With Halloween approaching, I thought it would be fun to talk about ghosts. And not just any ghosts, but the ghosts that haunt Britain’s historic theaters.
These old theaters are rife with ghosts and psychic phenomena. Curiously, a lot of those ghosts are known individually as the Grey Lady, though they each have a different origin story.
There are reports of Grey Lady ghosts in the Theatre Royal York, the Theatre Royal Brighton, and the Theatre Royal Bath, to name just a few.
For this post, I’ll concentrate on the Theatre Royal Bath, which is arguably the most haunted theater in Britain. That distinction may be well deserved. From what I can tell, the whole place is crawling with ghosts and poltergeists.
A Sweet-Smelling Spook
The Theatre Royal Bath’s Grey Lady smells of jasmine and appears in 18th century gowns, her hair adorned with feathers. The story goes that she committed suicide, though there are three different accounts as to why.
In one account she killed herself after her lover died in a duel. Another story has it that she was in love with an actor, and she would sit in one of the top boxes to watch him perform. When he didn’t return her love, she killed herself.
The third version also involves unrequited love between an actor and a theatergoer, except the lady was the actor and it was the theatergoer who spurned her.
Consistent in all three accounts is the Grey Lady’s suicide. In most versions the lady hanged herself behind a door. However, at least one variation has the lady jumping to her death from a high window.
The Grey Lady manifests itself as a smoky apparition, either solid or wispy, and is sometimes seen in the corridor of the theater’s dress circle. However, the ghost’s usual haunt is the top left box, facing the stage. It doesn’t seem to bother anybody, but people who have seen the Grey Lady say the apparition has a melancholy air, making its viewers feel depressed and miserable, as if she transferred her despair to them.
A Pub Poltergeist
That’s not all the spooky stuff going on in the Theatre Royal. There’s the Phantom Doorman lurking by the entrance, believed to be the ghost of a man who once worked at the theater. Only cast members have seen him.
The Garrick’s Head pub
And the Garrick’s Head public house, adjacent to the theater, has its share of strange phenomena, too.
The Garrick’s Head bears the name of famed 18th century actor David Garrick. The pub is in the building that was once the grand home of Richard “Beau” Nash, a famous dandy in Georgian England.
Nash is best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies and undisputed social leader of Bath when the spa town was a fashionable destination in the 18th century.
Like the Theatre Royal, the pub is also apparently haunted by the Grey Lady. There are reports of other paranormal activity in the pub as well.
Every year a blood stain mysteriously appears in the exact same spot on the pub’s floor. And once, in the 1990s, a cash register was reportedly hurled several feet across the bar by an unseen force.
An Airborne Apparition
Before we leave the topic of theater ghosts, a unique specter relatively new to the Theatre Royal deserves to be mentioned.
In 1948, a dead tortoiseshell butterfly was found on stage while the company was preparing to mount a children’s pantomime. Shortly after the deceased insect was discovered, the show’s manager and producer, Reg Maddox, dropped dead of a heart attack on stage while lighting a scene.
You might think there would be a scary ghost story to follow. However, people believe Maddox haunts the theater in the form of a benevolent butterfly, which is not very terrifying.
Seeing the winged insect fluttering in the rafters before a pantomime means the performance will be a hit. In addition, tortoiseshell butterflies seem to show up out of nowhere, to greet visiting stars or encourage performers.
In fact, every time Reg the butterfly ghost makes an appearance, he is greeted with affection.
Isaac Cruikshank, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
But much mocked
British Cartoon Prints Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
And even opposed by the respectable and upright
A veterinary surgeon and a blacksmith attacking dandies on bicycles; representing the anti-bicycle movement. Coloured etching by C. Williams, 1819. 1819 By: Charles WilliamsPublished: 1819 Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Credit: Wellcome Library, London.
Step aside, Hammersmith Ghost. There were other specters who spooked Regency imaginations and inspired the popular press. Here are a few noteworthy examples:
Queen Elizabeth I
Here’s a phantom that must have haunted Napoleon’s nightmares in the early years of the 19th century while he was planning to invade England.
In this 1803 print published by William Holland, the soon-to-be Emperor of France recoils against the ghost of Queen Elizabeth I, who reminds him of Spain’s failed attempt during her reign to invade England. Napoleon’s planned attempt at a British invasion will be defeated, she appears to tell him, just as surely as she defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.
He must have paid heed, because by 1805 he’d abandoned his plans and decided to pursue other military goals. (Of course, Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar might have had something to do with Napoleon’s change of heart, as well.)
Admiral Byng
This 1808 hand-colored etching by Isaac Cruikshank features the ghost of Admiral Byng, a Royal Navy officer who was court-martialed for failing to “do his utmost” to relieve a British garrison during the Battle of Minorca in 1756 at the start of the Seven Year’s War. There were extenuating circumstances influencing Byng’s actions, but they didn’t matter under the harsh provisions of the Articles of War.
Byng’s trial and the death sentence that followed were seen as highly political and generated a lot of controversy. A plea for clemency and an appeal to King George II was denied. In what was considered by some to be “the worst legalistic crime in the nation’s annals,” Byng was executed by a firing squad in 1757.
Repercussions (including guilt and a sense of injustice) from Byng’s trial and execution lingered for decades. No wonder the army officer (General Whitelocke) in the cartoon is terrified by the Admiral’s ghost!
Byng was the last officer of his rank to be put to death for this type of crime. In fact, 22 years after Byng’s death, the Articles of War were amended to allow alternatives to capital punishment in situations such as Byng faced.
And now for a more light-hearted haunting:
Tom Tack’s Ghost
Tom Tack’s Ghost was a popular sea shanty; both Isaac Cruikshank and Thomas Rowlandson published prints illustrating it in 1808. (Rowlandson’s version is pictured above.)
The song tells the story of two sailors who were both in love with the same woman, “Polly from Spithead.” When one of the love-struck sailors discovered Polly was also being courted by fellow shipmate Tom Tack, he shot his rival.
However Tom, who “com’d from Boney-Ayrs,” wasn’t dead. He revived enough to put on a white sheet and pretend to be a ghost, to torment the sailor that shot him.
But that sailor wasn’t about to be intimidated by a ghost. He threatened to tie “ghost” Tom up with ropes, before figuring out that he hadn’t killed his romantic rival after all.
It just bears out my theory that the most troublesome ghosts are the ones who are still alive!
~~
*If you are interested in all eight verses of Tom Tack’s Ghost, you can find them here.
The Hammersmith Ghost, as pictured in Kirby’s Wonderful and Scientific Museum, published in 1804
Will you be dressing up this Halloween? If you love the simple elegance of a white ghost costume, you may want to hear about a Regency “ghost” who met an untimely and undeserved end.
In late 1803 the residents of Hammersmith (which is now a part of Greater London but was then a small village about five miles west of the city) were in a panic. A number of the villagers claimed that they had seen a ghost. A few went so far as to say the ghost attacked them.
Many believed that the ghost in question was the spirit of a man who had killed himself the year before. This man was buried in the churchyard at Hammersmith, which was actually against church law and the prevailing beliefs of the time.
Since suicide was considered a grave sin against God, people who died by suicide were not supposed to be buried in consecrated ground. (Instead they were often buried at a crossroads outside of town.) It was believed that the soul of a suicide victim who was buried in consecrated ground would be unable to find eternal rest, and would wander the earth.
Alley in front of The Dove pub in modern-day Hammersmith, one of the few remnants of Hammersmith Village that’s survived the centuries.
And that’s why the people of Hammersmith were convinced they now had a ghost on their hands, and a vicious one at that.
Villagers reported seeing a ghost in the churchyard, and even being grabbed by the specter. So nightly patrols began, with armed men searching for a ghost.
And eventually one of the men found what he was hunting for. On the night of January 3, 1804, a 29-year-old excise officer named Francis Smith fired his blunderbuss and killed the “ghost,” who turned out to be Thomas Millwood, a local plasterer who was on his way home from work.
When he was shot, the unfortunate Thomas was wearing his work clothes, common to all in his trade, which included white linen trousers (freshly washed and very clean), a new white flannel waistcoat, and a white apron tied around his body.
In addition, he was coated with white plaster dust after working all day. In other words, he was dressed like a ghost, which may not have been the smartest move on his part given the hysteria in the village.
Millwood lived in the home of Mrs. Fulbrooke, who testified at the subsequent trial that she had warned him not to go out in his work clothes, or at least cover them with a coat. Apparently Thomas had scared others in the village during the ghost frenzy. But Thomas didn’t listen to her.
On one occasion, Thomas frightened some ladies who saw him from their carriage as he was walking along a terrace. The gentleman who was riding with the ladies said something like “there goes the ghost,” which Thomas didn’t appreciate.
According to Mrs. Fulbrooke’s account, Thomas answered with “a rude word” (we can only imagine what it was) saying he was no more a ghost than the gentleman was and offered to punch him in the head. Too bad Thomas didn’t learn anything from this encounter.
Because he killed an unarmed man, Francis Smith was charged with willful murder. But Smith pleaded self-defense. He claimed that he’d called out “stop or I’ll shoot,” and the ghost proved he was an apparition by not stopping. (Why Smith, or anyone for that matter, thought you could stop a ghost with bullets wasn’t addressed.)
However, Millwood’s sister testified that Smith more or less fired his gun as he was saying “stop or I’ll shoot” not allowing his victim any time to consider his next move.
For the judicial system, this turned out to be a landmark case, hinging on the court’s determination of what constitutes self-defense. Could Smith get off the hook because he believed he was defending himself against a ghost, even though the ghost turned out to be a man?
It actually took the courts 180 years to grapple with the legal issue of how to treat someone who commits a crime based on a mistaken belief.
Lord Chief Baron Sir Archibald Macdonald, chief judge in the trial of Francis Smith
The jury was reluctant to convict Smith. They decided on a verdict of manslaughter, a lesser charge than murder. But the chief judge returned the verdict, telling the jury they had to look at the facts and either convict Smith of murder or acquit him, regardless of whether Smith thought he was shooting a ghost.
So the jurors convicted him.
Smith was sentenced to hang for his crime, with his body to be dissected later (a common practice on executed criminals). But the judge reported the case to the king, (George III) who had the power to commute the sentence. Smith ended up doing a year of hard labor for his crime.
And Thomas Millwood? Ironically, he may have become a real ghost. He is said to haunt the Black Lion pub in Hammersmith, where his body was taken after he was shot.
A final note about this strange case: the furor caused by the trial prompted an old man with a guilty conscience to step forward. The village shoemaker confessed that prior to the shooting he’d taken to donning a white sheet and lurking in the churchyard, pretending to be a ghost to frighten his apprentice.
Apparently the apprentice had been scaring the old man’s children with ghost stories, so the shoemaker decided to teach him a lesson. No doubt the shoemaker’s prank ignited the ghost mania in the village and ultimately cost poor Thomas his life.
The moral of this story, if there is one, is not to be too quick to react violently if you think you see a ghost this Halloween. And if there are any vigilantes in your area gunning for a ghost, you might want to consider a different costume!
~ ~ ~
For additional information see:
“The case of the murdered ghost,” BBC News, January 3, 2004
“The Case of a Ghost Haunted England for Over Two Hundred Years,” by Kelly Buchanan, Library of Congress Blogs, October 30, 2015
“The Hammersmith Ghosts“, pp 65-79, by R.S. Kirby, in Kirby’s Wonderful and Scientific Museum, 1804
On the 1st of each month, Regency Fiction Writers publishes our FREE online newsletter, The Regency Reader, to anyone interested in Regency Fiction (1780-1840). The publication features author interviews, tidbits about the Regency era, and a listing of new titles from members and non-members. Members’ releases also appear here on the blog. Submit your September Regency-set Fiction Release or Regency Author Article by October 24th, to appear in the October issue. Information submitted after October 24th will appear in the November issue. (Subscribe now!)
For more information about an author, click on the author’s name, website, or show/hide the blurb for the book.
Harriet Truchard’s parents are the black sheep of the Ton. Exiled for her father’s notorious duels and cheating, they are back in London, and they have plans for their brilliant daughter.
She can either use her talent with cards to win them a fortune, or she can marry a man of their choosing. Which is out of the question since their choice is nothing but a well-dressed thug.
Until a chance encounter with Viscount Beaufort gives her the chance to escape…
Left with a crippling debt by his late father, Leo Astley, Lord Beaufort opened London’s most elegant gambling house in a desperate effort to keep a roof over their heads. He’s willing to flirt with scandal to save his family, but after a run of strange losses leaves the bank stripped of funds and threatens everything, he needs expert help, and fast.
As they join forces to hunt down the cheats threatening all he holds dear and try to avoid the repercussions of Harriet’s past, Leo and Harriet start to learn that admitting to the spark between them might be the biggest risk of all. Because what’s at stake are their hearts….
Beautiful Jane Bennet, dutiful daughter, and devoted sister, has finally found a man she might wish to marry. Charles Bingley, handsome, amiable, and scattered, fell hard for Jane. Jane’s mother, a tough woman at best, has decreed that Jane must marry one of two men, neither of whom is Mr Bingley.
Jane must decide whether she will obey her mother’s command or face an unknown future. Bingley, unsteady and irresolute, and burdened with a controlling sister must take charge of his life and become the man Jane deserves. Will Bingley persevere, break from his sister’s control and find Jane?
This 90K word novel follows the story of Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley, with Elizabeth and Darcy in supporting roles. “A Most Iniquitous Affair”
Can the festive ball of the Season bring these couples together in time for the holidays? A collection of Regency romances with star-crossed lovers, fast-paced plots and timeless connections …
Cuddling under mistletoe, fine lace, snowy linen, and true love to be found in the flickering light of a hundred gas lamps. Pearler House is bedecked for the holidays and everyone is attending the event of a lifetime. Experience the joy of the season with six all-new tales of passion. Some are sweet, some are spicy, all will capture your heart.
Responding to an urgent plea from a troubled family friend, the Earl of Wrexford journeys to Oxford only to find the reclusive university librarian has been murdered and a rare manuscript has gone missing. The only clue is that someone overheard an argument in which Wrexford’s name was mentioned.
At the same time, Charlotte—working under her pen name, A. J. Quill—must determine whether a laboratory fire was arson and if it’s connected to the race between competing consortiums to build a new type of ship—one that can cross the ocean powered by steam rather than sails—with the potential to revolutionize military power and world commerce. That the race involves new innovations in finance and entrepreneurship only adds to the high stakes—especially as their good friend Kit Sheffield may be an investor in one of the competitors.
As they delve deeper into the baffling clues, Wrexford and Charlotte begin to realize that things are not what they seem. An evil conspiracy is lurking in the shadows and threatens all they hold dear—unless they can tie the loose threads together before it’s too late . . .
The Duchess of Drury Lane
Series: The Scandals and Scoundrels of Drury Lane
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Janna MacGregor
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/26/2023
Author Website: https://www.jannamacgregor.com
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She plays a part in society. He’s convinced she’s been miscast.
Raised to be a future duchess, Celeste Worsley must marry the duke her grandfather chooses for her. That means staying away from Malcolm Hollandale, one of the infamous self-made Millionaires of Mayfair. The only problem? He’s irresistible, completely unacceptable to her family, and she’s been in love with him since the first time she saw him.
On his hands and knees and covered in his newest attempt to varnish the Drury Lane stage, chemist Malcolm Hollandale tries to ignore the enticing woman everyone calls The Duchess. Celeste is everything he can’t have, but when she needs his help to right a wrong, he can’t refuse her or her plush red lips. A stolen moment leads to a forbidden love that neither can walk away from, but fate has other ideas. Yet, Malcom can’t stop thinking that perhaps this bold, passionate woman might be the perfect formula for achieving all his dreams.
Courting the Earl
Series: Landing a Lord
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Suzanna Medeiros
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/28/2023
Author Website: https://www.suzannamedeiros.com/
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Eleanor Pearson is distressed by the forbidden attraction she feels for her cousin’s betrothed. But she vows to ignore her fascination with the attractive earl and do whatever she can to ensure her cousin’s marriage takes place.
The Earl of Hargrove has no intention of marrying anytime soon. He sets out on a mission of his own to end the surprise arrangement his father revealed to him only on his deathbed.
It doesn’t take him long to realize that Eleanor could be the key to convincing the younger woman to end the betrothal. But his attraction to her threatens his determination to remain a bachelor.
COURTING THE EARL is book 8 in the Landing a Lord series.
The Baker and the Bookmaker
Series: Most Imprudent Matches
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Busy Nothings Books
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild)
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 10/03/2023
Author Website: https://www.Allyhudson.com
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The moment Augustus “Augie” Ainsley met Anna Hudson at four years old, he was lost to her sunset curls and flour-dusted nose. But why would Anna want a future footman when she could have the son of a viscount?
To win her affections, Augie needs to make her bakery dream a reality, but that will take a fortune he doesn’t possess. When life takes a turn, Augie follows his friend to the city, and the glittering distractions of London cause him to lose sight of what is most important. Then fate brings him crashing back into Anna’s life, and he’s devastated to learn that his ambitions may have cost him the woman he loves.
Anna is unwilling to abandon her life of contentment for an inconstant suitor. Desperate to convince her that he is the man she needs, Augie resolves to prove she can depend on him. He must find a way to balance his unending work with his undying love or risk losing Anna forever.
The Baker and the Bookmaker is a heartwarming coming-of-age novella by Ally Hudson. If you enjoy Regency romances about friends who become lovers, you will relish this tender and charming story of friendship, first love, and raspberry tarts.
The beautiful and perfect widow Lady Reddener lives an admirable life. With an estate in the country, a house in town, and a considerable fortune, the former Miss Cassandra Hales has no need for a husband to complicate her days. Why does she need a man? She has her mama and sisters, as well as her best friend and neighbour, Marcus Brand, Lord Broadmead. One and all proclaim Cassie the very picture of serenity.
