Biggs was made to hear. At length the door was forced, when the flames burst out with such fury, to prevent anyone from alarming the family upstairs, but which at length was done by the ringing of the bells, and crying out "fire, fire." Mrs. Biggs with an infant in her arms, and a servant maid, got first out of the house...the feelings of the mother were too much alive for the safety of her other five children, to admit of a moment's delay, and it is supposed that she would have returned and rushed into the flames in search of them, had she not fainted dead away...So rapid were the flames on this unfortunate occasion, that no other person except a servant with another of Mrs. Bigg's children succeeded in getting out the door by the door. We have accounted for only two of Mrs. Bigg's six children, the eldest of whom, a son, was only nine years of age.

How terribly sad this is. I can feel the emotions of that poor mother at such a time.

Another terrible mishap was the occurance of clothing catching fire. Woman were most at risk with their long dresses. Gillray (1802) satirizes this in his Advantages of Muslin Dresses


Henry Wadsworth Longfellow grew his beard after being scarred trying to save his wife when her dress caught fire from a match.






Two famous fires near "our" time period:

1809 fire destroying Drury Lane theatre, owned at the time by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who sat at a nearby inn, watching the building devoured by flames. He quipped, "It was hard if a man could not drink a glass of wine by his own fire."


Burning of Washington, in 1814.

Dolly Madison's courage in rescuing the portrait of George Washington from the White House made a big impression on me as a child, so much so I named my favorite doll after her.

I've never been in a fire. When I was seven and we lived in Japan where my father was stationed, a dog kennel caught fire nearby and we could see the flames from our house. The fear of the fire spreading was very real. In more recent years a co-worker's house was destroyed by fire after the oil in a pan caught fire and quickly spread.

Have you ever been in a fire?
Do you think, as I do, that burning candles is too much of a fire risk to be worth it?

Deb and Amanda Chat About Their New Books!

Join the Risky Regencies today as Amanda and Deb Marlowe chat about their March UK releases, The Improper Aristocrat and To Catch a Rogue! Comment on the post to win a copy of each, or if you can't wait you can buy them at Amazon.uk! Besides being a fellow Harlequin author and fun friend, Deb is another Project Runway fanatic...



Amanda: So, Deb, tell me all about your new book!

Deb: The Improper Aristocrat is my adventure book! A deathbed pledge brings Niall Stafford, Earl of Treyford, out of Egypt and back to England. He's promised to deliver an ancient artifact to a colleague's sister, but Chione Lattimer is not what he expects. Instead of an aging spinster, Chione is a lovely, half-Egyptian girl caught up in chaos. Though all he wants to do is get back to his adventures and antiquities, Trey finds himself in the role of protector, and smack dab in the midst of a villainous plot to recover a Pharaoh's lost treasure.

A: Oooh, I love adventures and lost treasure! What's your favorite part of the book?

D: Now that is a hard question. I love so much about this book! Chione was a joy to write. She's had a hard life, and really has to find her own strength. And she has to pound a few hard lessons into Trey's head along the way! I had a great time coming up with the clues that lead these two on their path to adventure, too.

A: Any good research tidbits you found?

D: The research was the best part! I really enjoyed exploring the Valley of the Kings, the Devon coast, and Belzoni's Exhibition in London.



A: Tell us about Belzoni!

D: You mean my historical figure crush? Hee hee! I love this guy. One of 13 children of a Padua barber, he was a giant of a man, reportedly 6 feet 6 inches. Run from home by Napoleon's forces, he traveled England as a strong man and magician before traveling to Egypt to uncover some of her greatest treasures, including Seti I's tomb, the entrance to the second pyramid of Giza, and the lost city of Berenice. He procured a huge collection of antiquities for the British Museum before he died trying to reach the mysterious city of Timbuktu.

A: And what is the treasure in your story? Or is that a secret??

D: It's a mystery! The legend of the Pharaoh's Lost Jewel is thousands of years old. It came back to Europe with Nelson's army and team of surveyors and architects. Chione's family has chased the legend for years, but it will take the adventuresome Earl to help her discover the truth.

A: It's kind of funny, my book also involves ancient treasure! Though Greek, not Egyptian. There must be something archeological in the air this month...



D: Oh, Greek! Where did the idea for your story come from?

A: From a terrific book I read, Peter Watson's The Medici Conspiracy, about the terrible problem of illegal antiquities. His tale involves modern-day looting and illegal objects in museums, but of course this is not a new problem at all. It was also inspired by a trip to the British Museum to see the Elgin Marbles!

D: Was that on the Splendors of the Regency tour???

A: Yes!! Everyone here will be sick of me saying "On the Regency tour...", but it really was the most inspiring thing I could have done for my writing. We learned lots about carpets and doorknobs there, didn't we, Deb?

D: Yes, we did, although we have to thank Diane for that! Riskies, Diane became famous for grilling all the guides on the make and origins of the carpets everywhere we went. Everyone teased her unmercifully!

A: LOL! We learned a lot about paint colors, too...

Anyway, To Catch a Rogue is the first of the "Muses of Mayfair" series, stories of the 3 Chase sisters (Calliope, Clio, and Thalia) whose father is a famous scholar of ancient Greek art and myth. So, naturally the daughters are into ancient Greece, too--though their interest always seems to lead them into trouble. And romance with some unlikely heroes!

D: It feels like I've been waiting so long to read about your "Muses"! I can't wait! But how are their heroes unlikely?

A: Calliope, the heroine of TCAR, thinks that Cameron de Vere, the Earl of Westwood, is the infamous Lily Thief! The Lily Thief has been plaguing London collectors for months, stealing artifacts from their collections and leaving a lily bouquet in their place. Cal thinks Cameron is the thief, and is determined to catch him in the act of stealing the Alabaster Goddess (a beautiful statue of Artemis that has started a craze for hairstyles and sandals in London fashion!). But Cameron isn't what he appears, either. He decides to turn the tables on Cal...

D: Sounds like another fun mystery! And what about Clio and Thalia?



A: They get their stories, too, of course! In To Deceive a Duke, Clio meets up again with the mysterious Duke of Averton in sunny Sicily (which, of course, is plagued with tomb raiders!). I call Averton my "rock star" duke, because everyone follows him around and gossips about him! And in To Kiss a Count, Thalia finds love with a dangerous Italian count--in Bath! Passion in the Pump Room (also seen on the Regency tour. The Pump Room, that is. Not the passion).

Oh, one quick note! Next year you can buy these 3 stories in consecutive months in the US. But just in case you can't wait...

Tell us what's next for you, Deb?

D: The Improper Aristocrat come to the US late in 2008. In October I have another UK release, Her Cinderella Season. In that one, Jack Alden, brother to the hero of my first book Scandalous Lord, Rebellious Miss, locks horns with a girl who has been raised in the Reformer and Evangelical circles of Regency England.

A: Can't wait!

BTW, gentle readers, take a look at the two covers in the header. We believe somehow Mr. Brad Pitt snuck onto Deb's, highlights and all. And my cover is also the inside image of Diane's Innocence and Impropriety! Who knew people so resembled each other in Regency England???

Let us know any comments, questions, whatever! Early next week we'll announce a winner for copies of both books.

John Keats

I know last week I said I would continue with my "romantic and not-so-romantic couples of the Regency" thread, but I discovered that today is the anniversary of the death of John Keats, in 1821. So I decided to talk about that instead. Stay tuned next week for more romantic high-jinks! (Or maybe some hot guys, if I can find one Megan missed...)

