Risky Regencies

Can't think of the titles of many, but more an...

2012-05-26T22:38:14.034-07:00

Can't think of the titles of many, but more and more social issues are showing up in the books I read. Authors have addressed abusive relationships in both historical and contemporary romances. One of the first romances I ever read was Julie Garwood's SAVING GRACE which deals with a woman who has had an abusive husband.

Rachel Lee has written LOST WARRIORS which does an excellent job of showing how difficult it is for some veterans to ever fit back into society and what PTSD can do to them. A Soldier's Heart by Kathleen Korbel also deals with PTSD and how veterans try to deal with it. Both books give a view not often seen of the problem. Very real and even though they deal with Vietnam veterans, the core truth extends to current returning soldiers. If people don't understand what they are going through, it will be even harder for them to fit back into life as they knew it.

What an interesting short history of Dartmoor Pris...

2012-05-26T22:08:52.399-07:00

What an interesting short history of Dartmoor Prison. The massacre sounds like a terribly unnecessary act and waste of human life. I will have to find out more about this area and the prison.

Thanks for the heads up about Sabrina Jeffries NEVER SEDUCE A SCOUNDREl, helenajust. It is always interesting to see how another author uses historical information.

I am late getting to it, but thanks for a most int...

2012-05-26T21:53:09.005-07:00

I am late getting to it, but thanks for a most interesting post.
As you said, people are people and have pretty much been the same almost forever. No matter where you go around the world, you will find that people are basically no different than those we know at home. The cultural trappings and historical trappings may be different but the heart and soul are the same.

I quite honestly didn't know all of this about...

2012-05-25T19:50:34.596-07:00

I quite honestly didn't know all of this about the Dartmoor prison massacre. Your post is a wealth of information and food for thought all at once. Dartmoor is, however, an ideal place for a prison with that sort of dark and formidable landscape.

I'm enjoying the book a lot, Helenajust, I sus...

2012-05-25T13:55:41.073-07:00

I'm enjoying the book a lot, Helenajust, I suspect you will, too.

And yes, Eleana! Lots of resonance.

Thank you for alerting me to the fact that this bo...

2012-05-25T02:49:37.924-07:00

Thank you for alerting me to the fact that this book has been published. I've read some of the post on the blog (which you linked using the author's name, and which is a treasure-trove for those interested in the period) but had managed to miss the publication! Now ordered and eagerly awaited...

I found out about French PoWs in Dartmoor prison, ...

2012-05-25T02:37:58.678-07:00

I found out about French PoWs in Dartmoor prison, and the massacre, by reading Never Seduce a Scoundrel by Sabrina Jeffries. It's an excellent historical romance, a well as being very accurate (so far as I can judge from memory and by comparing it with your post).

Every time I read diaries or letters of the time I...

2012-05-24T18:34:52.328-07:00

Every time I read diaries or letters of the time I find bits that ring true of people I know today...or myself.

No kidding! I found that passage to be really powe...

2012-05-24T07:54:25.668-07:00

No kidding! I found that passage to be really powerful.

How True. "The more things change, the more t...

2012-05-24T06:51:20.216-07:00

How True. "The more things change, the more they remain the same." - by Karr, Alphonse.

When I was a horse-mad little girl I wanted to be ...

2012-05-23T04:14:17.041-07:00

When I was a horse-mad little girl I wanted to be like Princess Anne.

Favourite queen in history for me would be Queen V...

2012-05-22T14:18:09.925-07:00

Favourite queen in history for me would be Queen Victoria. Favourite Princess of more modern times would be Princess Diana

The few times I've tried gambling I was rather...

2012-05-22T04:01:15.301-07:00

The few times I've tried gambling I was rather bored by it, so I haven't felt drawn to do the research it would take to write about it. But the setting and the motivations are intriguing. I liked Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer and Cara King's My Lady Gamester.

Artemis, I love the French and Latin, too!! Louis...

2012-05-21T20:59:36.580-07:00

Artemis, I love the French and Latin, too!!

Louisa, I am intrigued by gambling houses, too, obviously, since I am returning to Madame Bisou's yet again.

Janet, I remember the story. The heroine was raised in a nunnery in England, from which she ran away (I forget why). The nun who had been her main caregiver went out after her. And the villain (or was it the hero) somehow took secret photographs in a gaming hell at night.

I found this one A Touch of Merry http://www.amazon.com/dp/0821751751/dianeperkins-20 but I'm not sure if that is the right one.