However, Cecilia, Lady Hoxley, matches Cassie’s vibrant and argumentative sister Miss Alexandra “Lexie” Hales with Cecilia’s own brother, the gentle yet charming Mr. Reeve Charington. Thus, Cassie finds herself in the position of chaperon while they court. What is she to do when their constant interactions draw her towards Reeve’s allurement?
Meanwhile, Lexie wishes for a husband who will challenge her in debate, and Mr. Charington seeks harmony. A problem indeed!
When Marcus and Reeve go missing, Cassie’s calm world collapses, and she’s faced with her true passion for Reeve. But could it be too late?
If Reeve and Marcus are found, Cassie must discover whether Reeve shares her admiration. Can Cassie allow herself love when she has sworn herself to a life without a man? What will Cecilia say if another of her matches goes awry?
Book Two of the Cecilia’s Mismatches series is a stand-alone novel.
One Thing Led to Another
Series: Singular Sensation #6
Genre: Regency Romance Suspense
Publisher: New Independence Books (indie label)
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 10/11/2023
Author Website: https://www.sandrasookoo.com
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Digging for the truth requires a person to dirty their hands, but it might also set them free.
Graham Islington—Viscount Aldren—is no stranger to life’s foibles. After being given his title from the Regent for heroic services to the Crown during the war, he’s used his retirement from the military as an excuse to find scandal and sin in the beau monde. But when a rare bejeweled parasol handle once belonging to Louis XVI is discovered in his bed—along with the dead body of a courtesan—he regrets his careless lifestyle.
Lady Caroline Marlowe—sister to the duke of Lockwood—just turned nine and twenty. She suffers from boredom and is sick to death of London, as well as her brother’s rules, and needs excitement to relieve ennui. Everything changes when the man she’s harbored a secret tendre for shows up at her house in the middle of an autumn night trailing gossip, bloodied hands, and quite possibly murder. He demands her brother’s assistance, but with the duke busy with his new life, the responsibility lies with her.
As the two are thrown into a sticky web of revenge, forced proximity leads to forbidden desire between the viscount and Caroline. With reputations at stake, society matrons cutting them to ribbons with gossip, and trouble nipping at their heels, they will need to prove their mettle, especially when the madman grows desperate enough to put Graham’s life into jeopardy. If she wants a romance for the ages, Caroline will have to ignore familial expectations as well as her own doubts and risk everything for that chance… providing they both survive.
Training the Duke
Series: Suddenly a Duke
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 10/12/2023
Author Website: https://alexaaston.com
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An army officer who has returned to his childhood home. An earl’s daughter forced to earn her own living. Two damaged souls who find friendship . . . and love . . .
Lieutenant-General Cyrus Cressley’s head wound leaves him blind in one eye and unsuited to lead men into battle. Selling his commission, Cy returns to Melrose to find his father long dead and his distant brother, who is in poor health, the new Duke of Margate. Cy is given use of the hunting lodge on the estate, where he seeks to find his purpose in life after being forced from the military.
Lady Finola Honeyfield’s come-out was ruined when a cruel trick was played upon her, leaving her to trust no one but her dogs. She retreats to the country and becomes one of England’s premier trainers of English springer spaniels, having found a way to earn her keep, even as she is lost in loneliness.
Thanks to her Honeyfield spaniels, Finola has a chance meeting with Cy. Soon, a friendship springs up between them, with Cy even helping Finola train her current litter of pups. But these two keep secrets from one another and when Cy suddenly finds himself the Duke of Margate, Finola washes her hands of him.
Can Cy convince Finola they are meant to be together and forge a path as the Duke and Duchess of Margate—or will her mistrust of gentlemen of the ton keep them apart forever?
Authors: Cora Lee
Ann Chaney
Shannon Donnelly
Courtney McCaskill
Charlotte Russell
Regina Scott My Fair Regency: Tales From Holidays Throughout The Year
Series:
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: More Than Words Press
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild)
Format: eBook
Release Date: 10/12/2023
Author Website: https://coraleeauthor.com
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Celebrate Regency romance all year long with this collection of short stories set during holidays and festivals throughout the four seasons! Fans of sweet romance will enjoy stories set from May Day all the way to Twelfth Night, featuring some of your favorite tropes—enemies-to-lovers, second-chance romance, forbidden love, friends-to-lovers, and more!
It’s In Her Kiss
Series: Northfield Hall Novellas
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Katherine Grant
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild)
Format: eNovella
Release Date: 10/12/2023
Author Website: https://www.katherinegrantromance.com/its-in-her-kiss/
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No good deed goes unkissed…
Spencer Chow’s life at Northfield Hall is simple. He lives with his family, works at the Northfield Hall carpentry shop, and eats delicious meals at the dining hall. Until one day, he stumbles across a sobbing newcomer Harriet Hill – and changes the course of his life with one good deed.
Harriet Hill is determined to make her new life at Northfield Hall work. When Spencer Chow helps her find a new position – instead of turning her out on the street – Harriet decides to return the favor. Even if the only thing she has to offer the inscrutable Mr. Chow are kissing lessons.
With secrets from her past threatening to emerge, Harriet and Spencer are both surprised by how a simple attraction can grow into complicated feelings.
Enjoy this one-hour read from award-winning author Katherine Grant!
Bookish Lord Whitcombe makes a bold request of ‘The Insatiable Lady’
Lord Daedalus Whitcombe, owner of the most wicked bookshop in London, has been named a scandal and a disgrace by most of good society. A title he revels in as it sells more books and annoys the very devil out of his haughty brother, the duke. His brother’s efforts to close the bookshop become secondary to Lord Whitcombe’s fascination with the shop’s new, in-demand book, A Feast of Fantasies, by The Insatiable Lady. His quest to discover the author’s identity becomes an obsession, for he has a singular request to make of the lady.
Miss Perriton never expected a bookseller to look like Lord Whitcombe
Miss Cordelia Perriton, the very pattern-card of a genteel young lady, has a reputation for her charitable works. Her endeavors on behalf of the fallen women of Seven Dials are lauded, though a bit daring for an unmarried woman of good family. If only society knew she’s The Insatiable Lady, and those fallen women are providing the erotic tales in her sensational book. She means to use the sales to gain financial independence and to establish a home for women who wish to retire from the streets of Seven Dials.
When Lord Whitcombe demands Cordelia submit her next book in person, her irritation moves to fury. The man she’d pictured as an elderly bookish type is instead a sensuously handsome lord. The connection between them is immediate and incendiary when he shocks and intrigues her with a bold request. Her response stuns him to his core.
But when Cordelia’s Seven Dials friends begin to disappear, the couple’s erotic adventure turns deadly. Are they ready to abandon their dreams to save wheat they have or will their nightmares part them forever?
Buy Tutoring the Bookseller today to open a world of desire and suspense!
The Lyon’s Redemption
Series: Lyon’s Den Connected World
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 10/25/2023
Author Website: https://www.sandrasookoo.com
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In need of redemption… Thomas Prestwick, Viscount of Ashbury, has left the thought of love and romance behind. Never again will he allow himself that vulnerability and has, instead, kept himself busy with various vices every fine gentleman of the beau monde indulges in. If only he’d stayed away from the tables at the famed Lyon’s Den gaming hell that night, he might not have been caught up in fate’s unfortunate web, which brought him face-to-face with the past.
In want of vengeance…Miss Olivia Rose Jameson wants nothing to do with men—whether related to her or not. With her parents dead and her worthless brother losing everything of value at the gambling tables, she’s incensed when her hand is bartered for his freedom. That complication will not help her cause of having revenge on the man who killed her best friend, until chance matches her with the object of her ire.
Forgiveness has a way of changing everything… With no choice but to wed at the order of the mysterious Mrs. Dove-Lyon, the pair ushers in the Christmastide season as a married couple. No matter that Ashbury’s heart is locked away and Olivia wishes to carve it from his chest, more than compassion and secrets are shared between the enemies-to-lovers one snowy evening in the viscount’s library. As desire gives way to romance, fate once more intervenes. For one terrible night, everything hangs in the balance, and nothing short of a miracle—or love—can save them.
Because doesn’t the house—and Mrs. Dove-Lyon—always win?
She’s forbidden to wed a nobody. He’s nothing in society’s eyes. Will their desperate schemes backfire before they find a way to be together?
Northanger Abbey. Eleanor Tilney can’t bear her lonely life any longer. Distraught when her tyrannical father throws her friend out of the house because the girl lacks an inheritance, the long-suffering general’s daughter decides anything is better than a future all alone. So in a frantic bid for freedom, she puts aside her tender feelings for a man of no standing to pursue a wealthy husband.
Philip Brampton understands that fortune is against him. And he tries gallantly to bury his distress and support his lonely beloved, even after she starts pursuing an arrogant buffoon. But when he catches the fellow about to kiss her, their resulting harsh words cause a heartbreaking rift.
Stiffening her spine in a world that refuses to acknowledge her value, Eleanor attempts to navigate the impossible situation without quashing her desires. And though his shy nature abhors a scene, Philip braces himself for a confrontation with her cruel and abusive patriarch.
Do these childhood sweethearts have any hope of achieving lasting happiness?
Book Title: Tales of Timeless Romance: How Do I Love Thee?
Author Name: Elizabeth Donne
Release Date: 08/02/2023
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Tales of Timeless Romance: How Do I Love Thee?
Series:
Genre: Regency Traditional Romance
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Sweet
Format: eBook
Release Date: 08/02/2023
Author Website: https://elizabethdonnebooks.com
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Spinster is such a loathsome word. But—Miss Sophia Grant has to confess—this is what she has become. With the first strands of greying hair, and lungs weakened by childhood illness, she does not expect to become anyone’s wife anymore. Sophia does not mind it too much. After all, she has her many siblings around her. And her writing, of course. Her days are full of everything that matters. That is, until the letter comes.
Tobias Mannerly is entirely smitten with the written word. It fills every corner of his thoughts and imagination. Perhaps that is why he has not yet found love—no woman can reach his heart the way poetry does. Words are his passion, especially those in the latest poem by a certain Miss S. Grant. How they speak to him, call to him! He must write to her. She must know what power she wields on the page.
What begins as a simple letter by an ardent young literary admirer soon develops into genuine affection. Two modest souls appear to have found their match. But how can Sophia tell her beau that she can never marry? If her father even suspected her feelings, he would be furious! Losing his wife has made him fragile. Clinging to his remaining family has made him unreasonable. It seems an impossible situation. It is just the sort of challenge love is made to overcome, if only Tobias can convince Sophia she deserves it.
Book Title: The Baron and the Lady Chemist
Author Name: Alissa Baxter
Release Date: 08/03/2023
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Baron and the Lady Chemist
Series: The Grantham Girls
Genre: Regency Traditional Romance
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Clean Sweet
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/03/2023
Author Website: https://www.alissabaxter.com/
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Dorothea Grantham has always been fascinated by chemistry and spends most days conducting experiments in her laboratory at Grantham Place, staining silk with gold, silver, and other metals using chemical processes.
Thea embroiders the beautiful gold and silver silk shawls she creates and enjoys wearing them, but her grandmother, Lady Longmore, advises her not to reveal to anyone outside the family circle that she has created the fashion items herself, concerned her granddaughter might be seen as an oddity.
When Thea enters Society, her shawls attract a great deal of attention and become the talk of the town. James, Lord Castleroy, takes a particular interest in her work, having inherited a share in his grandfather’s silk mill in Macclesfield.
Eager to invest in the ailing silk industry, the baron studies Miss Grantham’s silks with an admiring—and increasingly suspicious—eye, believing the fabrics to be smuggled imported silk. As he spends more time with the enterprising young lady, however, his interest in her quickly extends beyond his business affairs to engulf his guarded heart.
But Lord Castleroy isn’t the only person in London interested in Thea’s exquisite creations. And when a silken web of intrigue entangles her in real danger, Thea must trust the devotion of a man she never expected—or intended—to fall in love with.
Book Title: Austen Tea Party
Authors Names: Alexa Santi, Amanda Faye, Angela Kady, Anja Raney, Bianca White, Carrie DiRisio, Catherine Bilson, Catherine Stein, Cecilia Rene, Charlie Lane, Christina Alexandra, Clyve Rose, Deborah E Pearson, Debra-Ann Kummoung, Ella Hazard, Elle Linder, Gabbi Grey, JKLycke, Katy Rose, Kenna Campbell, Michaela Brent, Sharon Michalove, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Tabetha Waite, Tanya Wilde, TL Clark
Release Date: 08/09/2023
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Series:
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Romance Cafe Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/09/2023
Author Website: https://www.alexasanti.com
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Take care not to spill the tea (literally) while we share the latest on-dit (aka dish the dirt) about the Ton, who is courting, and who has been compromised in this collection of Austen-inspired romance stories.
Join us for a turn around the room in stories from USA Today best-selling and award-winning romance authors curated by the New Romance Café featuring cameos from some of Jane’s most memorable characters (and some we’d like to forget). ALL proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Book Title: The Solitary Rose
Author Name: Anne Rollins
Release Date: 08/14/2023
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Series:
Genre: Fantasy or Science Fiction Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/14/2023
Author Website: http://www.annerollins.com
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Henry Dawson, sorcerer and apothecary assistant, works to support his mother and younger siblings after his father’s investments and consequent death leave them penniless. Invited to woo a reclusive heiress with magical empathy, he reluctantly accepts, despite a preference for earning his own way.
Emma Ainsworth fears smallpox scars and her hypersensitivity to others’ thoughts make her ineligible for marriage. Sheltered by her aunt and uncle, she has withdrawn from most social life and wears a veil whenever she must go out.
When a serious injury confines Henry to Emma’s estate for the summer, a verbal duel ensues—Emma wants to test her empathy in a sexual relationship, not marry him. What neither admits is their fear that passion might burn them both.
Book Title: Claiming the Chess Mistress
Author Name: Andrea K Stein
Release Date: 08/15/2023
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Series: Sex, Lies, & Forbidden Desires Book 4
Genre: Erotic
Publisher: Muirgen® Publishing, LLC
Content Rating: Burning (Hot)
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/15/2023
Author Website: https://www.andreakstein.com/
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The loss of Col’s damning journal pages is about to turn deadly;
The forfeit of Charlotte’s closely guarded secrets might destroy her;
Will their mutual quest for justice bring them together, or tear them apart?
By night, she’s a masked chess mistress who challenges and trounces all takers; by day, she’s the ethereal white-blonde beauty who volunteers at the children’s refuge in Seven Dials — Charlotte Smythe lives a luxurious double life of ease as the mysterious chess genius at Goodrum’s House of Pleasure..
After spending years as a gifted investigator extricating others from their peccadillos, dedicated Bow Street runner Archer Colwyn has landed in a suds of his own making. The light-hearted journal of sensual exploits he and his school chums kept while students at Cambridge has gone missing, and the secrets within his particular pages, if revealed, could set off deadly consequences.
The dangerous Captain El Goodrum, proprietress of the most infamous house of pleasure in London, holds the key to their retrieval. In exchange for her cooperation, she demands he run a gauntlet of secrets to deliver a master criminal to justice. His only path to the damning pages is the inscrutable chess mistress who not only resents his attempts to romance away his journal pages, but seems to relish his dread and panic at the prospect of the pages becoming public knowledge.
Charlotte craves the kind of refuge she provides to the orphans she rescues from London’s stews. The respite she seeks away from the world in her St. John’s Wood villa with her two house companions is all that keeps her sane, but sometimes, late at night, she needs something more, something even she cannot name.
The irresistible Kendrick clan returns in the latest Scottish-set historical romance from the USA Today bestselling author—a witty, sensuous and adventure-filled romp that will delight Regency fans and readers of Sabrina Jeffries and Victoria Alexander. Charlotte “Charlie” Stewart would rather don a kilt and ride her horse than simper in a ballroom. But with her younger sister about to be wed, she can’t escape the pressure to be next. A husband has been chosen, and Charlie’s fate seems set. Until an afternoon gallop sends her horse colliding with Kade Kendrick, the broad-shouldered Highlander who was once her childhood pal . . .
Book Title: THE LYON’S PERFECT MATE
Author Name: Cerise DeLand
Release Date: 08/23/2023
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Series: The Lyon’s Den
Genre: Regency Georgian Romance Historical Fiction
Publisher: Dragonblade
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/23/2023
Author Website: https://cerisedeland.com
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Can two people who have learned how to fight for all they want and win push pride aside to save their love and their marriage?
Miss Priscilla Taunton has little to commend her. No looks, no titled family, no savoir faire. But her fortune can buy her a husband if she’s brave enough to use it.
Cilla has struggled to make a new life for herself. Years of ridicule and suppression at the hands of her parents mean she has had to live down the scurrilous reputation her elders cast upon her. But after creating herself anew, Cilla needs a husband of good cheer and spotless reputation. To make that a reality, she’ll use her money, all of it, if necessary, to hire Mrs. Dove-Lyon—and ask for herself only one special reward.
Captain Valerian Anderleigh has always won every battle. Hailed by his superiors as honorable, revered by his men as heroic, he is a legend.
When Val returns home from the wars to assume his family’s title, he meets challenges for which no battlefield prepared him. His estate is flooded. His stepmother and her two daughters spend every penny. His younger brother runs wild.
Val will do anything to resurrect his family’s pride. Even enter the Lyon’s Den and assume a terrible burden. Surprisingly, marrying a lovely, lonely woman becomes not a challenge but a greater joy than he anticipated.
Losing the love of his life in defeat is not an option.
Book Title: Love Blooms with the Duke
Author Name: Alexa Aston
Release Date: 08/31/2023
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Series: Suddenly a Duke
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/31/2023
Author Website: https://alexaaston.com/al
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Xander Hughes, London’s biggest rake, suddenly becomes the Duke of Brockbank and guardian to two nieces he has never met. He decides he must turn over a new leaf and become a sober, responsible duke and starts by hiring a Miss Fennimore, a governess for the girls. Soon, Xander wonders if she might make for an even better duchess.