Of all the romantic poets, Keats is my favorite based solely on the poetry. His life is not as wild as Shelley and Byron (for one thing he lived for such a short time, to to the age of 26, narrowly beating Shelley for "youngest death"), but his poetry has a beauty and sophistication, a sensual imagery, that is hard to beat.

He was born in Moorgate, London in 1795, the son of a hostler (his father's pub still stands, and is now called "Keats the Grove"). But his childhood had an early end with the death of his father seven years later. Keats grew up with his mother, grandmother, and 3 siblings, until his mother died of tuberculosis in 1810. John soon found himself entrusted with the care of his younger brother, Tom, who also suffered from tuberculosis. He managed to travel in Scotland and Ireland, where he composed his epic poem Endymion. But this poem, as so many after them, was the focus of much abuse from critics. In 1818, Tom died and John found he, too, suffered from the disease.



He then moved to Hampstead, where he lived next door to Fanny Brawne, his one love. But the relationship was cut short when Keats was forced to leave damp London in 1820 and go to Italy. (Fanny's comment in her diary in his departure--"Mr. Keats has left Hampstead." Scandalous!!!).



Italy didn't help. Keats died in 1821, and was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Rome. He asked that his tombstone read only "Here lies one whose name was writ in water," but his friends took the liberty of adding "This grave contains all that was mortal, of a YOUNG ENGLISH POET, who on his deathbed, in the bitterness of his heart, at the malicious power of his enemies, desired these words to be engraven on his tomb stone" (one in the eye for those nasty reviewers!).

Shelley blamed Keats' death on an article in the Quarterly Review; Byron wrote a poem in his honor using the words "snuffed out by an article." Wallace Stevens describes him as the "Secretary for Porcelain" in his poem Extracts from Addresses to the Academy of Fine Ideas:

"Let the Secretary for Porcelain observe
That evil made magic, as in catastrophe,
If neatly glazed, becomes the same as fruit
Of an emperor, the egg-plant of a prince.
The good is evil's last invention."

Also, on my newest TV obsession, the otherwise ridiculously and wonderfully idiotic Gossip Girl, the character Dan seems to see Keats as his poetic hero, and references him now and then. He's mentioned in The Smith's song "Cemetery Gates." And according to IMDB, there's a film in production about the romance of Keats and Brawne titled Bright Star, starring Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw (from Perfume).

Some of Keats's own poems include To a lady seen for a few moments at Vauxhall, To Autumn, Ode on Melancholy, Ode to Fanny, On seeing the Elgin Marbles for the first time, Ode to a Nightingale, and Give me Wine, Women, and Snuff. Here is the last stanza of one of my favorites, Ode on a Grecian Urn:

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of Marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in the midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,"--that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

Who are some of your favorite poets? Do you watch Gossip Girl (or any other craptastic TV??). And who do you predict to win (or show up in a fab gown) at the Oscars tomorrow?

Speaking of tomorrow, be sure and join us as Deb Marlowe and I get together for an interview about our March UK releases! Comment for copies. And sign up for our monthly newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com, with "newsletter" in the subject line, so you don't miss any of our events, special or not.

She Blinded Me With Science

Rather than writing lately, I've been involved in finishing up major renovations to a house my husband and I bought last May. LAST MAY. We are still living in our rental, but the reno is finishing up, as is our patience with paying rent and mortgage, so the plan is to move in during the last week of March.

What, you ask, does this have to do with the Regency?

Well, Ms. Smarty-Pants, it's that I am breathlessly anticipating such modern marvels as a washer/dryer, a dishwasher, a temperature-controlled refrigerator, a non-running toilet, and a brand new stove that has the output of Hephaestus in a temper (for the record, the last non-rental I lived in was in 1976; the rental we moved to had a broken window in the bathroom, which we plugged up with an Incredible String Band record album. Yeah, I was raised by hippies/wolves).

Which made me think of modern innovations, and how essential--and how much we take them for granted--they are in our modern life.


Depending on their station in life, some of our Regency heroines (the governesses, companions, poor relations, et al), might have had to wash some of their clothing by hand. Ugh. And even if you had someone to do your wash, there was no guarantee things would come clean. Indoor toilets were around, but hardly ubiquitous; stoves and ovens were huge, beastly hot things that required careful handling. If you had frizzy or limp hair you had to live with it. Forget about cell phones, iPods and DVR; you had to be at the local musicale to hear it, and that was it.

So if you could choose one modern convenience to bring with you as you embark on your time traveling journey of a Regency lady's life, what would it be? A dishwasher? Eyelash curler? Blow dryer? Vacuum cleaner? Toilet? A ballpoint pen?

Hot Old Men

Having been accused (several times) of despising gratuitous mantitty, I present for your delectation the following...

Oooh. Alan Greenspan. He is just so ... powerful. So ... hot. Announcements about interest rates haven't been the same since his retirement. It might only have been a quarter of an interest point, but temperatures would soar.

Sean Connery, the man who's been shaking and stirring us for ... decades. Oh baby.

Patrick Stewart who could make it so with me anytime. Not only can he wear spandex in public and not be embarrassed but he can sing and dance too. Check it out.



Peter O'Toole, once a lovely young thing, now a lovely, if cadaverous, old thing who could cross my desert any time.



Alan Rickman, the underground hit of Sense and Sensibility,.Women swooned at his imcomprehensible upperclass mumble and the slow crawl of his jowls seeking freedom from his high collar.

Ian McKellen, quite definitely a player for the other team and never the prettiest boy in the playground, but he does have a certain ... something. There's just something about him that makes you want to comb through his beard for snacks or offer to hold his staff if he looks tired.

Come on, ladies. Confess. Who's your favorite hot old man?

A Sharpe dressed man

With apologies to ZZ Top--I couldn’t resist! Anyway, I’d like to share some more tidbits from LIFE IN WELLINGTON’S ARMY, with thanks to Antony Brett-James for helping us all create our hot military heroes.

This time it’s about the uniforms. Wellington, nicknamed ‘the Beau’, dressed well himself. “Larpent says he had the skirts of his coats cut shorter in the Peninsula to make them look smarter, and one day in 1813 he found Wellington discussing with his servant the cut of his half-boots and suggesting alterations.” However, Wellington didn’t fuss about his army’s attire. Grattan of the Connought Rangers wrote: “Provided we brought our men into the field well appointed, and with sixty rounds of good ammunition each, he never looked to see whether their trousers were black, blue or gray; and as to ourselves, we might be rigged out in all colours of the rainbow if we fancied it. The consequence was, that scarcely any two officers were dressed alike! Some with grey braided coats, others with brown; some again liked blue; while many from choice, or perhaps necessity, stuck to the ‘old red rag’.”

I was interested to learn that some regiments wore kilts, which “did not always prove to be practical garment for campaign life. While advancing to the heights of Puebla during the Battle of Vitoria, the 92nd had to cross ditches so thickly lined with thorns and briars that the blood ran trickling down many a soldier’s leg.” By 1814 the Black Watch was the only regiment still wearing the kilt.

Wear and tear and dust played havoc with uniforms. One day in 1808 Captain Landemann of the Engineers and Major-General Henry Fane were riding side by side and observed there was little difference between their coats; the former was originally blue, the latter red. Another observer described how red coats deteriorated to something “as ragged as sheep and as black as rooks.”