I loved the faro house (?I think) in A Little Foll...

2012-05-21T19:05:15.250-07:00

I loved the faro house (?I think) in A Little Folly by Jude Morgan. Diane, we must find the title of the Regency with photography--I want to read it!

I LOVE The Wagering Widow and stories set in gambl...

2012-05-21T17:25:22.878-07:00

I LOVE The Wagering Widow and stories set in gambling hells are always intriguing. There is something about gambling that brings out characters' true selves - the desperation, the bravado, the courage and everything in between.

Yes, I do like reading about the gaming hells in R...

2012-05-21T14:02:23.628-07:00

Yes, I do like reading about the gaming hells in Regency. If I do run across any Latin or French, it just gives me more to learn. Love those rakes!

What a compliment to me, Beth! I think that is the...

2012-05-21T12:54:34.902-07:00

What a compliment to me, Beth! I think that is the first time someone used my book as a research source. I assure you, I did my best to make it accurate!

I enjoyed The Wagering Widow, Diane - and used it ...

2012-05-21T12:48:09.466-07:00

I enjoyed The Wagering Widow, Diane - and used it as research for a gaming scene [very brief] in one of my stories. I need to do more research on Regency era gambling. I also enjoyed the gambling scene [set rather earlier] in Georgette Heyer's Devil's Cub.

Thanks for the Frolic thoughts, guys! I wrote the ...

2012-05-21T05:48:50.414-07:00

Thanks for the Frolic thoughts, guys! I wrote the scene over the weekend, but didn't have Frolic inspiration--I'm going to go back and figure out a theme and work it in somehow. I do have a sword swallower, but not in the way Janet might mean.

I like the new website. Very clean and professiona...

2012-05-20T09:06:36.090-07:00

I like the new website. Very clean and professional looking. And I think the pic is very authorish with just the right hint of mischief in your eyes.

We do have a dragon boat race event on the river every year. People make boats of every substance imaginable and attempt to race them down the river, sometimes with great results, sometimes with disastrous results and sometimes with hysterical results.

You mean something like the Gloucestershire Cheese...

2012-05-19T21:56:37.702-07:00

You mean something like the Gloucestershire Cheese Roll? You also might be able to do something with a Jack-of-the-Wood/Green Man celebration, if it's the right time of year. (Undercurrent of fertility festival to that one too.)

I like the new site, nice and clean. The pic's ok! I like the arched brow. You may have to break down and put up a smiley one tho.

Your picture isn't ghastly. You look serious ...

2012-05-19T21:49:40.154-07:00

Your picture isn't ghastly. You look serious and writerly (not a word, I know, but I don't think authorish is either)(Surprise, I looked it up and writerly is a word and means just what I wanted it to.) The site looks nice. Not cluttered, kind of crisp.

Does this frolic have evil intent or is it for fun? Same things could happen. Unmarried people are paired up and participate in competitions. The winning couple chosen by the judges get whisked off to a cottage (by the sea, in the countryside, whatever) for a romantic night. Or if evil intent is afoot, the judges select one couple to kidnap and sacrifice (sell into slavery or whatever) for the villages prosperity.

As you said, many of the perfect women are either ...

2012-05-19T21:31:39.550-07:00

As you said, many of the perfect women are either not happy or not very nice (or both). It is a lot of work to be perfect and you would have to have a very good reason for wanting to be that way.

I like the idea of the evil governess whether she is competing against the beautiful and nice heroine or just causing trouble.

Many, many years ago their was a woman we knew who was always perfectly turned out - hair, makeup, and clothes. You would figure she would have to have some "down time" but none of us ever saw it. Even when someone stopped by really early (we are talking 6 am or so) to pick up her husband for an early assignment, she would answer the door hair done, perfectly dressed, and her makeup complete down to eyeliner. She didn't have a job to go to. She was a stay at home mom with young children. I don't think I would bother with eye makeup to clean the bathrooms and make mud pies with my little ones. It was obviously the way she felt most comfortable and was happy. I don't think she was doing it to impress anyone, but she certainly did. None of us could figure out how she managed it.

Nice website, Megan, very clear and clean. And tha...

2012-05-19T20:00:20.875-07:00

Nice website, Megan, very clear and clean. And that pic isn't too bad! A Frolic ... maybe they go around hitting each other with giant phallic marrows altho you could probably kill someone that way.