Willa’s parents were the toast of London’s theater world until Theodosia Fennimore murdered her playwright husband and leaped to her death. Not wishing to become an actress like her mother, Willa supports herself as a companion and governess, finding her latest post is to instruct a duke’s two unruly nieces.
As Willa falls in love with the orphaned girls, she finds herself also tumbling into love with the Duke of Brockbank. She’s been warned that the duke was a wild rogue before he inherited his title, but Willa only knows the caring man who meets his duties head on and spends an inordinate amount of time with his nieces, who aren’t so terrible after all.
After Brockbank offers marriage to Willa, she dreams of a new life filled with love and happiness. The only thing standing in her way is the secret of her past. If Willa shares her background, she fears she might lose Xander forever.
Will Xander reject Willa when he learns of the scandal involving her parents—or will this rule-breaking duke flout the rules of Polite Society yet again and make a most inappropriate woman his duchess?
Book Title: Defended by a Duke
Author Name: Cheryl Bolen
Release Date: 09/01/2023
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Series: The Beresford Adventures
Genre: Regency Mystery
Publisher: Dragonblade
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/01/2023
Author Website: https://www.cherylbolen.com/
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On the day he’s to wed the woman of his dreams, Richard Harwood, the 6th Duke of Bentley, is summoned by the Prince Regent. The prince and Britain’s Home Secretary suspect the family of his prospective bride, the powerful Beresfords, of plotting to overthrow the government. Bentley is encouraged to go ahead with the wedding but to say nothing to his wife about her traitorous relatives. He’s to quietly investigate.
In her first Season, lovely Emily Beresford, has the good fortune to win the heart of the kingdom’s most sought-after matrimonial catch, the handsome Duke of Bentley. From the moment they met, the two have been hopelessly in love. So why does this man she adores abandon her on their wedding night?
Bentley’s inquiries keep stealing him away from this woman he craves with every aching breath, his wife. These same inquiries point to a plot so sinister it threatens everything he loves, especially his duchess. . .
Lord Archie Carrington knows a beauty when he sees one. Barmaids and countess alike fall beneath the charm of the youngest-ever editor of Edinburgh’s sharpest political and literary quarterly. So when he sets out to write an exposé on the new Lord Advocate, the clever Scotsman devises a plan to charm his opponent’s shy portraitist daughter out of her smock—and her family secrets.
in the eyes of the beholder.
But Maisie Conway knows a rogue when she sees one and although she agrees to paint Lord Carrington’s portrait, she rebuffs all of Archie’s attempts at flirtation and familiarity. That is, until Archie offers to pose nude as a life drawing lesson and Maisie cannot resist the opportunity to uncover all of his manifest charms. Posing leads to passion, but soon they find themselves working at cross purposes. As Archie and Maisie follow the dictates of their desire, will they learn to trust one another, or will the dark secrets surrounding them cost them their only chance to achieve true love?
Book Title: Catch Her if You Can
Author Name: Sandra Sookoo
Release Date: 09/12/2023
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Series: Diamonds of London #3
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: New Independence Books (indie label)
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/12/2023
Author Website: https://www.sandrasookoo.com
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When a lady snubs love and romance in favor of being ruined, all hell will break loose.
Lady Katharine “Kitty” Gibson is the youngest child of the Earl of Armestead. At six and twenty, she wants no part of living a fairytale and desires love even less. She has dreams for her life that do not include romance, but tolerating a man long enough to be ruined would be a lovely addition and might allow her past society’s dictates that domestication and a good match is all she should aspire toward.
Mr. Reginald Healy made his first fortune with the East India Company and his second importing beautiful silk fabric and selling it first to ladies in American then to the beau monde in London. All he has ever wanted is to be respected as a gentleman instead of the “earl’s fool” he’s been nicknamed. When he purchases a rundown manor house in the countryside and furthers his acquaintance with a winsome blonde who is not in his usual style, his dream shifts to include a wife and possible family.
While Reginald tries his best to be more to Kitty than a gentleman with benefits, she thinks him endearing and a tad embarrassing. He’s not much changed from when he’d proposed to her ten years prior, but the longer his clumsy attempt at wooing continues, romance creeps in to mar her lovely no-strings-attached affair. Terrified and confused, she sets out one night to flee into obscurity, but as Reginald gives chase, unexpected peril on the road makes them both face their biggest fears and has the capacity to show them both that falling in love can be whatever they need it to be.
Book Title: Earl of My Dreams
Author Name: Sylvie Sinclair
Release Date: 09/18/2023
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Series: Romancing the Rogue
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Sylvie Sinclair
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/18/2023
Author Website: https://www.sylviesinclair.com
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All Miss Sophie Everett wants is to see her beloved cousin happily married to the man she loves, and she’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen. When a prime opportunity for matchmaking presents itself in the form of a country house party, she contrives to spend the week sowing the seeds of romance…until a fellow guest arrives with ideas of his own. Soon Sophie finds herself butting heads with the most stubborn man she’s ever known. A man who once owned her heart…
James Halloran, the Earl of Dearborn, is in need of an heir, but first he must find a wife. He thinks he’s found precisely what he wants: a girl possessed of both beauty and breeding, one who will make few demands and never touch his heart. The perfect countess. Unfortunately, the girl’s cousin—the maddening Miss Everett—does not share his enthusiasm for the match, and vows to prevent it, no matter the cost…
As their feud turns to friendship, sparks fly and passions ignite. But secrets, long kept hidden, threaten to destroy their future before it’s even begun…
Book Title: The Hellion of Drury Lane
Author Name: Katherine Grant
Release Date: 09/19/2023
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Series: The Scandals and Scoundrels of Drury Lane
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Katherine Grant
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild)
Format: eNovella
Release Date: 09/19/2023
Author Website: https://www.katherinegrantromance.com/the-hellion-of-drury-lane/
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Behind the scenes, drama cuts both ways…
For Samantha Billings, nothing can go right. Ever since she inherited her father’s business as head carpenter for Drury Lane Theatre, she has been fighting off problems from creditors to unending rain. When an inspector of the carpentry guild announces he will stop her work unless she hires a master carpenter, Samantha fears she may lose everything – but she resolves to overcome, one way or another.
For Oliver Chow, nothing can go wrong. In London for the first time ever, he is celebrating his new status as a master carpenter and looking for the adventure of a lifetime. When he happens upon a woman carpentress in distress, he is happy to help – even if it is in name alone.
Thrown together to thwart the guild’s inspector, Samantha and Oliver discover that sometimes, a little drama behind the scenes can have a surprisingly happy outcome.
Book Title: The Duke’s Defender (The Duke’s Guard, Bk 6)
Author Name: C.H. Admirand
Release Date: 09/22/2023
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Series: The Duke’s Guard
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/22/2023
Author Website: https://www.chadmirand.com
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The Duke’s Guard: The men in black who have sworn an oath to protect the Duke of Wyndmere and his family from enemies that would stop at nothing to discredit and destroy him!
“Lass, ye need to trust someone in yer hour of darkness…let it be me.”
Aiden Garahan is tasked with protecting the duke’s new ward. He promises to protect her with his life. The lovely young woman, with auburn hair and quiet gray eyes is no child, but a petite, curvaceous beauty. His reaction to her is unexpected and unwanted.
Miss Emily Montrose may be small in stature, but she is no shrinking violet! When a runaway carriage tragically cuts her father’s life short, she is thrust into chaos as the duke’s ward. Her life is turned upside down when rumors and a wager challenges all comers to win her hand. Emily’s life is threatened as the wager increases and unscrupulous men see her as a prize.
Aiden must cut through the lies to the truth. He guards her valiantly and vows to protect her to the last beat of his heart, while she steals it away, one glance at a time…one caress at a time. Aiden faces a battle he never imagined…one that pits his heart against his honor!
Danger stalks in the night, but it will have to challenge The Duke’s Defender before he will let harm come to those he has sworn to protect with his strength, his honor, and his heart.
Book Title: A Radical Affair
Author Name: Louise Mayberry
Release Date: 09/22/2023
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Series: The Darnalay Castle Series
Genre: Regency Georgian Gothic Romance Suspense Historical Fiction
Publisher: Louise Mayberry
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/22/2023
Author Website: https://www.louisemayberry.com
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What harm could one night of pleasure do?
Cybil Bythesea is imprisoned in a marriage that ended ten years ago. That’s when she fled the cruelty of her husband, Lord Falstone, and took refuge at her father’s estate in Northumberland. Since then, her family’s money has kept the villain at bay, and she’s been able to pursue her creative passion—writing. But freedom, true freedom, has been beyond her grasp.
Except for her clandestine liaisons with Will.
Will Chisolm is haunted by the past, the tragedy of his family’s eviction from their ancestral Highland farm, then his own foolish descent into political radicalism. Even now that he’s gained wealth and respectability as the manager of a set of spinning mills in Glasgow, he’s burdened with more responsibility and guilt than anyone knows.
But there’s something about Cybil—a lightness, a kinship that, at least temporarily, makes all Will’s troubles fade away. It’s a dangerous game. Cybil is his employer’s sister, the wife of his political enemy and for the last four years, his lover.
She’s also with child. Will’s child. And their world, their lives, will never be the same.
Book Title: Death and the Sisters
Author Name: Heather Redmond
Release Date: 09/26/2023
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Series: Mary Shelley Mysteries
Genre: Regency Mystery Historical Fiction
Publisher: Kensington
Content Rating: Suspense
Format: Print eBook AudioBook
Release Date: 09/26/2023
Author Website: https://www.heatherredmond.com
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London, 1814: Mary Godwin and her stepsister Jane Clairmont, both sixteen, possess quick minds bolstered by an unconventional upbringing, and have little regard for the rules that other young ladies follow. Mary, whose mother famously advocated for women’s rights, rejects the two paths that seem open to her—that of an assistant in her father’s bookshop, or an ordinary wife. Though quieter and more reserved than the boisterous Jane, Mary’s imagination is keen, and she longs for real-world adventures.
One evening, an opportunity arrives in the form of Percy Bysshe Shelley. At twenty-one, Shelley is already a renowned poet and radical. Mary finds their visitor handsome and compelling, but it is later that evening, after the party has broken up, that events take a truly intriguing turn. When Mary comes downstairs in search of a book, she finds instead a man face down on the floor—with a knife in his back.
The dead man, it seems, was a former classmate of Shelley’s, and had lately become a rival. What was he doing in the Godwins’ home? Mary, Jane, and Shelley are all drawn to learn the truth behind the tragedy, especially as each discovery seems to hint at a tangled web that includes many in Shelley’s closest circle. But as the attraction between Mary and the married poet intensifies, it sparks a rivalry between the sisters, even as it kindles the creative fire within . . .
Book Title: Dashing Through the Snow
Author Name: Sandra Sookoo
Release Date: 09/27/2023
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Series:
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: New Independence Books (indie label)
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/27/2023
Author Website: https://www.sandrasookoo.com
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When two disillusioned people accidentally meet, finding a common bond in scandal will give them back hope.
The Honorable Laurence Bannerman lingers in London to avoid joining his family at his father’s country estate in Surrey to celebrate Christmastide. As the third son and a fourth sibling, nothing was ever expected of him, so his behavior has been quite scandalous. That is until he meets a woman who makes him long for a wife and wish for a change… but dogs don’t change their spots, do they?
Miss Eleanor Comerford hasn’t exactly been a darling of the beau monde. Though Christmastide brings with it naught but guilt and regret, there is the glimmering hope her family might forgive her past transgressions and take her back into their fold. Pretending to be someone she’s not is tiring, but when her path crosses that of a stranger, a plan begins to form… for she still dreams of belonging.
Forced to share the same traveling coach, when Eleanor asks Laurence to enter into a fake engagement with her to lend legitimacy to her story, he agrees merely to protect her and see her safely home. Perhaps a friendship would stave off loneliness during the journey north. As they come to know each other, hurts and secrets from their pasts bubble to the surface, and with acceptance comes a budding romance. Only with a holiday miracle will they have the chance to realize they never needed lies or proper images to grasp love… for they were worthy of it all along.
Michaelmas Day, celebrated next day on September 29, is a day rich in religious and secular traditions in British culture. It’s also called the Feast of Michael and All Angels, including the angels Gabriel and Raphael.
In the Christian tradition, St. Michael is considered a mighty warrior angel who defeated the devil during the war in heaven. A holy day since the Middle Ages, Michaelmas falls near the autumn equinox and is associated with the beginning of the fall season.
Michaelmas also one of Britain’s four “quarter days,” a way to divide up the year. Traditionally, quarter days were when law courts and universities began their terms, magistrates were elected, rents were due, and servants were hired.
The Company of Pikeman and Musketeers as they leave the Royal Courts of Justice and head south to the River Thames at the 2011 Lord Mayor’s Show
On Michaelmas Day the mayor of London is elected. Following the mayor’s inauguration in November a colorful street parade marches through the city. The Lord Mayor’s Show is a tradition that dates back to the 13th century, and is a popular annual event.
In addition, Michaelmas is also the name of the first of the four terms in the legal year in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the United States, the Supreme Court has a schedule similar to the British model, with their annual term beginning on the first Monday after Michaelmas in October.
Quarter days not only represent holy days on the Catholic/Anglican liturgical calendar but are closely associated with the change of seasons as well. They are:
Lady Day, March 25 (Feast of the Assumption) just after the spring equinox
Midsummer Day, June 24 (Feast of St. John the Baptist) just after the summer solstice
Michaelmas Day, September 29, (Feast of St. Michael and All Angels), just after the autumn equinox
Christmas Day, December 25 (Feast of the Nativity) just after the winter solstice
The Michaelmas quarter day was especially important because it marked the successful completion of the harvest and signaled the start of a productive new farming cycle.
Like her contemporaries, Jane Austen would have been familiar with quarter days, especially Michaelmas – after all, her father was not only a clergyman but a farmer as well.
Austen mentions Michaelmas in the opening pages of Pride and Prejudice, when Mrs. Bennet gossips about her new neighbor, Mr. Bingley:
“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”
Michael the Archangel defeating the devil, by Guido Reni, 1636
In the Bible’s Book of Revelation, the Archangel Michael successfully fights against Lucifer and his fallen angels. So, as a battle-tested warrior, Michael is a good choice to protect mankind against the encroaching darkness and potentially evil forces of the autumn and winter. (We all know what kind of evil forces Halloween can unleash!)
A traditional Michaelmas feast includes a roast goose, along with whatever remains of the just-completed harvest.
Why a goose? Well, as the saying goes: “Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day, want not for money all the year.”
The idea of eating a “good luck goose” on Michaelmas goes back to the reign of Elizabeth I. Legend has it the queen was eating a roast goose on Michaelmas Day in 1588 when she got the news that her royal navy had defeated the Spanish Armada. That was certainly a lucky day for Elizabeth and her country!
The association between geese and Michaelmas made its way to America as well. Michaelmas Day traditions were brought to Lewiston, Pennsylvania, by an English settler in the late 1700s. Today, the Juniata River Valley’s annual Goose Day Festival is a weekend event that includes a corn maze and a pumpkin fest. And geese, of course.
Another bit of folklore says you shouldn’t eat blackberries after Michaelmas Day. The reason? Because they were cursed by the devil.
Queen Elizabeth I, the Armada portrait, circa 1588
The story goes that when St. Michael threw Lucifer out of heaven, the devil landed on a thorny blackberry bush. In retribution, Satan, not known for his even temper, did all sorts of things to the berries – stomped them, scorched them with his fiery breath, even urinated on them – to make the fruit dry, sour, and just plain inedible.
So, along with roasting a goose, a blackberry pie is traditionally baked, to use up all the good berries before Michaelmas Day.
Finally, Michaelmas Day is often represented by the Michaelmas daisy. This pretty flower provides a burst of color in autumn that outlasts most other blooms as winter approaches.
“The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds, Bloom for St Michael’s valorous deeds. And seems the last of flowers that stood, Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.”
(The Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude is on October 28.)
Whether you indulge in a roast goose on Michaelmas Day or enjoy a vegan alternative, I hope you have good luck that continues all year!
Mark your calendar! Our September Monthly Tea is this Friday, September 22, at 2pm ET (5 pm PT).
Whether you write romance, mystery, fantasy, or some other subgenre of historical fiction, knowing when to stop researching and start writing is crucial to getting your novel on the page.
In this talk, author and translator Jenny Bhatt will discuss the unique challenges of researching and writing historical fiction. She will discuss how to approach research in an organized manner, where to look for primary and secondary sources, how to parse through which details will serve your story, and how to be believable with invented details to fill in the gaps. Plus, she will provide food for thought on how to read between the lines of historical records where chroniclers’ blind spots and biases left people out of the story.
Save your spot for this hour-long discussion of how to research and – more importantly – how to make that research work for your writing!
RFW Members: Simply follow the link in Jenny’s bio to sign up!
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I won’t be able to forget this when describing a crowded ball or reception! The clothing is particularly interesting. Compare the lady on the right in white (a demure debutante?) and the one on the left with the train (rather less respectable, I think). The description in Wikimedia: “Shows a crowded royal “drawing room” reception (in a London palace). The woman at the left (whose train is being stepped on) is wearing the old-fashioned hooped “court dress” (abolished 1820), while the man in the door is wearing formal breeches (many of the other men are wearing military uniforms). The moustache of the man on the right had connotations of foreign (Continental) and/or military dandyism at the time.”
In my last post I discussed Beau Brummell’s sophisticated manner of dress, and what a contrast Brummell’s understated style was to the flashier styles worn by some of his contemporaries.