Here is Captain Mercer’s description of the troops parading in Paris after Waterloo:

“The colour had faded to a dusky brick-dust hue; their coats, originally not very smartly made, had acquired by constant wearing that loose easy set so characteristic of old clothes, comfortable to the wearer, but not calculated to add grace to his appearance.”

A French student watching the same review wrote: ‘Oh! It was really like being defeated twice over, bis mori, to have been beaten by an army so badly turned out as the English army was…How could one be a good soldier under that little sugar-loaf of a peak, with the inelegantly cut red jacket, those grey trousers clinging to knock-knees?”

As for me, I’m not so turned off by a scruffy exterior. On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with a dandy hero either—dandies have an understanding of pleasure and luxury that can be very sexy. I like variety in my fantasy men. I’ve got one dandy in my idea file. Still, I’ve got a slight preference for heroes who are active and look it. And I’d mend Richard Sharpe’s shirts any time! :)

How about you? Do you prefer your Regency heroes nattily turned out or on the rugged side?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

A Regency Miscellany

Hello, and happy Tuesday!

First, a NOTICE: I have now twice mis-stated the date on which Risky Regencies' JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB will discuss the Olivier/Garson Pride & Prejudice! (Careless. Sorry.)

The correct date is Tuesday, March 4. (I kept saying Tuesday, March 3, which doesn't exist. In this universe, anyway.)

(For those of you joining us for the first time: the Jane Austen Movie Club meets here the first Tuesday of every month, and sometimes on other Tuesdays, to discuss various Jane Austen TV and movie adaptations. Please join us!)


Second, a CLARIFICATION: Those of you who get our brilliant newsletter might have received the implication that our discussion of this same Olivier/Garson Pride & Prejudice will follow the airing of it on PBS.

Sadly, this is not the case. They're not airing it. (Though if you ask me, they should just stop showing all that other silly stuff and become the All Jane Austen All the Time network...) So if you'd like to participate in our discussion, you can either do it from memory, or track down a copy of the DVD or tape within the next two weeks... Or just stop in and say hi!


Third, a QUESTION: The BBC Emma (with Kate Beckinsale) airs March 23. I had originally not scheduled it for discussion on the following Tuesday (March 25) because if we run through too many Austen adaptations too quickly, we'll run out of things to discussion in the Club and the Club will have to end sooner.

Then again, we could always talk about adaptations of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Sharpe, Hornblower, etc... And the advantage of discussing it on March 25 is that it will be fresh in everyone's minds...that is, if they'll be watching the showing on PBS.

So: what's your vote? Beckinsale Emma on March 25, or not?


And now, fourth, so that this post won't be entirely full of information and other tedious stuff, here is part of an actual 1804 NOTICE OF HORSES FOR SALE:

TO BE SOLD AT LEWES, ON THE FIRST OF AUGUST

Being the vacant Day between BRIGHTON and LEWES races.

LOT 1: THE Stallion, Waxy, by Pot8o's, out of Maria, by Herod, her dam, Lisette, by Snap, out of Miss Windsor. He is sire of Mr. Wilson's colt, that was second for the Derby Stakes.

LOT 2: Kezia, by Satellite, out of Waxy and Worthy's dam, &c. &c. with a colt at her foot by Waxy, and covered by him again.

Long live the Regency!

Cara
Author of MY LADY GAMESTER, in which the horses had slightly less strange names than Pot8os)

Regency Hot Guy Post

Much as I love Hot Guys (except Brad Pitt, of course), what does that have to do with the Regency?

Never mind....... Who Cares? Megan's Hot Guys blog was one of our most popular. Goodness, Megan received 30 comments! (nine of them from me complaining about Brad Pitt)

In any event, I am, you know, always striving to be relevant and true to our quest to learn and share as much as possible about the Regency; therefore, today I am presenting to you my

Regency Hot Guys

These images were gathered on my 2005 England trip. I took photos of paintings and miniatures everywhere we went. If I had been organized, I would also have recorded who these gentlemen were, but, alas, when have I ever been organized?

Vote for your favorite! Those of you who pick first can claim the gentleman, as we all claimed our favorites on Megan's blog.


Number One: Who else but Beau Brummell?










Number Two: The Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know, Lord Byron

Number Three: This fellow looks (gasp!) Victorian, but maybe you fancy all that facial hair.









Number Four: Perhaps you cannot resist a man in uniform.










Number Five: Or maybe this sensitive Regency fellow pushes your "hot" button.









Number Six: Maybe you prefer a man who is more serious.










Number Seven: Or you might like your Hot Guy to be a little more...Georgian, so you can run your fingers through his powdered hair.








Number Eight: Or perhaps you like him to be very Georgian. Nothing like a Hot Guy dressed in pink.









Number Nine: Now here's a fellow I would call the "Sean Penn" of the Regency.









Number Ten: Last, but definitely not least, is this intense young man. Do you go for that long-haired type?








Okay! Time to vote.
And if you can identify any of my Regency Hot Guys (besides Brummell and Byron, I mean) please do so. You won't get a prize but I'll be grateful.

Fairy Tale Endings (Or Not)

When I was a kid, I loved fairy tales! I liked the fluffy, Disney-fied ones (great clothes! I mean, who doesn't like Cinderella's blue dress?), but my favorites were from a book of Grimm's Fairy Tales my grandmother gave me. The ones where the stepsisters chopped off bits of their feet to fit into Cinderella's slipper, stuff like that. Dark and fantastical, with lots of tangled forests and crumbling castles. And curses, of course. I love curses. I also liked stories from the ballet, where the heroine was usually a ghost or a part-time bird, and there were curses galore, as well as dark wizards and sacrificing for love. They had great clothes, too. But I always liked the dangerous romance of all that more than the bland princes and singing mice of the Disney version. Yeah, I was a weird kid. Probably a weird adult, too, since I still eat up all that stuff with a spoon!

As I get older and read more and more bios of real-life historic couples, I find few (if any) Disney HEAs. If there was an HE at all, it was usually twisting and halting, full of surprises and compromise. Like life itself, I guess, with fewer talking animals and dark omens than in fairy tales. But I often find the darker, more complex the "romance" the greater the story.

There are so many interesting Regency-era couples, but I chose only two to talk about. No Disney wedding endings here, of course! We're going to look at Lady Caroline Lamb and Lord Byron (a Mess if there ever was one, but I find that whole "Crazy Love" thing fascinating, not having felt anything at all like it since high school. Thankfully). And Charles James Fox and Elizabeth Armistead, because theirs was a twisted path indeed, ending in a deep devotion.



Lady Caroline Ponsonby Lamb was the wife of William Lamb (the younger son of Byron's friend Lady Melbourne, another fascinating character), the daughter of Harriet Bessborough (Georgiana's sister--huh, whaddya know, more fascinating characters!), and full of all the creativity and instability (to say the least) her genes would suggest. When she met Byron in 1812, she was 27, with a few wild affairs to her name already. Byron was 24, famous as the melancholy, handsome author of Childe Harold. She read the poem before meeting him, and wrote him an anonymous fan letter, saying "You deserve to be and you shall be happy..." A few days later she set out to meet him at a party at Lady Westmoreland's, but ran off when she saw him surrounded by other adoring women.

This, of course was the best thing she could have done to get his attention. He was pasionately in love with his lovers--until he was sure of their love, of course. Then not so much. By avoiding the introduction, she made Byron determined to meet her. She didn't resemble his concept of Ideal Feminine Beauty, being tall, very thin, with short, curling blond hair and hazel eyes. After their first meeting, Byron said "The lady had scarcely any personal attractions to recommend her." But Caro said "That beautiful pale face is my fate."

But she also possessed a disregard of opinion that Byron seemed to covet (for all his posturing, it seems like he worried about "what people think" too much to be a true free spirit, at least not until later in his life). She was also exuberantly emotional, intelligent, creative, and well-read. They would read together, discuss poetry--and argue fiercely. Their affair shocked and dazzled London through April and May of 1812. They quarreled in public; when she wasn't invited to a party he was at, she would wait outside on the street. When she refused to say she loved him more than her husband, he wrote "My God, you shall pay for this, I'll wring that obstinate little heart." But the ton hadn't seen nothing yet. The real drama started when the affair ended.



In summer 1812, Byron was persuaded to leave London--without Caro, who had gotten out of control in her passion. She bombarded him with letters at his home at Newstead; when they were both in London, she snuck into his house disguised as page, ran after him, threatened to stab herself, etc. Finally, her family took her off to the country to recuperate. She held a dramatic bonfire, with village girls dressed in white dancing around the flames while Caroline threw letters and books into the fire. (I might have done this when I was 17, if my parents didn't have strict rules about open flames in the back yard...)

Anyhoo, now I've gone on soooo long here, I think we'll have to talk about the Foxes next week! In the meantime, as we wrap our Risky Valentine's week special, who are some of your favorite couples?

Obligatory Hot Guy Post

Through the miracle of modern technology, I am actually writing this on Thursday, Valentine's Day. And, because I am an admittedly gooey person, I like the holiday because it gives me the opportunity to demonstrate my gooeyness in wearing hearts, red, more hearts, some pink--you get the picture.



And speaking of pictures (nice segue, huh?), what better way to start off your post-Valentine's Day year than with some eye candy? Who'd you like as YOUR Valentine for 2009 (it's never too early to start planning!)? Please list your favorite in comments, or offer up another suggestion--with apologies to Janet, who probably despises this kind of post:

Valentine's Day exclusive interview with Cupid

On the Big Fat Day of Luuurve we're pleased to have as our special guest Cupid, the god of love.

Welcome to the Riskies, Cupid.

Thanks. Make it quick, girlie. It's a big day for me.

Okay. First, I--

And enough of the pink, okay?

Sorry. Is this better?

[Cupid grunts and retrieves a packet of Camels from his quiver. He lights up.]

You smoke?

So? It's a stressful job, let me tell you. And, hey, what's it going to do to me? I'm an immortal. You should see their faces in the convenience store when they ask for ID.

Don't you think that also might have something to do with you being naked? Okay. So how was your job during the Regency?

The Regency wasn't bad, all things considered. Not too much whalebone, and no steel--that was tough, dealing with Victorian corsets. You wouldn't believe the number of arrows I ruined. I had some fun, though, making people fall in love with unsuitable partners. Prinny was a real sucker and talk about a target you couldn't miss... That Byron, he was a real babe magnet--didn't really need my help but I shot Lady Caroline Lamb for him so he didn't get too full of himself. And now and again I'd get a duke to fall in love with his cook, and that was always good for a laugh.

Is that what you enjoy about your job? Making trouble?

Basically, yes. Otherwise it gets pretty boring.

Have you ever considered a career change?

It's difficult for a deity; you do what you do. I wouldn't mind something where I got some action myself--I wouldn't mind becoming a shower of gold or a bull, if I had to--but you get tired of hovering around boudoirs with your arrow ready to fly off the string, if you know what I mean--

I'll have to cut you off there since we're not that sort of blog. How has the job changed over the past two centuries?

Hmm. Well, no one thinks in terms of unsuitable matches much, which takes a lot of the challenge out of the job. I've had some arrow losses with underwire bras, but nothing to complain of particularly. Hold on, that's my cell. [Cupid retrieves a cell phone from his quiver] I've gotta take this. It's my agent....[after a brief conversation he clicks the phone shut] Sorry babe, gotta go. I've got a chance at a chocolates commercial. It's been great. See ya.

[exits in a flutter of wings and cloud of cigarette smoke]

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Tell us what you're doing to celebrate!

I'm blogging today over at the Wet Noodle Posse on the hazards and thrills of writing historical characters, and guest blogging--and giving away a book--tomorrow, Feb. 15 at a new blog, Lust in Time.

How womantic!

I’m all for romance. But Valentine’s Day itself…meh. Something inside me rebels at the directive to be romantic on a specific day. I suppose it's a nice excuse to get a babysitter and go for an outing but who really needs an excuse?

The other thing that's a turn-off for me is the torrent of commercial messages telling us exactly how we should be romantic. So many of them leave me cold! For the record (in case Someone is reading this) I’ve nothing against simple sensual pleasures like flowers or chocolate. There’s no such thing as too many flowers or too much chocolate! But so much of what is touted as romantic seems trivializing or hopelessly generic. And when did cell phones become an acceptable Valentine’s gift? I'd as soon have the proverbial frying pan.

What I find romantic are things that are personal. A back rub after a bad writing day. Jewelry that is either modern and artistic, or antique in feel, like the Wedgewood pendant my husband (similar to the one shown) gave me when he saw how much I like blue jasperware.

I suspect it’s hard for a lot of modern men to go out on a limb and do something risky and original. Maybe that’s one of the draws of historical romance: the idea of a hero who will express his feelings in an eloquent and personal way. I don’t know if the average male during the Regency was really any more romantic than the modern one, but just think of the torrid letter Captain Wentworth writes to Anne in PERSUASION:

“I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own, than when you almost broke it eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you.”

Sigh… Watch me collapse in a puddle!

So how about you? How do you feel about the conventional trappings of romance? What do you find romantic, in real life or in fiction?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Bertie the Beau: in hiding?

As many of you know, Bertram St James (one of the most noted Tulips of Regency society) mysteriously traveled in time, arriving a few years ago in our world of McDonalds and baggy jeans. He likes to turn up here at Risky Regencies on occasion to share his observations of modern life...but he has not been around recently.

In fact, I have not seen him in ages -- although he promised he would share his thoughts on Valentine's Day. But as far as I can tell, he, his valet, and his massive wardrobe have gone off somewhere...but where?

Breaking news: I still do not know precisely where Bertie the Beau is, but I did receive a telephone call from him. The transcript, which interrupts your regularly schedule Valentine's Week Post, is as follows:

Cara: Hello?

Bertie: Why do they say "dial nine for an outside line," when one only needs to dial "nine" when one is inside? Or does "inside" pertain to the telephonic callee? But how am I to know whether the individual for whom I am calling is out of doors or in?

Cara: Bertie, is that you?

Bertie: Who else possesses such mellifluous tones?

Cara: Um, yes, of course. How are you, Bertie? I haven't seen you in ages.

Bertie: I am beautiful as always -- need you ask? Oh, and is a "pants press" a new model of weight training machine?

Cara: Bertie, are you in a hotel?

Bertie: I cannot tell you where I am -- who can say whether an insect is eavesdropping on the wire?

Cara: Wait -- how are you paying for all this?