While Brummell may have disapproved of their fashion sense, the men and women whose dress he criticized provided excellent fodder for the caricaturists of their day, especially for two brothers of the Cruikshank family.
Here is George Cruikshank’s 1819 sketch titled “Lacing a Dandy.” Note the corset and padding!
In a similar vein, here’s his brother Isaac Robert Cruikshank’s hand-colored etching, “Exquisite Dandies,” mocking both male and female dandies (“dandizettes”), published in 1818.
Finally, here’s yet another 1818 caricature from I.R. Cruikshank, titled “Dandies Dressing.”
It’s easy to see how Beau Brummell’s style dictates were a much-needed antidote to this type of fashion excess!
Beau Brummell giving instructions to his tailor – engraving from an 1855 issue of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine
There have always been and always will be dandies – men who follow fashion and take an active interest in how they present themselves to the world. However, the Regency produced one of the most influential and famous dandies of all time, George Bryan “Beau” Brummell.
1805 caricature of Brummell
Though he was accepted and imitated at the highest levels of London society, Brummell was no aristocrat; he was the son of a government clerk. However, he had exquisite taste in clothing, as well as the sense to make friends with the Prince Regent after obtaining a commission in the prince’s regiment, the Tenth Light Dragoons.
Brummell’s influence on men’s fashion, both during the Regency and afterwards, was immense. His ideas were novel for the time in which he lived. He insisted on wearing clothes that were well tailored but otherwise simple, in solid, sober colors and without gaudy trimmings.
He also advocated good personal hygiene. He was fastidious about keeping himself and his clothing immaculate and urged his followers to adopt similar habits, including daily bathing and wearing clean undergarments.
Charles Howard, the 11th Duke of Norfolk, 1816
Cleanliness was not taken for granted during the 18th and early 19th centuries, even among the aristocracy. In The Prince of Pleasure and His Regency,1811-1820, J.B. Priestley describes the grooming habits of the “downright dirty” Duke of Norfolk – his servants were able to bathe him only occasionally, when the old Duke was too drunk to fight against their efforts.
During his reign as the undisputed arbitrator of men’s clothing style in London society, Brummell accomplished a lot of fashion firsts.
He brought long pants or pantaloons into fashion (instead of the knee-length breeches worn previously) and insisted that men’s cravats (the precursor of the necktie men wear today) were starched, spotless and knotted just so. He remodeled men’s dress coats, too, so that they fit more snugly.
Brummell was also the first to wear black evening clothes; a radical change from the elaborate and colorful costumes men wore in the 18th century.
In fact, Brummell urged men to forego all types of frills, perfumes, and excessive ornamentation, including lace trims, gold embroidery and jewels. The result was an understated elegance in men’s fashion.
The man’s suit pictured below is an example of the type of flashy dressing Brummell deplored. This suit, made in 1790 but altered in 1805, includes a coat and breeches made of purple shot silk trimmed with sequins and metallic embroidery. The gold waistcoat also features sequin and metallic embroidery trim.
Brummell was a minimalist when it came to dressing. His vision of a well-dressed man had three elements: slim, fitted pants; a white linen shirt, starched; and a trim waistcoat. Every article should be well-tailored.
According to one Brummell’s biographers, Ian Kelly, Brummell’s general precepts regarding men’s wear has dominated men’s “power dressing” ever since.
According to Priestley, someone once breathlessly told Brummell about a man who was so well-dressed at an event that everyone who was present turned to stare at him. “Then he was not well dressed,” said Brummell, no doubt with a sniff of disdain.
In a similar vein, he also said: “If John Bull [i.e., Everyman] turns around to look at you, you are not well-dressed; but either too stiff, too tight, or too fashionable.”
Brummell’s personal popularity rose and then fell during the Regency, especially after a well-publicized tiff he had with the Prince Regent in 1813. I wrote about this encounter in a previous post, so I won’t go into the details here. Suffice to say it’s never a good idea to refer to the reigning monarch as somebody’s “fat friend,” even if you were snubbed by said monarch.
The Beau was also a heavy gambler, and he ended up having to flee Britain for good in 1816 to escape being imprisoned for his gambling debts. His story does not have a happy ending; he died in poverty and insane from the effects of syphilis in France near Caen in 1840.
But whatever his personal tragedies, Brummell’s influence on men’s fashion has been enduring. The black suit, which he pioneered, is still a staple in many men’s closets, 200 years after he made it fashionable. And, due in part to Brummell’s legacy, a well-dressed man is also a clean one, too!
Contemporary man’s suit shows how Brummell’s influence on men’s fashion endures
Sources for this post include:
Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible, by Tim Gunn with Ada Calhoun, Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc, New York, NY, 2012.
Beau Brummell, by Hubert Cole, first published in the US by Mason/Charter Publishers, Inc., printed in Great Britain, 1977
Portrait of Caroline by James Lonsdale in 1820, during her brief tenure as Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and Hanover.
In my last post, I described the miserable marriage of the Prince Regent and Caroline of Brunswick. After years of restrictions and neglect, Caroline left England to go abroad, where scandal dogged her footsteps.
Following the deaths of her daughter and grandson in 1817, and the imminent succession to the throne of her estranged husband after King George III died, Caroline finally returned to England to claim her position as Queen Consort. But her husband was having none of it.
A determined divorce attempt
In August of 1820 George tried to divorce Caroline through the mechanism of a special “Bill of Pains and Penalties” in Parliament. If passed, the bill would have denied Caroline her title as well as nullify her marriage to the king.
With great solemnity Caroline was put on trial, accused of infidelity and grossly improper conduct while she was living in Italy.
Italian servants who had witnessed her interactions with Pergami were called to testify against her, while character witnesses spoke in favor of the queen.
The Trial of Queen Caroline, 1820, by Sir George Hayter
That autumn the trial was the topic of gossip and conversation in every London drawing room and country cottage. For three months it consumed the public’s attention, eclipsing any other news.
But in the end, the new king’s scheme failed. Caroline was simply too popular with the people of Great Britain. Despite her wayward behavior, the general public sympathized with her.
The British people detested George for his years of immoral living and lavish spending while they endured economic hardships due to the expensive wars waged against Napoleon. They also blamed him for his harsh treatment of the woman he was joined to by the sanctity of marriage.
Detail of Caroline at her trial, painted by Sir George Hayter in 1820.
So the new king’s subjects rallied to the defense of their queen with more than 800 petitions containing close to a million signatures. In November the bill was withdrawn.
George was frustrated. The elaborate July 19, 1821, coronation he’d planned for himself was fast approaching, and he was adamant that he wasn’t going to share his special day with his unwanted wife.
An uncrowned queen
When coronation day came, George not only didn’t invite his wife to attend, but he also gave orders that she was not to be admitted to Westminster Abbey for the ceremony. She showed up anyway and banged on the doors, demanding to be let in. She was turned away.
Defeated, the unacknowledged queen went back to her lodgings at Brandenburg House in Hammersmith. On July 30 she fell ill, and she died a week later at the age of 53. The date was August 7, 1821 – coincidentally six years to the day that Emperor Napoleon was forced to leave English shores for exile on St. Helena.
As I said earlier, August can be a tough month for European royalty.
George may have been able to command his guards to bar Caroline from his coronation, but he couldn’t command his people to forsake their uncrowned queen. Caroline’s funeral cortège was mobbed as it made its way through London to the port at Harwich.
Initially, officials decided to have the procession avoid the city on its way to the coast, but throngs of mourners blocked the intended route and forced a rerouting through London and Westminster. Guards who tried to control the unruly crowd with drawn sabers had rocks and bricks thrown at them.
At Harwich, Caroline’s remains were put on a ship destined for Germany. At her request, Caroline was buried in Brunswick Cathedral. She’d left instructions for her casket plate to read “Here lies Caroline, the Injured Queen of England.”
A modern parallel
Princess Diana in 1985
In the recent past there was another Prince and Princess of Wales who had an unhappy marriage, and that marriage has often been compared to George and Caroline’s unfortunate union.
There are undeniable parallels between Caroline of Brunswick of the Regency era and Princess Diana, an icon of the 20th century. Both women were in line to become queen of England, a destiny that didn’t quite work out for either of them. Both women had troubled marriages with their royal spouses. As a result, both princesses became embroiled in scandalous affairs.
And both met their ultimate fate during the month of August.
Like Caroline, Diana decided to take a vacation from her unhappy royal life. In the summer of 1997 Diana, recently divorced, made headlines by dating Dodi Fayed, the son of an Egyptian billionaire.
The couple was photographed on Fayed’s yacht in the Mediterranean, a holiday that the tabloid press feasted on by publishing as many photos as they could capture. Tabloid press around the world delved into this relationship with the same vigor the Regency press went after Caroline’s alleged affair with Perigami.
But Diana’s affair with Dodi didn’t last long. On August 31 the couple’s summer idyll was cut short when their car, dogged by motorcycle-mounted paparazzi, crashed in a tunnel under the city of Paris. Both Dodi and Diana were killed.
Like Caroline, Diana was much more popular than her husband, and also like Caroline, Diana was humiliated by her husband’s very public extramarital affair. Both women, as brides, had to endure the company of their husband’s mistress.
Both faced divorce proceedings from their royal spouses. And in a different world, each of them would have sat on the throne as queen.
But I don’t think the comparison between the two royal marriages holds up to much more scrutiny. Charles is no George IV, a man who was silly, vain, and frequently cruel to his wife and daughter.
And the problems in Charles and Diana’s troubled marriage were intensified by the relentless pursuit of shocking headlines by an insatiable media. George and Caroline may have been lampooned by the press of their day, but their experience was nothing like their 20th-century descendants had to endure.
In the end, the factors and personalities involved in the breakdown of these two royal marriages are unique to each case. As Tolstoy observed in his novel Anna Karenina, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
By all accounts, Caroline of Brunswick felt unloved and unwanted by her husband. And that’s an injury no royal title can heal.
***
Sources for this post include:
The Prince of Pleasure and his Regency 1811-20, by J.B. Priestley, Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 1969.
Our Tempestuous Day, by Carolly Erickson, William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1986.
An Elegant Madness, High Society in Regency England, by Venetia Murray, Viking (Penguin Putnam, Inc.) New York, 1999.
The Regency Companion, by Sharon Laudermilk and Teresa L. Hamlin, Garland Publishing Inc., New York and London, 1989.
Caroline, the Princess of Wales, in 1804. Portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence.
August can be an unlucky month for European royalty, and that was especially true during the Regency. Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena in August of 1815. And in August of 1821, Caroline of Brunswick, the Princess of Wales, died a lonely death in London just three weeks after her estranged husband, the former Prince Regent, was crowned King George IV.
But let’s go back to the beginning of this tale of an unhappy royal marriage. Caroline’s sad story began in Germany long before she caught the attention of the Court of St. James.
An arranged marriage
Caroline was unlucky throughout her life. Born a German princess in 1768, she nonetheless had a lonely childhood. Her family kept her isolated and secluded, especially from the opposite sex.
Her companions were elderly females and governesses. She was sent to her room when guests came over and usually couldn’t go to court functions or balls. And when she was permitted to attend a ball, she wasn’t allowed to dance.
She had even less luck in her married life.
Caroline’s husband, chosen for her, was the Prince of Wales, the future Prince Regent and King George IV of England.
The Prince’s money problems
Caroline was by no means the Prince’s one and only. By the time he was considering marriage, the Prince already had kept several mistresses and had even entered into an illegal marriage with a Catholic woman, Maria Fitzherbert. Though the marriage was never valid, the Prince referred to Maria as his wife for years after his marriage to Caroline.
The only reason the Prince agreed to legally wed Caroline, or any woman at all, was because he was deeply in debt – millions of dollars in today’s money. He regularly exceeded his generous annual allowance, and his lavish spending was taking its toll on the government coffers.
King George III refused to settle his son’s debts unless his heir married an eligible princess. So Prince George reluctantly agreed to enter into matrimony on the condition that his allowance was to be doubled in addition to his debts being paid.
Enter Caroline
Caroline in 1795, painted by Gainsborough Dupont.
And that’s how Caroline of Brunswick came into the picture. She was the daughter of the British Princess Augusta and the Duke of Brunswick. Princess Augusta was the sister of King George III, which made Caroline’s mother the Prince’s aunt.
Not only was Caroline an eligible Protestant princess, but the Prince’s marriage to her would further strengthen the alliance between England and Brunswick.
For King George III and his royal advisors, Caroline was the perfect choice to wed the Prince of Wales.
Meeting her prince
Even though Caroline and George were first cousins, they had never met in person. There were no photographs in those days, so the young couple relied on carefully crafted painted portraits to “see” each other – sort of like the 18th-century version of Tinder.
But painted portraits, designed to flatter their subjects, can lie. When Caroline and George finally saw each other right before their wedding, both were disappointed in their future mates.
When the Prince of Whales first laid eyes on his future bride he was taken aback. Caroline at age 27 wasn’t bad-looking, and some sources even describe her as pretty at this stage in her life, with golden curls. But she was short and rather heavy, graceless, and loud. She was also careless about her personal hygiene and by some accounts had to be reminded to bathe more often and change her underclothes.
You could see why someone as fussy and fastidious as the Prince would be appalled. After meeting Caroline, the Prince reportedly asked for a glass of brandy and retreated to the far corner of the room.
As for Caroline, she later commented that her intended was “very fat and he’s nothing like as handsome as his portrait.”
Caroline may have been naïve going into her marriage, but she was no fool. She noticed, and was unhappy about, the Prince’s obvious preference for the company of Lady Jersey, who was his mistress at the time. Prince George had sent Lady Jersey to meet his future bride when Caroline landed in England, and he also made his mistress his future wife’s Lady of the Bedchamber. But despite their mutual misgivings, the royal pair went through with their wedding anyway, on April 8, 1795.
Off to a bad start
Another Sir Thomas Lawrence portrait of Caroline, painted in 1798.
However, the Prince’s bad first impressions of Caroline soon congealed into real antipathy. He insisted later he only had sexual relations with his wife three times – twice after the wedding and once a week later. In any event, it was just enough to conceive their only child, Princess Charlotte, who was born in 1796.
Though they shared a residence (Carlton House) the couple unofficially separated within weeks of their marriage. After Charlotte was born, Caroline moved out, establishing herself in a rented place close to Blackheath.
His dynastic duty done, the Prince proceeded to publicly ignore his wife. As much as he could arrange it, she wasn’t part of his life. She wasn’t invited to his parties or court functions. He severely restricted her access to her child, insisting that a nurse or governess had to be with her when she visited the baby.
As far as he was concerned, his legal wife didn’t exist. He continued to exceed his allowance, lavishing money on his palaces, clothes, mistresses, and entertainment.
A neglected wife
In the years that followed, stories began to circulate that Caroline had taken lovers – rumors that led to a “delicate investigation” into her conduct in 1806. During the investigation Caroline was not allowed to see her daughter at all, and even after the charges of infidelity were proved groundless, Caroline’s visits with Charlotte were further restricted to once a week, and only in the presence of her mother, the Dowager Duchess of Brunswick.
Jane Austen weighs in
Like most of the British public, Jane Austen had an opinion on the squabbles between the royal couple. She was firmly on what today we’d call “Team Caroline.”
Here’s what she wrote in a letter to a friend in 1813 about the Princess of Wales: “Poor woman, I shall support her as long as I can, because she is a Woman, & because I hate her Husband . . . but if I must give up the Princess, I am resolved at least always to think that she would have been respectable, if the Prince had behaved only tolerably by her at first.”
The Princess goes on holiday
Caroline and Pergami together in a caricature by George Cruikshank, 1821
In August of 1814 Princess Caroline left England and her husband, who was now the Prince Regent, for a self-imposed exile on the Continent. After a visit to her native Brunswick, she moved to Italy. Back in England, the Prince Regent continued his extravagant lifestyle.
Freed from the restrictions she’d known in England, Caroline went a little wild, and word of her behavior soon reached London. One scandal in particular was her liaison with a handsome Italian hunk who was many years her junior. He was a servant she hired in Milan, and his name was Bartolomeo Bergami. He later changed his surname to Pergami because he thought it sounded more aristocratic.
According to gossip, Caroline spent much of her time cavorting with Pergami and dressing and acting in ways inappropriate to her age, much less her station in life. But perhaps she was reacting to years of being stuck in England with a husband who made no secret of his disgust of her.
Caroline returns to England
After leaving England in 1814 Caroline stayed in Europe for six years. While she was away her daughter Charlotte married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and the happy couple soon became pregnant.
In 1817, with Caroline still living abroad, tragedy struck when Charlotte died giving birth to a stillborn son. Caroline heard the news of her daughter’s death from a passing courier, showing how far she had been cast out of the royal circle.
Charlotte’s death and the death of the baby made Caroline’s position in the royal family even more tenuous. As the Prince Regent’s estranged wife, she had much less clout than she would have had as the mother and grandmother of his heirs to the throne.
So when mad old King George III died in 1820 and it was the Prince’s turn to become king, Caroline decided it was time to return to England. She was determined to claim her rightful role as queen consort.
The new king, however, was equally determined that she would never sit beside him on the throne.
Next time: England’s “Injured Queen,” Part 2.
**
Sources for this post include:
The Prince of Pleasure and his Regency 1811-20, by J.B. Priestley, Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 1969.
Our Tempestuous Day, by Carolly Erickson, William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1986.
An Elegant Madness, High Society in Regency England, by Venetia Murray, Viking (Penguin Putnam, Inc.) New York, 1999.
The Regency Companion, by Sharon Laudermilk and Teresa L. Hamlin, Garland Publishing Inc., New York and London, 1989.