Bertie: Oh, never worry about money. Dreadful thing. Have you been watching the Lost Show on your TeleVision Box? Did you know they have the Lost Show at the Beverly Hilton?

Cara: Bertie! You didn't -- you aren't -- my visa -- the Beverly -- aarghh! [unintelligible sputterings follow]

Bertie: Oh, dash! I mentioned the name of the place, didn't I? Now I'll have to move again. Do you know if the Bel Age has huge-screen TeleVision Devices?

Cara: Why are you in hiding anyway???

Bertie: Why else, but relations? You recall that my great-aunt Lavinia Sophia Eugenia Kumquat sent notice to the periodical known as In Touch, reporting my nonexistent engagement to Miss Keira Knightley?

Cara: Yes...but wasn't that a while ago?

Bertie: Aunts have very long memories. Quite like elephants. Come to think of it, my aunts resemble elephants in more ways than just that. If you could see--

Cara: Elephants don't matter! Are you hiding from your Aunt Lavinia Soph--er, whatever her name is?

Bertie: Oh, she was bad enough. I still deny ever meeting the fair Miss Knightley! (I can deny it if there are not photographical pictures of us on the spiderweb, can I not?) And I certainly never became engaged to anyone. Though I admit that, in her green dress, she is the loveliest "Valentine" any gentleman could want! (Not that I do.)

Cara: So you're not hiding from your aunt?

Bertie: No indeed -- one aunt was not enough to cow me. But two are.

Cara: You now have two aunts in this century?

Bertie: Isn't it dreadful? My Aunt Gorgon -- that is, Aunt Gordon -- has somehow joined my Aunt Lavinia Stuffy Aged Kumquat. Aunt Gorgon always pokes me when I do not sit up straight -- but how can one be truly elegant without a subtle languor? And she's not the worst of it! No, she brought along my Uncle Bucephalas Augustus Hund, who always wants me to tramp through nature -- nature! the very idea! -- and shoot at deer or birds or some other dirty creature with one of those shooting things. And as he's quite a bit stronger than I am, I think it best just to go to ground and hope he cannot smoke me out.

Cara: I see.

Oh, dear, that sounds like his knock now! Oh, good, my man has indicated I can escape via the balcony. Adieu! Happy Valentine's Day!

[End transcript.]


So, there you have it. Poor Bertie! (And I do hope he isn't charging it all to my credit card...)

Cara
who wonders if Bertie has yet discovered Godiva chocolates

The History of Valentine's Day

This week we're preparing for Romance's favorite holiday, Valentine's Day. Of course, the most romantic of us, our dear Janet, has the day and I'm certain she will handle it with respect and decorum.....ahem....

Most of what we know of St. Valentine's Day is legend, including the belief that Valentine's Day originated in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, in which, among other things, young men ran naked through the streets striking anyone who came in their way with shaggy thongs, whatever they are. Women purposely got in their way, because it was believed that being struck by naked men wielding shaggy tongs would increase fertility or guarantee safe childbirth.

There were about three Saint Valentines, but legend has it that the one attached to the celebration of love was a second century AD priest . Roman Emperor Claudius II believed unmarried men made better soldiers, so he banned soldiers from marrying. St. Valentine defied the emperor and married soldiers in secret. Valentine was caught and imprisoned, but he continued to do good deeds, like curing the blindness of his jailer’s daughter. He also is said to have penned a note to his sweetheart signed “from your Valentine,” and supposedly was executed on February 14. All that is really known of him is that he was made a saint by the early church.

The first mention of St. Valentine’s Day associated with romantic love comes from Chaucer’s poem, Parlement of Foules, written to honor the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia.

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make

Likely Chaucer was referring to a different St. Valentine's Day, because the engagement took place on May 2. Later scholars assumed Chaucer’s poem meant February 14, but English birds have always been smart enough to wait for warmer weather to mate.

Here’s a fun fact. In 1400, a High Court of Love was established in Paris. It dealt with love contracts, betrayals, and violence against women. (Happy Valentine’s Day, mesdames)

The French also have the claim to fame of writing the first Valentine. Of course, it was written in London. Imprisoned in the Tower of London after the Battle of Agincort, the Duke of Orleans wrote a poem to his wife:

Je suis desja d'amour tanné; Ma tres doulce Valentinée…
(Charles d'Orléans, Rondeau VI, lines 1–2)

Ophelia (1601) mentions St. Valentine’s Day in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Pepys mentions Valentine’s Day, as well. By this time (mid-1600s) the tradition of giving gifts to ladies seems to have taken hold.

Sending love letters or specially made Valentines became a tradition by the late 1700s, continuing into “our” period, the Regency. In the 1840’s an enterprising American woman, Esther Howland, whose father owned a stationary store, had the idea of mass producing these Valentine’s Day love letters and the Valentine’s Day Card was born. To this day the Greeting Card Association gives an annual Esther Howland Award to the year’s best greeting card visionary.

What are your Valentine's Day traditions?




*Sources of information: Wikipedia Valentine’s Day and Answers.com

Interview with Christie Kelley

Welcome to the Riskies, Christie! I'm very excited about this book because I was a critique partner with Christie, and I can't wait to read the finished version. Christie will drop by during the day to answer questions and comments, and the Riskies will pick a winner, who will receive a signed copy of the book (the usual rules apply--no masquerading under different handles--we know who you are and we will say rude things about your cats).

Christie, tell us about your book:

Thank you for having me here! I really am terrible at giving the short synopsis on Every Night I’m Yours so instead, I’ll give you the back cover blurb:

At twenty-six, aspiring novelist Avis Copley intends to wear spinsterhood as a badge of honor. But when she discovers a volume of erotica that ignites a searing fire within her, Avis realizes just how much she doesn’t know about the actual pleasures of the flesh. Determined to learn more, she devises a daring plan…

Avis chooses Emory Billingsworth, a fellow novelist-not to mention a beautiful specimen of manhood-to instruct her in carnal pleasure. But when the brash earl of Selby, Banning Talbot, a man she has known for years, unearths Avis’ true intentions, he claims she’s made a dangerously bad choice. Volunteering his services for one wicked night of reckless, abandoned passion, Banning promises he will satisfy all of her deepest longings. Yet Banning cannot begin to imagine the effect his willful, voluptuous, and very eager student will have on him-or how far an innocent lesson in desire can go…

Oooh. What gave you the idea?

This story woke me up from a great sleep one night. I had been writing a different story that had both Avis and Banning as secondary characters. I really hadn’t intended on writing about them. At least I hadn’t until I woke up one night to Avis telling me she planned to take a lover. My first thought was, no. A spinster in Regency England just doesn’t do that. Well, Avis wouldn’t listen to me. So I had no choice but to write the story.

What attracted you to the Regency as a setting?

I have been reading Regency set historicals forever. So for me, after I wrote a few manuscripts that should never see the light of day again, I decided to focus on writing what I love to read. Every Night I’m Yours was my second Regency historical.

What's your favorite part of the book?

My favorite scene is when Avis decides she can’t take Emory as a lover. So she tells Banning that she will have to find another man. Banning blurts out that she should take him as a lover. He’s more shocked that he said it than she is to hear it. When she leaves the room, he realizes that he can’t take his sister’s best friend away for a two week affair. But the more he ponders the situation, the more he realizes that Avis is exactly what he’s been looking for in a wife.

(The Risky question) What part of this book do you--or your editor--consider risky or unusual?

I think the riskiest part was having my heroine make a logical decision to have an affair. This wasn’t an emotional decision based on love but purely on satisfying her own curiosity. Some people might not like that in a romance because she didn’t wait until she was in love with the hero before she bedded him.

What's next for you?

The story is about Banning’s sister, Jennette. She has a deep secret that only one other person knows, and he’s ready to blackmail her to keep it secret. Only blackmail turns to passion and then to love. It’s been a tougher story for me to write because it is such an emotional book.

Your question or comment enter you into a drawing for a signed copy of the book. Have fun!

When Covers Go Bad

So, I got the cover for my April '08 book, A Sinful Alliance, a couple of weeks ago. I cried for two hours, and then I couldn't get the strains of Dancing Queen out of my head for another two...

Okay, granted this a bad scan done on the sly at work, since my printer is having a cranky week. But trust me, if there was a Razzie for romance novel covers I think this would be a contender!

For a bit of context, here is the back cover copy (if you read A Notorious Woman, you may remember Nicolai as Marc's friend, the actor/spy):

She was exceptionally beautiful, and entirely deadly!
The baseborn daughter of a courtesan and a lord, Marguerite was forced to fend for herself in the dangerous world of the French nobility--as the king's most feared spy.

Sent to the court of King Henry in England, Marguerite found polite words and flattery concealed dark passions. Her only friend was her old enemy, the sensually tempting Nicolai Ostrovsky. And their sinful alliance seemed set to turn her from old loyalties to new desires!

Exceptionally beautiful? Sensually tempting? Ha!!!

I did finally realize what the cover reminds me of, though!

Or maybe this:
Crossed with this:


When I was hoping for something sorta in the style of this:
Not that Cate Blanchett and Joseph Fiennes look like these particular characters. I just like the romantic, Renaissance-y feel of it.

Or this, if we cut out Scarlett Johansen, would work (the clothes are right, anyway):

This would work, too, if they wanted to sex things up a bit:

In my mind, Nicolai looks something like Heath Ledger (RIP) in Casanova:

And Marguerite looks like Abbie Cornish in Elizabeth: The Golden Age:
No matter what, they don't look at all like an anatomically incorrect Fabio wannabe in large boots and his Jazzercise instructor girlfriend! I'm not at all sure they would float down the Thames on a bed, either. And they definitely would not open a roller disco with the help of the Muses!

So, tell me the truth now. I can take it. I'm among friends here. What do you think of my cover? And what are some Bad Covers of the Past you remember (Suzanne Brockmann's infamous Get Lucky maybe? Or our own Janet's Forbidden Shores?)

Keep up with all our news and upcoming books, the good, the bad, and the ugly, by signing up for our newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com.

Achy, Breaky Heart

Why do we love romance so much? Some of us--ahem!--have a hard time returning to the literary fiction that gave us that degree. Literary fiction can be so incredibly depressing, and I've found that I need a frequent application of HEAs to keep my leisure time happy. I haven't given up literary fiction, but I have given up thinking I will be satisfied at the end--more like stirred up and sad, although that has its place, too.


But that doesn't mean it's all kisses and witty banter in romance; the romances that resonate the most with me are those that have at least one 'ohmygod-how are they going to overcome this--don't leave yet, he'll be here soon with an explanation--she did it because she loves you, you moron' moments. Some of Mary Balogh's books (The First Snowdrop, The Secret Pearl, The Last Waltz) do this spectacularly well. You can feel your heart in your throat as you start reading the penultimate scene. Carla Kelly is a master of it, especially in Reforming Lord Ragsdale, where the h/h almost don't get together, and you have to let go of a long-held breath at the last moment.


These moments are particularly heart-wrenching in films--think about when Anne reads Captain Wentworth's letter in Persuasion, and dashes out to make sure he knows to be at the gathering that evening. Thank goodness she runs into him on the street! Notorious--quite possibly the most perfect movie ever--does this moment so incredibly well, with Hitchcock building the suspense until you almost can't stand it. Beauty And The Beast has it, as does The Philadelphia Story, and my latest obsession, Elizabeth Gaskell's North And South.


What are your favorite heart-in-throat moments, from either film or book?

Megan

Sneak preview of new BBC Pride & Prejudice

Bedchamber with a young Mr. and Mrs. Bennett in four poster bed. Zoom in on bare breasts.
Mrs. Bennett: Yes, yes!
Fade Scene as above.
Mr. Bennett: Yes, yes!
Fade Scene as above.
Concerned bystander (stepping in front of camera): I don't think the book starts like this.
Director: Of course it doesn't. Get him out, someone. Okay, we've had Jane and Lizzy's conceptions, who's next?

*******

Shot of countryside. A group of young women walk across the landscape. Repeat.

*******
Grounds of Pemberly. Pond. Matthew McFadyen emerges wearing wet shirt.

**********

Upstairs, the Bennett's house. Jane dressing for the ball.
Jane: Does this make my butt look big?
Zoom in on her almost naked breasts.
Elizabeth enters carrying a large basket of out of season flowers. She smiles knowingly.

*******
Shot of countryside in rain. A group of young women walk across the landscape.

*******
Grounds of Pemberly. Pond. Colin Firth emerges wearing wet shirt.

*******

Bennett's garden. Unspecified number of young women run across the lawn.

*********

Grounds of Pemberly. Pond. Large male pig wallows.

********

Bedchamber. Bedchamber with Lydia and Wickham in four poster bed. Zoom in on bare breasts. Mr. Darcy enters. He glowers.

********

Grounds of Pemberly. Pond. Laurence Olivier emerges wearing wet shirt in black and white.

*******

Bedchamber with Lizzie and Mr. Darcy in four poster bed. Zoom in on bare breasts.

******

The Bennett sisters, topless, walk across a grassy meadow.
Director (stepping in front of camera): What the hell's this?

BBC Official: Regulations, gov. You haven't met the official BBC bare breasts quota.

Director: Oh, that's okay then. Action!

Let us know what silly things you've done today, and vote for Rules of Gentility in AAR's Annual Reader Poll --it's in the Favorite Funny category.

197th Anniversary of the Regency!

Happy birthday to the Regency! Just a day late as the Regency Act that gave its name to "our" period was passed on February 5, 1811.

I suppose no one at the time knew that the term "Regency" would come to represent not only a period in British history but would also give rise to a whole subgenre of romance. Or that it would become so synonymous with elegance and luxury. I wonder how many people realize how the term first came about as they patronize hotels, dry cleaners, florists, etc..., with the name? Probably not many. Doesn't anyone understand how difficult this makes it for me to google for useful information on the Regency???

Anyhow, I wasn't in much of a celebratory mood yesterday. The cold I've been fighting degenerated into some sort of wretched flu-like thing. I'm better now but I spent most of yesterday in bed. I didn't even watch the latest film I got from Netflix (SHARPE'S WATERLOO) as I wasn't feeling up to the carnage. Instead I immersed myself in comfort TV: What Not To Wear, How Do I Look? and an old Star Trek episode.

The only Regency thing I did was the Jane Austen Movie Club--but it is such fun (thanks again to Cara for hostessing) that it may be celebration enough.

Anyway, happy belated birthday to the Regency and thank you all for sharing your obsession with us!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB: Miss Austen Regrets

Welcome to another installment of the Jane Austen Movie Club, exclusively here at Risky Regencies! Here we meet to dissect, discuss, and generally over-analyze adaptations of Jane Austen's work...and more.