On the 1st of each month, Regency Fiction Writers publishes our FREE online newsletter, The Regency Reader, to anyone interested in Regency Fiction (1780-1840). The publication features author interviews, tidbits about the Regency era, and a listing of new titles from members and non-members. Members’ releases also appear here on the blog. Submit your September Regency-set Fiction Release or Regency Author Article by August 24th, to appear in the September issue. Information submitted after August 24th will appear in the October issue. (Subscribe now!)
For more information about an author, click on the author’s name, website, or show/hide the blurb for the book.
She’s forbidden to wed a nobody. He’s nothing in society’s eyes. Will their desperate schemes backfire before they find a way to be together?
Northanger Abbey. Eleanor Tilney can’t bear her lonely life any longer. Distraught when her tyrannical father throws her friend out of the house because the girl lacks an inheritance, the long-suffering general’s daughter decides anything is better than a future all alone. So in a frantic bid for freedom, she puts aside her tender feelings for a man of no standing to pursue a wealthy husband.
Philip Brampton understands that fortune is against him. And he tries gallantly to bury his distress and support his lonely beloved, even after she starts pursuing an arrogant buffoon. But when he catches the fellow about to kiss her, their resulting harsh words cause a heartbreaking rift.
Stiffening her spine in a world that refuses to acknowledge her value, Eleanor attempts to navigate the impossible situation without quashing her desires. And though his shy nature abhors a scene, Philip braces himself for a confrontation with her cruel and abusive patriarch.
Do these childhood sweethearts have any hope of achieving lasting happiness?
Book Title: Tales of Timeless Romance: How Do I Love Thee?
Author Name: Elizabeth Donne
Release Date: 08/02/2023
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Tales of Timeless Romance: How Do I Love Thee?
Series:
Genre: Regency Traditional Romance
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Sweet
Format: eBook
Release Date: 08/02/2023
Author Website: https://elizabethdonnebooks.com
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Spinster is such a loathsome word. But—Miss Sophia Grant has to confess—this is what she has become. With the first strands of greying hair, and lungs weakened by childhood illness, she does not expect to become anyone’s wife anymore. Sophia does not mind it too much. After all, she has her many siblings around her. And her writing, of course. Her days are full of everything that matters. That is, until the letter comes.
Tobias Mannerly is entirely smitten with the written word. It fills every corner of his thoughts and imagination. Perhaps that is why he has not yet found love—no woman can reach his heart the way poetry does. Words are his passion, especially those in the latest poem by a certain Miss S. Grant. How they speak to him, call to him! He must write to her. She must know what power she wields on the page.
What begins as a simple letter by an ardent young literary admirer soon develops into genuine affection. Two modest souls appear to have found their match. But how can Sophia tell her beau that she can never marry? If her father even suspected her feelings, he would be furious! Losing his wife has made him fragile. Clinging to his remaining family has made him unreasonable. It seems an impossible situation. It is just the sort of challenge love is made to overcome, if only Tobias can convince Sophia she deserves it.
Book Title: The Baron and the Lady Chemist
Author Name: Alissa Baxter
Release Date: 08/03/2023
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Baron and the Lady Chemist
Series: The Grantham Girls
Genre: Regency Traditional Romance
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Clean Sweet
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/03/2023
Author Website: https://www.alissabaxter.com/
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Dorothea Grantham has always been fascinated by chemistry and spends most days conducting experiments in her laboratory at Grantham Place, staining silk with gold, silver, and other metals using chemical processes.
Thea embroiders the beautiful gold and silver silk shawls she creates and enjoys wearing them, but her grandmother, Lady Longmore, advises her not to reveal to anyone outside the family circle that she has created the fashion items herself, concerned her granddaughter might be seen as an oddity.
When Thea enters Society, her shawls attract a great deal of attention and become the talk of the town. James, Lord Castleroy, takes a particular interest in her work, having inherited a share in his grandfather’s silk mill in Macclesfield.
Eager to invest in the ailing silk industry, the baron studies Miss Grantham’s silks with an admiring—and increasingly suspicious—eye, believing the fabrics to be smuggled imported silk. As he spends more time with the enterprising young lady, however, his interest in her quickly extends beyond his business affairs to engulf his guarded heart.
But Lord Castleroy isn’t the only person in London interested in Thea’s exquisite creations. And when a silken web of intrigue entangles her in real danger, Thea must trust the devotion of a man she never expected—or intended—to fall in love with.
Book Title: Austen Tea Party
Authors Names: Alexa Santi, Amanda Faye, Angela Kady, Anja Raney, Bianca White, Carrie DiRisio, Catherine Bilson, Catherine Stein, Cecilia Rene, Charlie Lane, Christina Alexandra, Clyve Rose, Deborah E Pearson, Debra-Ann Kummoung, Ella Hazard, Elle Linder, Gabbi Grey, JKLycke, Katy Rose, Kenna Campbell, Michaela Brent, Sharon Michalove, Stacey Jaine McIntosh, Tabetha Waite, Tanya Wilde, TL Clark
Release Date: 08/09/2023
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Austen Tea Party
Series:
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Romance Cafe Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/09/2023
Author Website: https://www.alexasanti.com
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Take care not to spill the tea (literally) while we share the latest on-dit (aka dish the dirt) about the Ton, who is courting, and who has been compromised in this collection of Austen-inspired romance stories.
Join us for a turn around the room in stories from USA Today best-selling and award-winning romance authors curated by the New Romance Café featuring cameos from some of Jane’s most memorable characters (and some we’d like to forget). ALL proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Book Title: The Solitary Rose
Author Name: Anne Rollins
Release Date: 08/14/2023
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Series:
Genre: Fantasy or Science Fiction Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/14/2023
Author Website: http://www.annerollins.com
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Henry Dawson, sorcerer and apothecary assistant, works to support his mother and younger siblings after his father’s investments and consequent death leave them penniless. Invited to woo a reclusive heiress with magical empathy, he reluctantly accepts, despite a preference for earning his own way.
Emma Ainsworth fears smallpox scars and her hypersensitivity to others’ thoughts make her ineligible for marriage. Sheltered by her aunt and uncle, she has withdrawn from most social life and wears a veil whenever she must go out.
When a serious injury confines Henry to Emma’s estate for the summer, a verbal duel ensues—Emma wants to test her empathy in a sexual relationship, not marry him. What neither admits is their fear that passion might burn them both.
Book Title: Claiming the Chess Mistress
Author Name: Andrea K Stein
Release Date: 08/15/2023
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Claiming the Chess Mistress
Series: Sex, Lies, & Forbidden Desires Book 4
Genre: Erotic
Publisher: Muirgen® Publishing, LLC
Content Rating: Burning (Hot)
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/15/2023
Author Website: https://www.andreakstein.com/
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The loss of Col’s damning journal pages is about to turn deadly;
The forfeit of Charlotte’s closely guarded secrets might destroy her;
Will their mutual quest for justice bring them together, or tear them apart?
By night, she’s a masked chess mistress who challenges and trounces all takers; by day, she’s the ethereal white-blonde beauty who volunteers at the children’s refuge in Seven Dials — Charlotte Smythe lives a luxurious double life of ease as the mysterious chess genius at Goodrum’s House of Pleasure..
After spending years as a gifted investigator extricating others from their peccadillos, dedicated Bow Street runner Archer Colwyn has landed in a suds of his own making. The light-hearted journal of sensual exploits he and his school chums kept while students at Cambridge has gone missing, and the secrets within his particular pages, if revealed, could set off deadly consequences.
The dangerous Captain El Goodrum, proprietress of the most infamous house of pleasure in London, holds the key to their retrieval. In exchange for her cooperation, she demands he run a gauntlet of secrets to deliver a master criminal to justice. His only path to the damning pages is the inscrutable chess mistress who not only resents his attempts to romance away his journal pages, but seems to relish his dread and panic at the prospect of the pages becoming public knowledge.
Charlotte craves the kind of refuge she provides to the orphans she rescues from London’s stews. The respite she seeks away from the world in her St. John’s Wood villa with her two house companions is all that keeps her sane, but sometimes, late at night, she needs something more, something even she cannot name.
The irresistible Kendrick clan returns in the latest Scottish-set historical romance from the USA Today bestselling author—a witty, sensuous and adventure-filled romp that will delight Regency fans and readers of Sabrina Jeffries and Victoria Alexander. Charlotte “Charlie” Stewart would rather don a kilt and ride her horse than simper in a ballroom. But with her younger sister about to be wed, she can’t escape the pressure to be next. A husband has been chosen, and Charlie’s fate seems set. Until an afternoon gallop sends her horse colliding with Kade Kendrick, the broad-shouldered Highlander who was once her childhood pal . . .
Book Title: THE LYON’S PERFECT MATE
Author Name: Cerise DeLand
Release Date: 08/23/2023
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Series: The Lyon’s Den
Genre: Regency Georgian Romance Historical Fiction
Publisher: Dragonblade
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/23/2023
Author Website: https://cerisedeland.com
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Can two people who have learned how to fight for all they want and win push pride aside to save their love and their marriage?
Miss Priscilla Taunton has little to commend her. No looks, no titled family, no savoir faire. But her fortune can buy her a husband if she’s brave enough to use it.
Cilla has struggled to make a new life for herself. Years of ridicule and suppression at the hands of her parents mean she has had to live down the scurrilous reputation her elders cast upon her. But after creating herself anew, Cilla needs a husband of good cheer and spotless reputation. To make that a reality, she’ll use her money, all of it, if necessary, to hire Mrs. Dove-Lyon—and ask for herself only one special reward.
Captain Valerian Anderleigh has always won every battle. Hailed by his superiors as honorable, revered by his men as heroic, he is a legend.
When Val returns home from the wars to assume his family’s title, he meets challenges for which no battlefield prepared him. His estate is flooded. His stepmother and her two daughters spend every penny. His younger brother runs wild.
Val will do anything to resurrect his family’s pride. Even enter the Lyon’s Den and assume a terrible burden. Surprisingly, marrying a lovely, lonely woman becomes not a challenge but a greater joy than he anticipated.
Losing the love of his life in defeat is not an option.
Book Title: Love Blooms with the Duke
Author Name: Alexa Aston
Release Date: 08/31/2023
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Series: Suddenly a Duke
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 08/31/2023
Author Website: https://alexaaston.com/al
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Xander Hughes, London’s biggest rake, suddenly becomes the Duke of Brockbank and guardian to two nieces he has never met. He decides he must turn over a new leaf and become a sober, responsible duke and starts by hiring a Miss Fennimore, a governess for the girls. Soon, Xander wonders if she might make for an even better duchess.
Willa’s parents were the toast of London’s theater world until Theodosia Fennimore murdered her playwright husband and leaped to her death. Not wishing to become an actress like her mother, Willa supports herself as a companion and governess, finding her latest post is to instruct a duke’s two unruly nieces.
As Willa falls in love with the orphaned girls, she finds herself also tumbling into love with the Duke of Brockbank. She’s been warned that the duke was a wild rogue before he inherited his title, but Willa only knows the caring man who meets his duties head on and spends an inordinate amount of time with his nieces, who aren’t so terrible after all.
After Brockbank offers marriage to Willa, she dreams of a new life filled with love and happiness. The only thing standing in her way is the secret of her past. If Willa shares her background, she fears she might lose Xander forever.
Will Xander reject Willa when he learns of the scandal involving her parents—or will this rule-breaking duke flout the rules of Polite Society yet again and make a most inappropriate woman his duchess?
Book Title: Defended by a Duke
Author Name: Cheryl Bolen
Release Date: 09/01/2023
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Series: The Beresford Adventures
Genre: Regency Mystery
Publisher: Dragonblade
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/01/2023
Author Website: https://www.cherylbolen.com/
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On the day he’s to wed the woman of his dreams, Richard Harwood, the 6th Duke of Bentley, is summoned by the Prince Regent. The prince and Britain’s Home Secretary suspect the family of his prospective bride, the powerful Beresfords, of plotting to overthrow the government. Bentley is encouraged to go ahead with the wedding but to say nothing to his wife about her traitorous relatives. He’s to quietly investigate.
In her first Season, lovely Emily Beresford, has the good fortune to win the heart of the kingdom’s most sought-after matrimonial catch, the handsome Duke of Bentley. From the moment they met, the two have been hopelessly in love. So why does this man she adores abandon her on their wedding night?
Bentley’s inquiries keep stealing him away from this woman he craves with every aching breath, his wife. These same inquiries point to a plot so sinister it threatens everything he loves, especially his duchess. . .
Lord Archie Carrington knows a beauty when he sees one. Barmaids and countess alike fall beneath the charm of the youngest-ever editor of Edinburgh’s sharpest political and literary quarterly. So when he sets out to write an exposé on the new Lord Advocate, the clever Scotsman devises a plan to charm his opponent’s shy portraitist daughter out of her smock—and her family secrets.
in the eyes of the beholder.
But Maisie Conway knows a rogue when she sees one and although she agrees to paint Lord Carrington’s portrait, she rebuffs all of Archie’s attempts at flirtation and familiarity. That is, until Archie offers to pose nude as a life drawing lesson and Maisie cannot resist the opportunity to uncover all of his manifest charms. Posing leads to passion, but soon they find themselves working at cross purposes. As Archie and Maisie follow the dictates of their desire, will they learn to trust one another, or will the dark secrets surrounding them cost them their only chance to achieve true love?
Book Title: Catch Her if You Can
Author Name: Sandra Sookoo
Release Date: 09/12/2023
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Series: Diamonds of London #3
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: New Independence Books (indie label)
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/12/2023
Author Website: https://www.sandrasookoo.com
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When a lady snubs love and romance in favor of being ruined, all hell will break loose.
Lady Katharine “Kitty” Gibson is the youngest child of the Earl of Armestead. At six and twenty, she wants no part of living a fairytale and desires love even less. She has dreams for her life that do not include romance, but tolerating a man long enough to be ruined would be a lovely addition and might allow her past society’s dictates that domestication and a good match is all she should aspire toward.
Mr. Reginald Healy made his first fortune with the East India Company and his second importing beautiful silk fabric and selling it first to ladies in American then to the beau monde in London. All he has ever wanted is to be respected as a gentleman instead of the “earl’s fool” he’s been nicknamed. When he purchases a rundown manor house in the countryside and furthers his acquaintance with a winsome blonde who is not in his usual style, his dream shifts to include a wife and possible family.
While Reginald tries his best to be more to Kitty than a gentleman with benefits, she thinks him endearing and a tad embarrassing. He’s not much changed from when he’d proposed to her ten years prior, but the longer his clumsy attempt at wooing continues, romance creeps in to mar her lovely no-strings-attached affair. Terrified and confused, she sets out one night to flee into obscurity, but as Reginald gives chase, unexpected peril on the road makes them both face their biggest fears and has the capacity to show them both that falling in love can be whatever they need it to be.
Book Title: Earl of My Dreams
Author Name: Sylvie Sinclair
Release Date: 09/18/2023
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Series: Romancing the Rogue
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Sylvie Sinclair
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/18/2023
Author Website: https://www.sylviesinclair.com
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All Miss Sophie Everett wants is to see her beloved cousin happily married to the man she loves, and she’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen. When a prime opportunity for matchmaking presents itself in the form of a country house party, she contrives to spend the week sowing the seeds of romance…until a fellow guest arrives with ideas of his own. Soon Sophie finds herself butting heads with the most stubborn man she’s ever known. A man who once owned her heart…
James Halloran, the Earl of Dearborn, is in need of an heir, but first he must find a wife. He thinks he’s found precisely what he wants: a girl possessed of both beauty and breeding, one who will make few demands and never touch his heart. The perfect countess. Unfortunately, the girl’s cousin—the maddening Miss Everett—does not share his enthusiasm for the match, and vows to prevent it, no matter the cost…
As their feud turns to friendship, sparks fly and passions ignite. But secrets, long kept hidden, threaten to destroy their future before it’s even begun…
Book Title: The Hellion of Drury Lane
Author Name: Katherine Grant
Release Date: 09/19/2023
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Series: The Scandals and Scoundrels of Drury Lane
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Katherine Grant
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild)
Format: eNovella
Release Date: 09/19/2023
Author Website: https://www.katherinegrantromance.com/the-hellion-of-drury-lane/
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Behind the scenes, drama cuts both ways…
For Samantha Billings, nothing can go right. Ever since she inherited her father’s business as head carpenter for Drury Lane Theatre, she has been fighting off problems from creditors to unending rain. When an inspector of the carpentry guild announces he will stop her work unless she hires a master carpenter, Samantha fears she may lose everything – but she resolves to overcome, one way or another.
For Oliver Chow, nothing can go wrong. In London for the first time ever, he is celebrating his new status as a master carpenter and looking for the adventure of a lifetime. When he happens upon a woman carpentress in distress, he is happy to help – even if it is in name alone.
Thrown together to thwart the guild’s inspector, Samantha and Oliver discover that sometimes, a little drama behind the scenes can have a surprisingly happy outcome.
Book Title: The Duke’s Defender (The Duke’s Guard, Bk 6)
Author Name: C.H. Admirand
Release Date: 09/22/2023
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Series: The Duke’s Guard
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/22/2023
Author Website: https://www.chadmirand.com
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The Duke’s Guard: The men in black who have sworn an oath to protect the Duke of Wyndmere and his family from enemies that would stop at nothing to discredit and destroy him!
“Lass, ye need to trust someone in yer hour of darkness…let it be me.”
Aiden Garahan is tasked with protecting the duke’s new ward. He promises to protect her with his life. The lovely young woman, with auburn hair and quiet gray eyes is no child, but a petite, curvaceous beauty. His reaction to her is unexpected and unwanted.
Miss Emily Montrose may be small in stature, but she is no shrinking violet! When a runaway carriage tragically cuts her father’s life short, she is thrust into chaos as the duke’s ward. Her life is turned upside down when rumors and a wager challenges all comers to win her hand. Emily’s life is threatened as the wager increases and unscrupulous men see her as a prize.
Aiden must cut through the lies to the truth. He guards her valiantly and vows to protect her to the last beat of his heart, while she steals it away, one glance at a time…one caress at a time. Aiden faces a battle he never imagined…one that pits his heart against his honor!
Danger stalks in the night, but it will have to challenge The Duke’s Defender before he will let harm come to those he has sworn to protect with his strength, his honor, and his heart.
Book Title: A Radical Affair
Author Name: Louise Mayberry
Release Date: 09/22/2023
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Series: The Darnalay Castle Series
Genre: Regency Georgian Gothic Romance Suspense Historical Fiction
Publisher: Louise Mayberry
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/22/2023
Author Website: https://www.louisemayberry.com
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What harm could one night of pleasure do?
Cybil Bythesea is imprisoned in a marriage that ended ten years ago. That’s when she fled the cruelty of her husband, Lord Falstone, and took refuge at her father’s estate in Northumberland. Since then, her family’s money has kept the villain at bay, and she’s been able to pursue her creative passion—writing. But freedom, true freedom, has been beyond her grasp.
Except for her clandestine liaisons with Will.
Will Chisolm is haunted by the past, the tragedy of his family’s eviction from their ancestral Highland farm, then his own foolish descent into political radicalism. Even now that he’s gained wealth and respectability as the manager of a set of spinning mills in Glasgow, he’s burdened with more responsibility and guilt than anyone knows.
But there’s something about Cybil—a lightness, a kinship that, at least temporarily, makes all Will’s troubles fade away. It’s a dangerous game. Cybil is his employer’s sister, the wife of his political enemy and for the last four years, his lover.
She’s also with child. Will’s child. And their world, their lives, will never be the same.
Book Title: Death and the Sisters
Author Name: Heather Redmond
Release Date: 09/26/2023
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Series: Mary Shelley Mysteries
Genre: Regency Mystery Historical Fiction
Publisher: Kensington
Content Rating: Suspense
Format: Print eBook AudioBook
Release Date: 09/26/2023
Author Website: https://www.heatherredmond.com
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London, 1814: Mary Godwin and her stepsister Jane Clairmont, both sixteen, possess quick minds bolstered by an unconventional upbringing, and have little regard for the rules that other young ladies follow. Mary, whose mother famously advocated for women’s rights, rejects the two paths that seem open to her—that of an assistant in her father’s bookshop, or an ordinary wife. Though quieter and more reserved than the boisterous Jane, Mary’s imagination is keen, and she longs for real-world adventures.
One evening, an opportunity arrives in the form of Percy Bysshe Shelley. At twenty-one, Shelley is already a renowned poet and radical. Mary finds their visitor handsome and compelling, but it is later that evening, after the party has broken up, that events take a truly intriguing turn. When Mary comes downstairs in search of a book, she finds instead a man face down on the floor—with a knife in his back.
The dead man, it seems, was a former classmate of Shelley’s, and had lately become a rival. What was he doing in the Godwins’ home? Mary, Jane, and Shelley are all drawn to learn the truth behind the tragedy, especially as each discovery seems to hint at a tangled web that includes many in Shelley’s closest circle. But as the attraction between Mary and the married poet intensifies, it sparks a rivalry between the sisters, even as it kindles the creative fire within . . .
Book Title: Dashing Through the Snow
Author Name: Sandra Sookoo
Release Date: 09/27/2023
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Series:
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: New Independence Books (indie label)
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 09/27/2023
Author Website: https://www.sandrasookoo.com
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When two disillusioned people accidentally meet, finding a common bond in scandal will give them back hope.
The Honorable Laurence Bannerman lingers in London to avoid joining his family at his father’s country estate in Surrey to celebrate Christmastide. As the third son and a fourth sibling, nothing was ever expected of him, so his behavior has been quite scandalous. That is until he meets a woman who makes him long for a wife and wish for a change… but dogs don’t change their spots, do they?
Miss Eleanor Comerford hasn’t exactly been a darling of the beau monde. Though Christmastide brings with it naught but guilt and regret, there is the glimmering hope her family might forgive her past transgressions and take her back into their fold. Pretending to be someone she’s not is tiring, but when her path crosses that of a stranger, a plan begins to form… for she still dreams of belonging.
Forced to share the same traveling coach, when Eleanor asks Laurence to enter into a fake engagement with her to lend legitimacy to her story, he agrees merely to protect her and see her safely home. Perhaps a friendship would stave off loneliness during the journey north. As they come to know each other, hurts and secrets from their pasts bubble to the surface, and with acceptance comes a budding romance. Only with a holiday miracle will they have the chance to realize they never needed lies or proper images to grasp love… for they were worthy of it all along.
Book Title: Fashioning the Duke
Author Name: Alexa Aston
Release Date: 07/20/2023
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Series: Suddenly a Duke
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/20/2023
Author Website: https://alexaaston.com/
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A career army officer who never has known love . . .
The bastard daughter of an earl who owns a millinery shop . . .
A growing passion that could turn Polite Society on its ear . . .
Major-General Nigel Foxwell has spent his entire adult life at war. When he receives word that his much older half-brother has died, Fox inherits not only the title Duke of Abington—but he becomes the guardian to his two nieces who are on the verge of making their come-outs.
Miss Delaney Colebourne lost her beloved father and suffers the wrath of his heir. The new Lord Kinnison tells members of the ton if they frequent Delaney’s Designs, he and Lady Kinnison will give them the cut direct. His edict causes Delaney’s business to evaporate overnight.
A chance meeting at a solicitor’s office has Fox pleading with Delaney to help him manage his nieces’ come-outs. She agrees to design the young ladies’ wardrobes and has her former employees help her in making up gowns for the pair. An attraction grows—and Fox and Delaney act upon—but she refuses to marry him.
Will this newly-minted duke convince Delaney that she can maintain her independence and still love him—or will her mistrust of Polite Society prevent her from a lifetime of love?
Find the answer in Alexa Aston’s Fashioning the Duke, Book 5 in Suddenly a Duke.
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Book Title: The Debutante Dilemma
Author Name: Valerie Bowman
Release Date: 07/25/2023
The Debutante Dilemma
Series: The Whitmorelands
Genre: Regency
Publisher: June Third Enterprises, LLC
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook AudioBook
Release Date: 07/25/2023
Author Website: https://www.valeriebowmanbooks.com/
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When a debutante with a plan…
Lady Jessica Whitmoreland has always had a clear plan for her debut Season: find a suitable husband and secure her place in Society. Her sights are set on the catch of the Season, the Duke of Thornbury, Aiden Thornton. But when he offends Jessica during their first encounter, she writes him off as rude and arrogant.
Meets a duke with an attitude…
Aiden is a rake who shudders at the thought of settling down. He prides himself on crushing the dreams of hopeful debutantes. But when he realizes he’s offended a Whitmoreland, he has no choice but to make amends, and quickly. Only Lady Jessica isn’t interested in his apology. She wants nothing more to do with him, leaving Aiden feeling frustrated—and more than a little intrigued.
Sparks are bound to fly.
Aiden can be exceedingly charming and persistent, however, and despite Jessica’s initial reluctance to forgive him, they become unlikely friends. But when she resumes her search for the ideal husband, Aiden realizes he’s feeling more than friendship for the quick-witted beauty. Her sensuous kisses tell him she feels more too. Passion is never in short supply when they’re together, but this is not the perfect courtship Jessica imagined. Can they let go of first impressions for a chance at lasting love?
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Book Title: BECAUSE OF YOU
Author Name: Cerise DeLand
Release Date: 07/21/2023
BECAUSE OF YOU
Series:
Genre: Regency Romance Mystery Suspense Historical Fiction
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/21/2023
Author Website: https://cerisedeland.com
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BECAUSE OF YOU, MATRIMONY! #2
Love does not advertise. Love is not proud.
But when a young woman has nothing left but pride, she places an ad and hopes for a husband to treasure.
Miss ‘Daisy’ Molyneaux is desperate. All her family is dead. Her home in Normandy, attacked by mobs. Now that the little general has abdicated, she has a chance to gain back her lands. But she needs a husband who will help her regain her rights. So she pays to post an advert for a husband.
When the man who answers is not one she could ever love, but his nephew could be, can she accept his proposal?
Garrick Ruxton appears to her like a golden-haired hero, a handsome creature who saves her from an imperfect marriage. Garrick vows to accompany Daisy to France and, in the bargain, solve his own problem. His shipments, meant for British forces on the Continent, constantly go missing. He knows not who or how or why the thieves steal his goods. Worse, someone has attempted to kill his uncle. Daisy, too.
Garrick must find all those guilty before he is accused of treason. Before Daisy loses all hope of regaining her rights. And before they both lose the one chance they have to find happiness together.
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Book Title: The Lady Behind the Masquerade
Author Name: Diane Gaston
Release Date: 07/25/2023
The Lady Behind the Masquerade
Series: A Family of Scandals
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Harlequin
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild)
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/25/2023
Author Website: https://dianegaston.com
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The ton’s newest member
Is not all she seems…
Diplomat Marcus Wolfdon can’t forget the alluring woman he met in Paris, the passionate night they shared or that she stole his money and disappeared! A year later, Wolf meets Juliana again in Brighton, seemingly a member of the ton. She begs him to keep their former liaison secret, and the emotion in her eyes compels him to agree. Desire still flares between them, but first Wolf must uncover the lady behind the masquerade.
From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.
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Book Title: Clever Lass, A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Author Name: Mary Alice Alexander
Release Date: 07/01/2023
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Clever Lass, A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Series:
Genre: Regency
Publisher: self
Content Rating: Clean
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/01/2023
Author Website:
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Clever Elizabeth Bennet’s world is imperilled by the unjust entail which looms over her beloved family estate, Longbourn. Her father’s ailing health only exacerbates the urgency of their predicament. Determined to ensure that the odious Rev William Collins never inherits her home, Elizabeth embarks on a courageous journey to end the entail once and for all.
Fitzwilliam Darcy, an arrogant scion of wealthy lineage, accompanies his rich tradesman friend, Charles Bingley, to survey the Netherfield estate. Caroline Bingley, a woman of calculated ambition, sees Darcy as the ultimate prize. Her plans are threatened, however, when Bingley becomes captivated by the gentle Jane Bennet. Caroline’s jealousy and resentment know no bounds.
Darcy finds himself irresistibly drawn to the spirited and independent-minded Elizabeth Bennet. As their paths intertwine, Darcy’s conviction that she is beneath him in fortune, connections, and station, is challenged by her character and wit. Charles Bingley, deceived by his conniving sister, must overcome societal expectations, and find the courage to follow his heart.
Elizabeth’s audacious hope to thwart Collins and preserve Longbourn for her family leads her to an unexpected ally, and perhaps even love, amidst the chaos. Darcy and Bingley must confront their own shortcomings and reassess what truly matters in life.
Book Title: Never Admire an Adventurer
Author Name: Regina Scott
Release Date: 07/17/2023
Never Admire an Adventurer
Series: Fortune’s Brides: Guarding Her Heart
Genre: Regency Traditional Romance
Publisher: Edwards and Williams
Content Rating: Clean Sweet
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/17/2023
Author Website: http://www.reginascott.com
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A pretend engagement puts her life and his heart on the line.
Kristof Tanner grew up dreaming of glorious adventures far beyond the little kingdom of Batavaria. He’s followed his king and crown prince across Europe to England, but he never expected his first position there to be guarding the daughter of a wealthy businessman, who doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. Still, it’s hard not to see adventure calling in Julia Hewett’s warm brown eyes.
Julia has been fretting under her father’s demands for years. She won’t allow him to dictate a husband, especially when he insists no less than a duke will do. So, when her father refuses to listen to her pleas, she concocts the most unsuitable engagement she can imagine—to her bodyguard. If the charming Tanner plays along, they might both get what they want.
But it soon becomes apparent that someone is stalking Julia, intent on her downfall. Tanner and Julia must work together to uncover the culprit and save her reputation and his. In doing so, they may discover that the greatest adventure of all is falling in love.
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Book Title: Good Duke Gone Hard
Author Name: Eliana Piers
Release Date: 07/01/2023
Good Duke Gone Hard
Series: The Good Dukes
Genre: Regency Romance Historical Fiction
Publisher: Free Mind LS
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild) Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/01/2023
Author Website: http://www.elianapier.com
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She remembers everything, the love, the loss, the pain…
He remembers nothing.
Can love find two separated souls a second time?
Lady Margaret is a restless soul staving off love until she finds a purpose in life that can fulfill her in more ways than a husband can. She’s had love and lost it with her brother’s best friend who went missing after they shared a summer of passion. When he shows up unannounced on her doorstep three years later, she’s not convinced that giving him a second chance will have a different outcome.
Jonathan, the Duke of Somersby, has amnesia. When he wakes up remembering the name Chatsworth, it takes him to the one woman who holds the key to unlocking his deepest memories and possibly opening his hard heart.
But how can he convince the woman who wants to hide his secrets to finally share them?
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Book Title: Intrigue At Longbourn: Elizabeth Bennet’s Secret Investigation & Mr Bennet’s Audacious Plan: A Pride & Prejudice Prequel
Author Name: Gill Mather
Release Date: 06/24/2023
Intrigue At Longbourn: Elizabeth Bennet’s Secret Investigation & Mr Bennet’s Audacious Plan: A Pride & Prejudice Prequel
Series: The Elizabeth Bennet Series
Genre: Regency Traditional Romance Mystery Historical Fiction
Publisher: Inquisitor Books
Content Rating: Clean
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 06/24/2023
Author Website: https://www.gillmather.com
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…Imagine how it was before Netherfield is let.
Elizabeth Bennet enjoys a lively six months before Netherfield Park is let at last. She is appalled to learn that a pregnant teenage kitchen maid, Alice, was dismissed from Longbourn House eight or nine years earlier with no thought for her welfare or that of her unborn child.
Unable to involve her family on the occasion, she approaches the recently arrived young rector of Longbourn parish, the handsome and charming Mr Wilde, and he agrees to assist her in secret. Their apparently clandestine association is noticed and misinterpreted by some.
Meanwhile, to secure the family’s future, Mr Bennet embarks on a complicated, high-risk scheme which is ultimately in danger of spiraling out of control.
Holidays provide welcome diversions and the social scene is enhanced by a young scientist named Julius Fairweather.
Nevertheless, father’s and daughter’s separate manoeuvres inevitably clash, stoked up by a jealous mischief-maker, as the summer races inexorably towards Michaelmas of 1797 when a young man of large fortune named Bingley first enters the neighbourhood.
…Become better acquainted with the characters in Jane Austen’s magnificent ‘Pride & Prejudice’ and prepare yourself for the sequel, ‘Menace At Pemberley’…
…Witness the first encounters between Elizabeth and Darcy…
…Read the first chapter of ‘Menace At Pemberley’ which begins immediately after Elizabeth and Darcy marry and continues with a large Christmas family gathering at Pemberley as foretold in ‘Pride & Prejudice’…
Written in a classic, easy-to-read, literary style, ‘Intrigue At Longbourn’ is a well-researched account of life in the late eighteenth century for the landed gentry and others and is a tribute to literary icon Jane Austen.
Ahoy, mateys!
Mark your calendars for our August Monthly Tea on Thursday, August 17 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. This month’s topic is “Pirates and Piracy in the Regency” presented by Sarah Craze.
Monthly teas are free to RFW members, but you must be a member to attend. For more details about this online event and how to reserve your spot, click this link.
Information on how to become an RFW member can be found on this page of our website
Hope you can join us for this swashbuckling seminar!
The effects of the Mt. Tambora eruption in 1815 weren’t felt in Europe and North America until 1816 and lasted for a number of years. At the time, no one understood that the change in weather patterns was due to a volcanic eruption in the Dutch East Indies, almost 10,000 miles away. It wasn’t until the last half of the 20th century that scientists conclusively demonstrated the global cooling effects of volcanic eruptions.
Immediate effects of the 1815 eruption
The earliest indication that the weather patterns were changing came in December of 1815, with the changes becoming obvious by the time spring and summer arrived. Though Asia experienced an abnormal monsoon season and there was a famine in China, the most dramatic effects of the Mt. Tambora eruption were observed in the U.K., Western Europe, the Atlantic regions of Canada, and New England.
Europe
July of 1816 was the coldest July on record in England, and the year itself was the 11th coldest, with the third coldest summer, since 1659. These temperatures contributed to August frosts in England and Europe, and the flooding of major rivers, including the Rhine, due to abnormal storms and unusually heavy rain.
In December of 1815, red and yellow snow fell in record amounts near the Adriatic coast. Fearing that the unprecedented event was an ominous sign from God, the residents held a religious procession. That winter also saw unusual amounts of snow and freezing rain in the Abruzzo region. Intense blizzards blanketed Hungary, and because of the ash in the atmosphere, the snow that fell was brown.
People were already experiencing food shortages across Europe in the aftermath of the long Napoleonic Wars. But the lowered temperatures and heavy rainfall resulting from the Mt. Tambora blast caused the oat, wheat and potato harvests to fail, resulting in famine across Britain and Ireland. In Germany, the lack of food was especially acute.
Depiction of Jane Austen based on a sketch by her sister Cassandra
For Jane Austen, the summer of 1816 was rainy and miserable. Writing to her nephew about the weather that summer, she said “It is really too bad, & has been for a long time, much worse than anybody can bear, & I begin to think it will never be fine again.” She also recounted a conversation with a neighbor where she noted “of its’ being bad weather for the Hay – & he returned me the comfort of its’ being much worse for the Wheat.”
Across Europe food prices skyrocketed, and not knowing the cause of the spike, the hungry protested in front of bakeries and grain markets. Riots followed, with arson and looting. Though riots during times of food scarcity weren’t uncommon, the food riots of 1816-17 were some of the most violent since the French Revolution.