Today we have a first: that is, our first selection which isn't actually an Austen adaptation...but a story about Austen herself.

Yes, today we're discussing the 2008 BBC/WGBH television production MISS AUSTEN REGRETS, a fictionalized semi-biographical story about Jane Austen, and whether she ever regretted not marrying Mr. This or Mr. That.

The relevant credits, with "you also saw her in such-and-such" notes (in green), are:

DIRECTOR: Jeremy Lovering

SCREENPLAY: Gwyneth Hughes

CAST:

Olivia Williams -- Jane Austen

Olivia Williams played Jane Fairfax in the 1996 BBC version of Emma.

Greta Scacchi -- Cassandra Austen

Greta Scacchi played Mrs. Weston, also in the 1996 Emma.

Hugh Bonneville -- Rev. Brook Bridges

Hugh Bonneville played the Prince Regent in the recent Purefoy version of Brummell, and Mr. Rushworth in the 1999 movie of Mansfield Park.

Phyllida Law -- Mrs. Austen

Law is the third member of this cast to also appear in the 1996 Emma: she played Mrs. Bates. She also happens to be the mother of Emma Thompson, who scripted and starred in the 1995 Sense and Sensibility.

Adrian Edmondson -- Henry Austen

Jack Huston -- Doctor Charles Haden

Imogen Poots -- Fanny Austen-Knight

Samuel Roukin -- Harris Bigg

Pip Torrens -- Edward Austen-Knight

Pip Torrens played the Netherfield butler in the 2005 movie of Pride and Prejudice. (And Bingo Little in the Fry & Laurie Jeeves and Wooster.)

Tom Hiddleston -- Mr. John Plumptre

Jason Watkins -- Rev. Clarke

Sally Tatum -- Anna Lefroy

Sylvie Herbert -- Mme. Bigeon




(Here is Jane...and her very useful brother...)



So...what did you think?

All opinions welcome!

Cara
Cara King, whose cat would have appeared in the 1996 Emma except that he was busy conquering the world that day

Friends

Having Deb Marlowe (shown here at Wilton House) with us yesterday reminded me of our 2003 Regency Tour of England and made me think again about friends. I’ve said over and over that the real gift Romance Writing has given me is the gift of friendship from so many people all over the world, including the ladies who came with us on the trip..and everyone in our Risky Regencies community.

The gift keeps on giving.


When my children were small and I was finishing up my Masters in Social Work, I gave up sending Christmas cards and, as a result, I lost touch with my very dear college friends from Ohio University. In the last year or so, however, my college friends Eileen and Linda (here in our college dorm room) found me again because of the Romance Writing, because I'm on the web and was mentioned in our Alumni magazine. I even discovered that my friend Linda’s daughter lives not even five miles from me-close enough that I was able to have lunch with Linda, now living in Texas, when she visited her daughter.

This past week, however, takes the cake. I had a phone call from my old college boyfriend, Nigel (Yes, that's Nigel and me, back in the distant past). I haven’t heard from Nigel in a brazillion years. He phoned me from a distant overseas location, where he is doing the sort of important work he’d always wanted to do. Nigel had been in England a couple of years ago and had seen one of my books, and later another one when he’d been in the States. (Nigel, as you can guess by his name, was born in England, but grew up in the US)

I love it that my Romance writing has put me back in touch with old friends.

I just watched Miss Austen Regrets (Don’t forget. We discuss Miss Austen Regrets tomorrow on Cara’s blog), and it ended with her sister Cassandra basically saying that her sister Jane was her best friend. This got me thinking of other Regency friends.

My Regency heroes often have a close male friend, a friend for whom he will do anything. Brummell had Alvanley. Wellington was a good friend to Castlereagh. Earlier there is the strange friendship between Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and Elizabeth Foster, who became the Duke's mistress. Elizabeth's and Georgiana's children by the Duke all grew up together. And the friendship, as fellow writers, of Mary Robinson (The Prince Regent's 'Perdita') and Mary Wollstonecraft.

I wonder if the Patronesses of Almack's were friends....



Do you have any Romance Writing friendship stories to tell?

Can you think of any other Regency era friendships that I've forgotten?



Don't forget to join us tomorrow when the JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB discusses Miss Austen Regrets!

You writers among us, come join the discussion of CHARACTER all this month on the Wet Noodle Posse Blog . There are prizes.

Speaking of prizes, come visit my website and enter my contest. My friend Kathryn Caskie, whose How To Propose To A Prince is due out Feb 26, and I are each giving away signed copies of the books that started our series. From Kathy, it will be How to Seduce A Duke, and from me, The Mysterious Miss M.

And that is the end of the commercials and my blog!

Deb Marlowe Winner!

Congratulations, Maureen! You've won an autographed copy of Scandalous Lord, Rebellious Miss. Please send your snail mail address to riskies@yahoo.com.

The Riskies Welcome Deb Marlowe!

Watch for Deb's debut Regency-set novel, Scandalous Lord, Rebellious Miss on shelves now! Deb will also appear with Diane and Amanda in an as-yet unnamed anthology in 2009...

Hello, Deb! Tell us about your new book.

First, let me thank you Risky Ladies for having me here! Your books may be risky, but you have created a safe and welcoming corner of cyberspace for lovers of historical romance. You've built a lovely community here, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. Thank you!

Now, to answer your question...

Charles Alden, Viscount Dayle, is a rake who has already reformed. The days of his misspent youth ended with the deaths of his brother and father. He has worked hard in pursuit of a political career, but someone seems determined to hold his former life against him. He decides that the only way to live down the wickedness of his past is to secure the dullness of his future and take a properly respectable bride.

Miss Sophia Westby is not the sort of woman he had in mind. His childhood friend is as spirited and unconventional as ever. She's come to London determined to do something with her skills in design. Reunited with Charles after years of separation, she scorns his new demeanor and longs for the rake's return.



I know this is a debut book! What was your "path to publication" like?

A long and winding road? Hee hee! Truthfully, being a writer was always a dream, and I always knew if I had the chance, I would want to write Romance. Books and history were my youthful passions, but circumstances required a more practical career path. I reached a crossroads when my son was born with multiple health problems. Once we got him all straightened out and my younger child headed to preschool, all my family and friends expected me to go back to my career. All I wanted was to write! It was my chance to chase my dream. My husband was amazingly supportive, so that's when I really started to concentrate on my writing. I love Romance. I love the message that it sends out to the world. I couldn't be happier to be beginning a career as a historical romance novelist.

We couldn't be happier, either!

Were there any challenges you encountered in researching for this book? Any new or surprising historical information you discovered?

I don't know that it was new or surprising, but I did thoroughly enjoy learning about Regency design. Advancements in technology began to make interior decorating accessible to many different sorts of homeowners. And I thought it was so interesting to see the famous people and events of the time show up in furniture and decor.

Poor Charles is bedeviled by the press in this book, and made the topic of caricatures and broadsheets. I enjoyed learning about that aspect of the Regency, as well.



Did the Splendors of the Regency tour a few years ago (where Diane and Amanda first met Deb!) help you in any way?