And that wasn’t the end of the miseries. Famine and malnourishment breed disease, and between 1816 and 1819 major typhus epidemics broke out across Europe, especially in Italy, Switzerland, Scotland, and Ireland. As the disease spread throughout Great Britain and Ireland it killed more than 65,000 people.
North America
Abnormal weather afflicted the newly minted United States of America as well. A “dry fog” hung over the eastern states in the spring and summer of 1816. It reddened the sky and darkened the sun, and neither wind nor rain could disperse it. But the real problem was the summer cold and drought that damaged and killed crops, especially corn, causing widespread food shortages.
Thomas Jefferson, painted by Rembrandt Peale, 1800
Frost, snow and ice made an unseasonable appearance that summer in the U.S. Similar to Italy and Hungary, Maryland’s snow was discolored – brown, bluish and yellow.
In Lebanon, New York, the temperature dipped below freezing nearly every day during May, and in early June the ground froze.
In Pennsylvania, there was ice in the rivers and lakes during July and August, and Virginia saw frost in August. Across the new country, the unusual cold was accompanied by lack of rain.
“We have had the most extraordinary year of drought and cold ever known in the history of America,” Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend. “The summer, too, has been as cold as a moderate winter.”
Long-term effects
The summer of 1816 made a deep impression on those who lived through it and led to the development of scientific and technological innovations, cultural movements and the birth of a new literary genre.
Here are a few examples of how that year affected society in lasting ways:
Science
Justus von Liebig
Justus von Liebig was only 13 years old and living in Darmstadt during the summer of 1816. He saw first-hand the famine-caused suffering, especially severe in Germany. The starvation he must have witnessed as a child surely influenced his life and inspired his work in agriculture to prevent future famines.
As an adult, Liebig became a scientist, studying biological and agricultural chemistry, and today he is considered one of the founders of organic chemistry.
Because of Liebig’s innovations in plant nutrition and mineral fertilizers, the famine of 1816 was described as the “last great subsistence crisis in the Western world” by John Dexter Post in his 1977 book.
Transportation
Karl Drais on his invention in 1819
Another German, prolific inventor Baron Karl von Drais, observed the crop failures caused by the disrupted weather patterns of 1816 and pondered their effect on the horse-based transportation system of the time. Due to scarcity, the price of oats climbed, and since oats were needed to feed horses, the cost of travel increased as well.
So, Drais went to work and invented his “Laufmaschine,” (also called a velocipede, draisine, hobby horse or dandy horse), a simple two-wheeled machine that has evolved into today’s bicycles and motorcycles.
Von Drais’ machine didn’t have pedals but it was one of the first examples of mechanized personal transport. His first ride, on Baden’s best road in June of 1817, covered a distance of 4.3 miles and took a little more than an hour. Nevertheless, that ride was a major milestone in the development of horseless transportation.
The Settlement of the American West
Joseph Smith by unknown artist, circa 1842
Some Americans fleeing the dire consequences of the unpredictable summer of 1816 (including crop failures, famine, forest fires, flooding, drought, frost and snow) left their New England homes and migrated to the Northwest Territory.
As a result of this population influx, Indiana became a state in 1816 and Illinois followed two years later. In their search for a better life, these migrating farmers and their families began the settlement of the American West, and helped establish what became known as America’s Heartland.
One such pioneer family, led by Joseph Smith, left Vermont for Palmyra in western New York, setting off a chain of events that eventually led to the Book of Mormon being published and the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Literature
Image from the 1831 edition of Frankenstein
Lord Byron and his friend John William Polidori, who was Byron’s personal physician and also a writer, passed the summer of 1816 in Switzerland at the Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva. In June they were visited by the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley with his 18-year-old wife Mary, and Claire Clairmont, Mary’s step-sister and Byron’s mistress.
Kept indoors by the incessant rain, the group decided to hold a contest to see who could create the best scary story. Mary’s story became the first draft of the horror classic, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, which she published in 1818.
Byron told a story about a vampire, which prompted Polidori to write The Vampyre in 1819. Polidori’s novella has since inspired countless vampire romance stories, including The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, creating a new sub-genre of gothic fantasy fiction – the romantic vampire.
Also that during that cold and rainy summer, Byron wrote a poem titled “Darkness.” It is perhaps the most evocative contemporary account of what that summer must have felt like to the people who lived through it:
The bright sun was extinguish’d, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
Morn came and went—and came, and brought no day,
And men forgot their passions in the dread
Of this their desolation . . .
The poem goes on to great detail describing global devastation, including forest fires, famine, and widespread death resulting from this darkness, ending with these lines:
The winds were wither’d in the stagnant air,
And the clouds perish’d; Darkness had no need
Of aid from them—She was the Universe.
Fortunately the climate crisis of 1815-1816 eventually disappeared on its own, as the aerosol veil in the atmosphere caused by the eruption of Mt. Tambora slowly dissolved. I don’t think we will be as lucky with our current climate crisis.
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Sources for this post include:
The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History, by William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2013
The Regency Years, During Which Jane Austen Writes, Napoleon Fights, Byron Makes Love and Britain Becomes Modern, by Robert Morrison, W.W. Norton & Company, New York and London, 2019
Depiction of the eruption of Mt. Tambora, imagined by Leon Sonrel, 1821
Who doesn’t love warm summer weather? Summer is the perfect time for walking barefoot in the grass, outdoor picnics and going to the beach.
But in some place in the U.S. and around the world this summer, wildfires are raging and heat records are shattering.
Climate change, due to the “greenhouse effect” caused by burning fossil fuels, is the most likely culprit for these climate abnormalities.
But climate change can have other causes and effects. For example, there was a year during the Regency when people suffered because the sun wouldn’t shine and temperatures plummeted. The sky was dark and the world was cold.
It was 1816, known as the year without a summer.
The Eruption of Mt. Tambora
The reason for the “year without a summer” was another climate disaster – a massive volcanic eruption. And this disaster had lasting repercussions.
Sumbawa, a small island in Indonesia (known as the Dutch East Indies during the Regency) is approximately 10,000 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, and almost 8,000 miles distant from London, England. I’d guess that most people living in the United States and the United Kingdom at that time were scarcely aware of the island’s existence.
But on April 5, 1815, a volcano on Sumbawa, Mt. Tambora, erupted violently with a series of blasts. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the Lt. Governor of Java, was at his post 800 miles away when he heard what he thought was a volley of cannon fire.
Sailors onboard ships at sea heard the blasts, and believed a battle was taking place. Fields composed of pumice, some as large as three miles wide, covered the South Indian Ocean like icebergs.
Then, five days later Mt. Tambora erupted again, and this time the blast was even worse. Three huge columns of fire rose in the air, coming together at the top, spewing ash, debris and molten rock while lava streamed down the mountainside.
A top-side view of Mt. Tambora’s enormous caldera, taken by NASA in 2009.
About 12,000 people lived close to the mountain, and almost all were dead within 24 hours. Twenty miles away from the blast site, villages were covered in ash that was 40 inches thick. Hundreds of miles away, layers of dust ruined crops, killed cattle, fish and other wildlife, and poisoned water.
Famine and disease came next, causing even more destruction, until the death toll in Indonesia reached at least 90,000 people.
All told, the eruption of Mt. Tambora in 1815 killed hundreds of thousands of people, either directly or indirectly. It is still the largest volcanic eruption ever witnessed or recorded, ten times more violent than the eruption of Mt. Krakatoa in 1883. The Mt. Tambora eruption released a burst of volcanic energy equal to exploding 33 gigatons of TNT.
Climate Effects
When Mt. Tambora blew, about three to four thousand feet blasted right off the top of the mountain. Ash and tephra (fragments of magma and other minerals) from the eruption shot into the earth’s stratosphere and were dispersed by winds around the globe, forming an almost invisible aerosol veil that scattered sunlight, effectively blocking the sun’s rays and lowering temperatures around the world.
Although the aerosol veil reflected only about one-half to one percent of the incoming energy of the sun, that percentage was enough to cool temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere by approximately three degrees Fahrenheit. And that 3-degree reduction was enough to change weather patterns and wreak agricultural destruction on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
But the effects of the Mt. Tambora eruption were not felt in Europe and North America for many months. It wasn’t until the spring and summer of 1816 that the change in climate began to become quite noticeable.
Popular beliefs
Persistent rain, flooding, frost and snowfall during the summer months in Europe and North America were some of the climate abnormalities caused by the volcanic blast.
Other effects included drought and raging forest fires, crop failures and famine. To people living in the Northern Hemisphere in 1816, the world must have seemed as though it were turned upside down.
Two paintings by Caspar David Friedrich, a German Romantic landscape artist, vividly illustrate the atmospheric changes observed in Europe following the eruption of Mt. Tambora.
The first was painted in 1809. Notice how clear the sky is.
Monk by the Sea, by Caspar David Friedrich, 1809.
The second painting is set in roughly the same location, but it was painted eight years later. The yellowish-grey sky recorded by the artist attests to the lingering atmospheric effects of the volcanic eruption.
Two Men by the Sea, by Caspar David Friedrich, 1817.
Next: The long-lasting effects that “the year without a summer” had on science, literature, and the settling of the American West.
* * *
Sources for this post include:
The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History, by William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2013
The Regency Years, During Which Jane Austen Writes, Napoleon Fights, Byron Makes Love and Britain Becomes Modern, by Robert Morrison, W.W. Norton & Company, New York and London, 2019
On the 1st of each month, Regency Fiction Writers publishes our FREE online newsletter, The Regency Reader, to anyone interested in Regency Fiction (1780-1840). The publication features author interviews, tidbits about the Regency era, and a listing of new titles from members and non-members. Members’ releases also appear here on the blog. Submit your August Regency-set Fiction Release or Regency Author Article by July 24th, to appear in the August issue. Information submitted after July 24th will appear in the September issue. (Subscribe now!)
For more information about an author, click on the author’s name, website, or show/hide the blurb for the book.
New This Month
Book Title: Fashioning the Duke
Author Name: Alexa Aston
Release Date: 07/20/2023
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Fashioning the Duke
Series: Suddenly a Duke
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/20/2023
Author Website: https://alexaaston.com/
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A career army officer who never has known love . . .
The bastard daughter of an earl who owns a millinery shop . . .
A growing passion that could turn Polite Society on its ear . . .
Major-General Nigel Foxwell has spent his entire adult life at war. When he receives word that his much older half-brother has died, Fox inherits not only the title Duke of Abington—but he becomes the guardian to his two nieces who are on the verge of making their come-outs.
Miss Delaney Colebourne lost her beloved father and suffers the wrath of his heir. The new Lord Kinnison tells members of the ton if they frequent Delaney’s Designs, he and Lady Kinnison will give them the cut direct. His edict causes Delaney’s business to evaporate overnight.
A chance meeting at a solicitor’s office has Fox pleading with Delaney to help him manage his nieces’ come-outs. She agrees to design the young ladies’ wardrobes and has her former employees help her in making up gowns for the pair. An attraction grows—and Fox and Delaney act upon—but she refuses to marry him.
Will this newly-minted duke convince Delaney that she can maintain her independence and still love him—or will her mistrust of Polite Society prevent her from a lifetime of love?
Find the answer in Alexa Aston’s Fashioning the Duke, Book 5 in Suddenly a Duke.
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Book Title: The Debutante Dilemma
Author Name: Valerie Bowman
Release Date: 07/25/2023
The Debutante Dilemma
Series: The Whitmorelands
Genre: Regency
Publisher: June Third Enterprises, LLC
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook AudioBook
Release Date: 07/25/2023
Author Website: https://www.valeriebowmanbooks.com/
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When a debutante with a plan…
Lady Jessica Whitmoreland has always had a clear plan for her debut Season: find a suitable husband and secure her place in Society. Her sights are set on the catch of the Season, the Duke of Thornbury, Aiden Thornton. But when he offends Jessica during their first encounter, she writes him off as rude and arrogant.
Meets a duke with an attitude…
Aiden is a rake who shudders at the thought of settling down. He prides himself on crushing the dreams of hopeful debutantes. But when he realizes he’s offended a Whitmoreland, he has no choice but to make amends, and quickly. Only Lady Jessica isn’t interested in his apology. She wants nothing more to do with him, leaving Aiden feeling frustrated—and more than a little intrigued.
Sparks are bound to fly.
Aiden can be exceedingly charming and persistent, however, and despite Jessica’s initial reluctance to forgive him, they become unlikely friends. But when she resumes her search for the ideal husband, Aiden realizes he’s feeling more than friendship for the quick-witted beauty. Her sensuous kisses tell him she feels more too. Passion is never in short supply when they’re together, but this is not the perfect courtship Jessica imagined. Can they let go of first impressions for a chance at lasting love?
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Book Title: BECAUSE OF YOU
Author Name: Cerise DeLand
Release Date: 07/21/2023
BECAUSE OF YOU
Series:
Genre: Regency Romance Mystery Suspense Historical Fiction
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/21/2023
Author Website: https://cerisedeland.com
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BECAUSE OF YOU, MATRIMONY! #2
Love does not advertise. Love is not proud.
But when a young woman has nothing left but pride, she places an ad and hopes for a husband to treasure.
Miss ‘Daisy’ Molyneaux is desperate. All her family is dead. Her home in Normandy, attacked by mobs. Now that the little general has abdicated, she has a chance to gain back her lands. But she needs a husband who will help her regain her rights. So she pays to post an advert for a husband.
When the man who answers is not one she could ever love, but his nephew could be, can she accept his proposal?
Garrick Ruxton appears to her like a golden-haired hero, a handsome creature who saves her from an imperfect marriage. Garrick vows to accompany Daisy to France and, in the bargain, solve his own problem. His shipments, meant for British forces on the Continent, constantly go missing. He knows not who or how or why the thieves steal his goods. Worse, someone has attempted to kill his uncle. Daisy, too.
Garrick must find all those guilty before he is accused of treason. Before Daisy loses all hope of regaining her rights. And before they both lose the one chance they have to find happiness together.
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Book Title: The Lady Behind the Masquerade
Author Name: Diane Gaston
Release Date: 07/25/2023
The Lady Behind the Masquerade
Series: A Family of Scandals
Genre: Regency
Publisher: Harlequin
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild)
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/25/2023
Author Website: https://dianegaston.com
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The ton’s newest member
Is not all she seems…
Diplomat Marcus Wolfdon can’t forget the alluring woman he met in Paris, the passionate night they shared or that she stole his money and disappeared! A year later, Wolf meets Juliana again in Brighton, seemingly a member of the ton. She begs him to keep their former liaison secret, and the emotion in her eyes compels him to agree. Desire still flares between them, but first Wolf must uncover the lady behind the masquerade.
From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past.
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Book Title: Clever Lass, A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Author Name: Mary Alice Alexander
Release Date: 07/01/2023
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Clever Lass, A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Series:
Genre: Regency
Publisher: self
Content Rating: Clean
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/01/2023
Author Website:
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Clever Elizabeth Bennet’s world is imperilled by the unjust entail which looms over her beloved family estate, Longbourn. Her father’s ailing health only exacerbates the urgency of their predicament. Determined to ensure that the odious Rev William Collins never inherits her home, Elizabeth embarks on a courageous journey to end the entail once and for all.
Fitzwilliam Darcy, an arrogant scion of wealthy lineage, accompanies his rich tradesman friend, Charles Bingley, to survey the Netherfield estate. Caroline Bingley, a woman of calculated ambition, sees Darcy as the ultimate prize. Her plans are threatened, however, when Bingley becomes captivated by the gentle Jane Bennet. Caroline’s jealousy and resentment know no bounds.
Darcy finds himself irresistibly drawn to the spirited and independent-minded Elizabeth Bennet. As their paths intertwine, Darcy’s conviction that she is beneath him in fortune, connections, and station, is challenged by her character and wit. Charles Bingley, deceived by his conniving sister, must overcome societal expectations, and find the courage to follow his heart.
Elizabeth’s audacious hope to thwart Collins and preserve Longbourn for her family leads her to an unexpected ally, and perhaps even love, amidst the chaos. Darcy and Bingley must confront their own shortcomings and reassess what truly matters in life.
Book Title: Never Admire an Adventurer
Author Name: Regina Scott
Release Date: 07/17/2023
Never Admire an Adventurer
Series: Fortune’s Brides: Guarding Her Heart
Genre: Regency Traditional Romance
Publisher: Edwards and Williams
Content Rating: Clean Sweet
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/17/2023
Author Website: http://www.reginascott.com
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A pretend engagement puts her life and his heart on the line.
Kristof Tanner grew up dreaming of glorious adventures far beyond the little kingdom of Batavaria. He’s followed his king and crown prince across Europe to England, but he never expected his first position there to be guarding the daughter of a wealthy businessman, who doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. Still, it’s hard not to see adventure calling in Julia Hewett’s warm brown eyes.
Julia has been fretting under her father’s demands for years. She won’t allow him to dictate a husband, especially when he insists no less than a duke will do. So, when her father refuses to listen to her pleas, she concocts the most unsuitable engagement she can imagine—to her bodyguard. If the charming Tanner plays along, they might both get what they want.
But it soon becomes apparent that someone is stalking Julia, intent on her downfall. Tanner and Julia must work together to uncover the culprit and save her reputation and his. In doing so, they may discover that the greatest adventure of all is falling in love.
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Book Title: Good Duke Gone Hard
Author Name: Eliana Piers
Release Date: 07/01/2023
Good Duke Gone Hard
Series: The Good Dukes
Genre: Regency Romance Historical Fiction
Publisher: Free Mind LS
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild) Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/01/2023
Author Website: http://www.elianapier.com
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She remembers everything, the love, the loss, the pain…
He remembers nothing.
Can love find two separated souls a second time?
Lady Margaret is a restless soul staving off love until she finds a purpose in life that can fulfill her in more ways than a husband can. She’s had love and lost it with her brother’s best friend who went missing after they shared a summer of passion. When he shows up unannounced on her doorstep three years later, she’s not convinced that giving him a second chance will have a different outcome.
Jonathan, the Duke of Somersby, has amnesia. When he wakes up remembering the name Chatsworth, it takes him to the one woman who holds the key to unlocking his deepest memories and possibly opening his hard heart.
But how can he convince the woman who wants to hide his secrets to finally share them?
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Book Title: Intrigue At Longbourn: Elizabeth Bennet’s Secret Investigation & Mr Bennet’s Audacious Plan: A Pride & Prejudice Prequel
Author Name: Gill Mather
Release Date: 06/24/2023
Intrigue At Longbourn: Elizabeth Bennet’s Secret Investigation & Mr Bennet’s Audacious Plan: A Pride & Prejudice Prequel
Series: The Elizabeth Bennet Series
Genre: Regency Traditional Romance Mystery Historical Fiction
Publisher: Inquisitor Books
Content Rating: Clean
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 06/24/2023
Author Website: https://www.gillmather.com
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…Imagine how it was before Netherfield is let.
Elizabeth Bennet enjoys a lively six months before Netherfield Park is let at last. She is appalled to learn that a pregnant teenage kitchen maid, Alice, was dismissed from Longbourn House eight or nine years earlier with no thought for her welfare or that of her unborn child.
Unable to involve her family on the occasion, she approaches the recently arrived young rector of Longbourn parish, the handsome and charming Mr Wilde, and he agrees to assist her in secret. Their apparently clandestine association is noticed and misinterpreted by some.
Meanwhile, to secure the family’s future, Mr Bennet embarks on a complicated, high-risk scheme which is ultimately in danger of spiraling out of control.
Holidays provide welcome diversions and the social scene is enhanced by a young scientist named Julius Fairweather.
Nevertheless, father’s and daughter’s separate manoeuvres inevitably clash, stoked up by a jealous mischief-maker, as the summer races inexorably towards Michaelmas of 1797 when a young man of large fortune named Bingley first enters the neighbourhood.
…Become better acquainted with the characters in Jane Austen’s magnificent ‘Pride & Prejudice’ and prepare yourself for the sequel, ‘Menace At Pemberley’…
…Witness the first encounters between Elizabeth and Darcy…
…Read the first chapter of ‘Menace At Pemberley’ which begins immediately after Elizabeth and Darcy marry and continues with a large Christmas family gathering at Pemberley as foretold in ‘Pride & Prejudice’…
Written in a classic, easy-to-read, literary style, ‘Intrigue At Longbourn’ is a well-researched account of life in the late eighteenth century for the landed gentry and others and is a tribute to literary icon Jane Austen.
Book Title: Three Wicked Nights with a Notorious Earl
Author Name: Sandra Sookoo
Release Date: 06/13/2023
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Series:
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: New Independence Books (indie label)
Content Rating: Burning (Hot)
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 06/13/2023
Author Website: https://www.sandrasookoo.com
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Can a marriage arranged in childhood survive the earl’s infamous reputation?
The Honorable Miss Evangeline Rigsby has been engaged from the age of five to a man about whom she has only heard improper tales. On her twenty-sixth birthday, she is sent to the wild Cornish coast to wed her reclusive betrothed, sight unseen, and with no choice in the matter, for he holds her father’s vowels and the mortgage to his townhouse in London. Beyond annoyed, she is more than ready for a challenge of thwarting the wicked earl at every turn.
Sebastian Hamilton, unrepentantly corrupted Earl of Reddingham, has been rejected from the London ton for a myriad of reasons. As duties and responsibilities press in, he’s compelled to put his life in order, and since he has been engaged from a young man of fifteen, it’s time to make the sacrifice. The one saving grace of being leg-shackled is introducing his innocent bride to forbidden carnal pleasures. Perhaps she might help him regain his rightful place in society and respectability.
Following a rather tempestuous nuptial ceremony, the earl sets out to initiate Evangeline into the world of scandal and sin. As each sensual night passes, confidences are exchanged that provide a closeness physical intimacy doesn’t. Shared emotions surprise them both, enhanced by mutual heat and attraction, but as an unexpected romance grows, fears creep in to stall their union. When a vicious squall blows in on the coast, they’ll need to decide that vulnerability and wanting love isn’t as horrid as they previously thought.
Book Title: The Lady’s Daring Gambit
Author Name: Sandra Sookoo
Release Date: 06/26/2023
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Series: Diamonds of London #2
Genre: Regency Romance Suspense
Publisher: New Independence Books (indie label)
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild)
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 06/26/2023
Author Website: https://www.sandrasookoo.com
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She needs to ferret out his secrets. He’s doing his level best to keep them.
Miss Honor Winslow wants revenge. Her father has been missing since the war with Napoleon ended. Then a week ago, a letter arrived from him asking for help, but it wasn’t signed, and no address had been included. Needing answers, she enlists the help of one of her friends, who has connections to the Home Office. If the old, pompous windbags there won’t listen, she will do the job herself, despite her physical difficulties following a minor apoplexy.
All Mr. Gideon McGarrett wants out of life is peace, and nearly forty, it’s finally within reach. Ready to close his last mission, the only thing he needs to do is extract a man of high military rank from where he’s hiding after being wounded. The one thing that stands in the way of a spotless career is the damned interference of a clever and vulnerable woman who insists on joining his mission.
As Honor and Gideon bicker during the journey north, heated awareness springs from forced proximity, and all too soon that desire becomes distracting, especially when a faux engagement is offered out of necessity. Once in the Lake District, when they locate her father, the woman who wants him dead has also arrived. It will take some smart negotiating and perhaps a fight to unravel the mess. Only then can the pair make a go at a life together—if they can stop hiding their emotions and let down their guards to enjoy the ride.
Book Title: Duke in Name Only
Author Name: Caroline Warfield
Release Date: 06/01/2023
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Series: The Entitled Gentlemen
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild)
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 06/01/2023
Author Website: https://www.carolinewarfield.com
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Misfortune is an excellent teacher.
When Phillip Tavernash, Ninth Duke of Glenmoor, discovers his title is held fraudulently, he embarks on a journey to North America determined to succeed on his own. It doesn’t go well. He has no idea what a fish out of water he will be.
Nan Archer had to summon enough backbone to stand up to her father and older brother, who moved their family across the frontier every time civilization reached any clearing in which they’d made a stake. She has landed on the banks of the Mississippi and built something of her own, the tavern Archers’ Roost. She will go no further.
When Nan’s brother dumps a pathetic traveler, robbed, beaten, and wounded on her tavern floor, she takes him in as she would any wounded duck. That he called himself duke is cause for hilarity.
Attraction blooms easily, but can Phillip look past his life of privilege to find what he’s looking for deep inside himself? Can he convince her she’s the answer to his search?
Is he a duke or a bastard? Does it matter in the end?
Book Title: Not Quite A Duchess
Author Name: Alyssa Alexander
Release Date: 06/05/2023
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Series: Servants to Spies
Genre: Regency Georgian Romance Suspense
Publisher: Alyssa Alexander Romance LLC
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 06/05/2023
Author Website: https://www.alyssa-alexander.com
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London 1794
Tess Murray, once a maid in a fashionable London townhouse, traded her apron for a pair of breeches to become a spy—a decision that cost her the man she loved. Determined to become a spymaster and command her own team, Tess is hunting a traitor smuggling muskets to France.
Sebastian Moore, Duke of Northfield, spent ten years fighting to save his family’s reputation. When he finds Tess in his warehouse—and muskets hidden among the goods ready to be shipped—he realizes everything he has worked for is at stake.
He might be a suspect, and she might be a spy, but passion has no rules.
Book Title: The Viscount’s Code
Author Name: Ellie St. Clair
Release Date: 06/23/2023
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Series: Reckless Rogues
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Prairie Lily Press
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 06/23/2023
Author Website: https://elliestclair.com
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Drawn together to break a code, will Hope and Anthony fight for their forbidden love?
His family name sullied after his father was branded a traitor, Anthony, Lord Whitehall, is fed up with all of the ton. His only allegiance is to his small group of daredevil friends, which is why he agrees to help break a code that is discovered as the next clue in their treasure hunt. The code he didn’t realize he would have to break? One in the form of an angelic blond woman who sees the world in sunlight.
Lady Hope Newfield believes love is worth waiting for — it just hasn’t found her yet. Then a surly viscount takes up residence at her family’s country home. She cannot help the irresistible pull to him as he attempts to solve the code, despite the fact that her father has strictly forbid any connection between the viscount and his daughters.
As the hunt to break the code intensifies, so does the danger that follows them, Anthony’s own search into the past, and the irresistible attraction between Hope and Anthony. Will they listen to her father and the voices of reason in their heads, or give in to all of their desires?
The second book of the Reckless Rogues series is a grumpy vs. sunshine, forbidden love, one-bed-only steamy regency romance featuring a beautiful, cheerful heroine, and a surly viscount who needs to move on from his past.
Book Title: All Duke and Bothered
Author Name: Mariah Stone
Release Date: 07/25/2023
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Series: Dukes and Secrets
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Mariah Stone
Content Rating: Spicy
Format: Print eBook
Release Date: 07/25/2023
Author Website: https://mariahstone.com/
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Brooding Duke. Notorious rake. Driven by grief. Forcing his enemy’s daughter into marriage for revenge. About to lose his heart.
Vengeance. Preston Seaton, the Duke of Grandhampton will bring down the man who killed his brother through any means necessary. So when Lord Neville Beckett auctions off his daughter’s hand in marriage to pay his debts, Preston makes a bid Beckett can’t refuse—evidence of murder.
Dreaming of a career as an artist, Penelope welcomes her future as a spinster. So when her father accepts the proposal of a man who despises her, she longs to flee. But she cannot abandon her poor, old father to his destruction. Moving into the powerful duke’s huge mansion, she wonders if she will ever escape this cold, dark prison.
Convinced Penelope played his brother for a fool and got him killed, Preston has no intention of losing his heart. But the sunny artist is soon filling his home with light and joy. Could a forced marriage forged from hatred ever lead to true happiness? And can Preston forgive himself for desiring the only woman his brother ever loved?
Book Title: Return of the Scandalous Lady
Author Name: Barbara Monajem
Release Date: 06/28/2023
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Series: Perilous Secrets
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild) Spicy
Format: eBook
Release Date: 06/28/2023
Author Website: http://www.BarbaraMonajem.com
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Years ago, Frances Templestone left her husband and ran away to France with a lover. Now she’s back, widowed and more mature, but mostly unrepentant. A social pariah, she stays out of sight while her daughter Julia has her first London season…
Until Julia, who is as impetuous as her mother, sneaks out to a masquerade with an unsuitable man. Frances hastens to the rescue, and when she sees Julia about to get into a coach with a handsome stranger, she accuses him—very publicly—of being a rake who ruins innocent girls.
Soon she learns that Jasper, Lord Canterwell, is a respectable man. He wasn’t at the masquerade seeking an easy conquest. On the contrary—his daughter is missing, and he is searching for her everywhere. Aghast, Frances offers to help him. Rudely, he spurns her.
But Frances is determined and Jasper is desperate. Might a scandalous lady with a warm heart and a lively mind be just what a respectable gentleman needs?
Book Title: Fortune Favors the Viscount
Author Name: Caroline Linden
Release Date: 06/27/2023
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Series: The Wagers of Sin
Genre: Regency Romance
Publisher: self
Content Rating: Sensual (Mild)
Format: Print eBook AudioBook
Release Date: 06/27/2023
Author Website: https://www.carolinelinden.com
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There’s no such thing as luck …
Once a lady, reduced to a governess, Emilia Greene is desperate. The child in her care has been left orphaned and penniless, and Emilia will do anything to protect her—even track down the girl’s only relation. That man would be the next Viscount Sydenham, and surely he’ll be gentleman enough to take care of his cousin.
Or scruples …
Unfortunately, that man is Nicholas Dashwood, the dangerously attractive owner of the notorious Vega Club. He’s no gentleman, and he doesn’t want a title. What Nick needs … is a governess, for his younger sister.
When your heart is at stake
Their precarious bargain throws them together in unsettling proximity, until neither can deny their attraction to each other. But Nick has enemies, and Emilia has secrets, and taking a gamble on happily-ever-after could cost them everything.
This 1815 cartoon by George Cruikshank is a contemporary view of how Napoleon’s escape from his exile to Elba to France was regarded by the British. It satirically suggests that a “triumphal pillar” be erected to mark the spot where Napoleon landed on French soil on March 3, 1815. The pillar features a bloody skeleton, a guillotine, and other horrors of the French Revolution.
Red dot showing the remote location of St. Helena off the coast of Africa.
In my earlier post this week I described Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo and how it led him to St. Helena. After trying to evade the British forces and make his way to United States, Napoleon had to accept his punishment, which included a final sea voyage to his last place of exile.
Sketch of Napoleon onboard the Northumberland, on his way to St. Helena.
The trip down the African coast took about two months, and the ship didn’t reach St. Helena until October 15. According to contemporary accounts, Napoleon grew silent on the deck of the HMS Northumberland when he first spotted his future home.
St. Helena in 1815
At his initial sighting of St. Helena, I don’t think Napoleon was struck dumb with admiration. I imagine his heart sank when he saw the island’s forbidding cliffs rising out of the ocean.
On the globe, St. Helena looks like an isolated speck in the middle of the vast South Atlantic Ocean. It’s basically a rock, 1,200 miles west of Angola on the African continent, and 2,500 miles east of Rio de Janeiro.
It is a volcanic island, 47 square miles in area, attached to the ocean floor with only the tip visible above sea level. St. Helena’s nearest neighbor is Ascension Island, another volcanic island and British possession, about 800 miles northwest of St. Helena.
And on the uninhabited Ascension Island, as yet another precaution, a garrison of British soldiers was stationed, under the command of Sir Edward Nicolls of the Royal Marines.
During his stay on St. Helena, Napoleon was guarded by 3,000 troops, and four ships constantly patrolled the coastline to prevent any escape attempts. The man in charge of the famous prisoner, Sir Hudson Lowe, was a harsh and ruthless jailor. Napoleon was not going to escape on his watch.
Death of the emperor
Longwood House, where Napoleon spent his last years in captivity.
Napoleon only lasted less than six years in exile. He spent most of his time in Longwood House, built especially for him. But the house and general location were described by Napoleon and his fellow exiles as humid, damp, and unhealthy – conditions which may have contributed to his death.
Napoleon had many health complaints, including liver problems, towards the end of his life, and he died May 5, 1821, at the age of 51. His doctor listed his cause of death as stomach cancer, but for years there was speculation that he was poisoned by arsenic, either deliberately or accidentally. Lately, though, the death-by-poison theory has been discredited.
The former emperor was buried on St. Helena, but in 1840 the French King Louis-Philippe arranged for Napoleon’s remains to be returned to Paris, where they were buried in splendor under the Dome of Les Invalides.
Napoleon spent much of his time on St. Helena dictating his memoirs. Of his contribution to France during the French Revolution, he said: “I have unscrambled Chaos. I have cleansed the Revolution, ennobled the common people, and restored the authority of kings.”
Following Napoleon’s death, the last of his 20 companions in exile left St. Helena. They departed at the end of May in 1821 and arrived back in Europe on August 2 – another summer cruise courtesy of the Royal Navy.
St. Helena today
Although it’s still remote (the internet didn’t reach the island until 2015) today St. Helena is becoming a tourist magnet for history buffs, hardy hikers, rock climbers, bird watchers, and anyone who enjoys an adventure.
The “Saints,” as the residents are called, encourage the tourist trade with charming restaurants and hotels. I’m sure the cuisine and the accommodations are a decided improvement over what Napoleon experienced over 200 years ago.
There is also much natural beauty on the island to enjoy, as well as boat tours that showcase the large pods of frolicking dolphins and scores of whale sharks in the surrounding sea. You can even visit a resident group of tortoises, one of which is almost 200 years old. And of course, there are many memorials to the island’s famous former resident.
The “world’s most useless airport” on St. Helena
The once-arduous trip has been made a little easier with the construction of an airport, although you may want to think twice about taking that route. Flights to the island are notoriously rough due to high winds and the dangerous effects of wind shear.
Before the airport began to offer regular flights in 2017, to get to the island a traveler had to fly to Cape Town, usually by way of Johannesburg, and then be prepared to embark on a 5-6 day boat trip aboard the cargo liner RMS St. Helena. Bad weather or other complications could make the trip even longer.
That puts Napoleon’s 2-month voyage from England to St. Helena into perspective.
Traces of Napoleon
Napoleon’s exile on St. Helena seems an inglorious end for someone who had a spectacular career, especially considering his meteoric rise from the lowly ranks of an artillery officer to becoming the Emperor of France. But even in 1802, over a decade before his final exile, Napoleon seemed aware of the risk that was inherent in an ambition like his, and he accepted it.
As he put it, “It would be better never to have lived at all than to leave behind no trace of one’s existence.”
Napoleon would no doubt be relieved to know that in St. Helena, Europe, and across the world, there are plenty of traces that attest to the existence of Monsieur Bonaparte.
Snuff box depicting Napoleon’s grave on St. Helena. Look for the trompe de oeil image of Napoleon in the trees.
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Sources:
“From Waterloo to the island of St. Helena,” by Joanna Benazet and Irène Delage, October 2015 (translation Rebecca Young); Napoleon.org, the history website of the Fondation Napoleon
“Why You Should Visit St. Helena, home to the ‘world’s most useless airport’,” by Julia Buckley, Independent.co.us, Thursday, 28 December 2017
The Theatre Royal Bath’s Grey Lady smells of jasmine and appears in 18th century gowns, her hair adorned with feathers. The story goes that she committed suicide, though there are three different accounts as to why.