In so many ways! Not the least of which was meeting Diane and Amanda. :) It was a little daunting to go alone on a trip like that, but nothing beats first-hand experience of the places we write about. Even better was experiencing it with a group who shares the same obsession. I will never forget the crowd of us, scribbling like mad in our notebooks and peppering the docents with question after detailed question. I think they adored us for being so interested!

Tell us what's "risky" about your book?

Hmmmm. I suppose that Sophie's interest in design could be considered Risky for a Regency miss. There will always be someone who might dispute that if something "didn't" happen it "wouldn't" happen. But I say they never met a determined force like Sophie!

I've also been told a time or two that you need to write a rake to sell a Regency. Having a hero determined NOT to give in to his old ways might be risky.

Totally off-topic, but tell us about your sons' fun Harry Potter appearances last year!

Oh, they were determined to go to the Harry Potter Party at the bookstore, celebrating the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! The oldest had been to one in the past, and the younger knew this was his last chance to get there. They dressed up, one was a Dementor and the other Harry, and we had a great time participating in all the festivities! They had live owl demonstrations, Magic Potions shows, fortune telling, the Sorting Hat, etc. They really liked the massive scroll everyone signed to thank JK Rowling for so many hours of reading pleasure. While we were there, a local magazine took our picture and we ended up in the publication. My youngest was especially pleased because he had been telling his elementary class that his mom was a famous author, and now he had his 15 minutes of fame!

Maybe new authors in the making???

What's next for you?

In March comes the UK release of my second book, An Improper Aristocrat. This one is a rollicking story with plenty of action and intrigue. A deathbed pledge brings the adventurous Earl of Treyford back to England. Instead of the aging spinster he expects to find, Chione Latimer is a beautiful half-Egyptian girl caught in chaotic circumstances. Before long, Trey finds himself where he never wished to be: stuck in parson's mousetrap, up to his armpits in eccentrics and in the midst of a villainous plot to recover an ancient Egyptian artifact.

Women in Politics

Forgive me if I start this post out on something totally Off Topic (as I often do!), but I had to share the link to these Pirates of the Caribbean dolls which someone sent me this week! They are so wonderfully funny and--weird. I'd like to at least have the Orlando doll to keep on my desk, but what I would really love is to have a whole set. Then I could act out scenes from the movie. Maybe the next time I have a few hundred dollars to spare...

And now onto the topic of the week!

For the last couple of weeks, I've been doing some volunteer work at a political campaign office, getting ready for the Super Tuesday primary on February 5. It's mostly answering phones, stuffing envelopes, handing out bumper stickers and yard signs--not hugely glamorous. But it's made me think about Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and her Whig friends in the 18th century. And about how political campaigns have--and haven't--changed in 200+ years.

"Ladies who interest themselves so much in the case of elections, are perhaps too ignorant to know that they meddle with what does not concern them" --The Morning Post, March 1784.



Georgiana first met Charles James Fox in 1777, when he visited Chatsworth. At 28, he was already marked out as the future leader of the Whigs. Until then his political career had veered between success and failure, and Georgiana spent her time flitting around, partying and racking up debts. But they both wanted, and were capable, of much more. They spent that visit discussing ideas. Fox instilled in Georgiana a devotion to the Whigs, who by the 1770s stood for opposition to the King, mistrust of powers of the crown, and vigilance over civil liberties.

"One day last week, her Grace the Duchess of Devonshire appeared on the hustings at Covent Garden. She immediately saluted her favorite candidate, the Hon. Charles James Fox" --The Morning Post, September 25, 1780

Georgiana began following the debates in Parliament and perfecting her skills as a political hostess. She became the leader of an elite group of political females that included her sister Harriet Ponsonby, the Duchess of Portland, Lady Jersey, Lady Carlisle, Mrs. Bouverie, and the Waldegraves, yet none ever outshown her, or came in for the extent of criticism she did.



In 1780, Richard Brinsley Sheridan (playwright, politician, and lover of Georgiana's sister Harriet) asked for Georgiana's help. She arranged for him to stand in the Spencer-dominated borough of Stafford (he was elected, natch). A week later, on Sept. 25, Fox asked her to accompany him as he contested the borough of Westminster. In this case, she only stood on the platform for a few minutes, but the press was Shocked.

"The Duchess of Devonshire's attendance at Covent Garden, perhaps, will not secure Mr. Fox's election; but it will at least establish her pre-eminence above all other beauties of that place, and make her a standing toast in all the ale-houses and gin-shops of Westminster" --Morning Post, April 8, 1784

In 1782, the Whigs came to power with Fox as Foreign Secretary. Under Parliamentary rules, MPs selected for office had to re-offer themselves to their constituents, and Fox again asked Georgiana to help him out. He wanted her to lead a women's delegation, and on April 3 she performed her first official duty for the party. She and the other ladies, wearing Whig colors of buff and blue, spoke under large banners reading 'Freedom and Independence' and 'The Man of the People.' She was a sensation. Fans bearing her portrait sold in the hundreds.


Her involvement in politics only grew after the birth of her first child (Little G) in 1784. The Duc de Chartres and his French delegation treated her as their official hostess; her influence with the Prince of Wales was well-known. But also in 1784, the Whigs were low in public opinion as they formed a Coalition against Prime Minister Pitt and the King. In March, Pitt called a general election, setting off a storm of campaigning.

On March 17, Georgiana appeared at the opera, to much cheering--and booing and hissing. The Duchess of Rutland, a Tory hostess, stood up in her box and shouted, "Damn Fox!" In reply, Lady Maria Waldegrave leaped up and retorted, "Damn Pitt!" This must have been highly entertaining! The most noise I've ever heard at the opera was once when the guy sitting behind me fell asleep and started snoring.

"The Duchess made no scruple of visiting some of the humblest of electors, dazzling and enchanting them by the fascination of her manner, the power of her beauty, and the influence of her high rank" --Horace Walpole


But Georgiana also suffered threats and abuse as she went about her campaigning. By the end of her first week, she was exhausted and hoarse, with blistered feet. Fox was still behind in the polls. Georgiana wrote to her mother Lady Spencer, "I gave the Election quite up, and must lament all that has happened." The Pittite papers, like the Morning Herald, reported that she exchanged kisses for votes, and scurrilous cartoons appeared. (She sent deputies out to buy up the most offensive of them as soon as they appeared!). Fox did eventually score a victory, and Carlton House saw nights of celebratory balls and dinners.

Until the next election...

Have you ever done any work in politics? And where can I get one of those blue suits Keira Knightley has on in the film still? I LOVE that costume!

My Heroines Are Sluts!

In the past week, I've been revising my latest manuscript. And come to the awful conclusion: My heroine is easy.

Anytime the hero gets all arrogantly green-eyed on her, she melts into a puddle. Not good if the whole point of the story is to draw out the dramatic tension--will they or won't they? If THIS heroine is involved, they will.

Sigh.

I'm not going to change the story, since my heroine is who she is, but I have to wonder if she is heroic, given how susceptible to Mr. Green Eyes she is. She has other qualities, to be sure, but the fact remains that she likes to suck face with the hero.

In reviewing my other manuscripts, the heroines vary in personality, of course, but they do have that one quality in common. Hm. I think it's because I abhor the 'I secretly love it, but I'll protest to show how ladylike I am' heroine. If you like what he's doing, make sure he knows it, is my writing theory. Plus I picture my hero looking like this:



How can she resist?!?

Of course, then someone might label her a slut. Like I just did.

What do you think about this kind of heroine?