#regency romance

HELLO VAMPIRE ENJOYERS, just sharing that I've made the first character spotlight article for The Count of Amaranth Moor; it went out in an email just now, or you can find it on the carrd page!!

IT DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR SEVERAL VOLUMES SO BE FOREWARNED

AT LAST MY CHANCE TO BE AS LONG-WINDED AS I WANT FOR NO REASON. WELCOME

🔗 LINK

Well, she didn't write historical fiction.

She wrote contemporary comedy of manners, depicting and critiquing and making humorous observations on the society she actually lived in. She depicted (some of the) privileges and limitations of the social class she belonged to.

She has characters who compromise their ideals for a comfortable life. Characters who make choices that put a strain on their important friendships. Characters who have miscommunications and misunderstandings that stretch on for months and years, rather than being resolved quickly for the sake of plot convenience. she has characters who experience loneliness. Characters who feel like they don't fit in with what society expects of them.

Jane Austen's protagonists are women. Jane Austen doesn't do split POV to show things from the male love interest's perspective. Women's perspectives are centered in her narratives.

She wrote about subjects under a pen name, because some of the topics she touched on were considered taboo. Lydia eloping with Wickham and having sex before marriage. Emma's friend being the 'natural daughter' of an unnamed man. (Love child, born out of wedlock.) In one of her final posthumous novels, she wrote about a widow who sets up a new marriage for herself and is very clearly cheating on her fiance with a mutual friend, and intends to continue the affair through the rest of her marriage. She is not punished by the narrative for this. She's not depicted as a monstrous villain.

Mansfield Park addresses religious issues and raises questions about slavery. It (unlike many popular 'Regency Romances'), reveals that the source of wealth of many well-to-do people in England came from overseas plantations.

so many contemporary 'Regency Romances' are more moralistic and conservative and less political than the original works that inspired readers' fascination with this period.

Why not try to really emulate Jane Austen?

Are you afraid to confront the major injustices and hypocricies of the society /you/ live in? are you (white middle class writer, i'm talking to you specifically) afraid to critically examine your own class posisition?

are you a USAmerican writer? are you afraid to set your fictional stories in contemporary, recent past, or the historical past of the USA, because you'll have to either address that it's a stolen land built on stolen labor, or write something that's either grossly jingoistic, or clearly extremely surface-level? (Why do you think Regency Era romance is so popular with American readers? It's so they can write about the late 1800s w/o addressing slavery!)

Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Love and Friendship.

^these are titles that hint at major themes.

"Mansfield Park isn't a thematic title." Yes it is. Because the novel addresses why the master of Mansfield Park can afford his English country estate.

do your novels have themes, like ever?

or are you going to churn out yet another shallow escapist fantasy titled some garbage like "Lord Dukington Requires A Bride"?

(/if/ you write that, can you please at least make it a genre parody? You know Jane Austen did a genre parody of the gothic novel when she wrote Northanger Abbey)

do you have something to say about the world we live in now? if you're just writing escapist fantasy, please write something more fantastical. shoot for the moon. indulge every desire. don't let your fictional world be held back by stricter moral standards than preacher's daughter little Miss Jane Austen.

Here’s some Historical Romance in Kindle Unlimited for you! Find your next favorite read!

"Wallflowers, rakes, and everyone in-between: there are new and delightful Regency romances ready and waiting for you.

Between the Georgian and the Victorian period was the relatively short Regency Era (1811 to 1820), marked by King George III’s illness and the appointment of his son George, Prince of Wales, as Prince Regent in his stead (though the term “Regency” is applied to a broader period from 1795 to 1837). Characterized by social and economic reforms, literary figures like Jane Austen and Lord Byron, and fashionably high-waisted dresses, the Regency remains sharp in the modern imagination, especially in the romance world.

The History of Regency Romances

Although historical romances can be set in any historical time and place, the period has remained a popular setting ever since Georgette Heyer popularized the Regency in her historical romances in the 1930s-1970s. Typically featuring balls and courtship among the ton, Regency romances often focus on white, noble characters in heterosexual relationships. To be fair to historical romance, the genre was following a predominantly white and straight industry standard that held across much of publishing history. As publishers have aimed to include more diverse stories and storytellers, there have been exceptions over the years, especially from small presses, of Regency romances with working-class characters, characters of color, and queer characters finding love.

Although there has been a recent decline in publishers acquiring historical romance, less does not mean none. A range of publishers is still promoting and championing historicals. Harlequin may be discontinuing its Harlequin Historical line in the fall of 2027 after 39 years, but will continue to publish historicals under the Carina Press line. Avon, Berkely, Zando, Montlake, Bramble, and others also have historicals on their docket. Independently published historicals are still going strong. Also, Kickstarter has become a space where projects like the Historical Trailblazers: Romance Collection and the JQ Editions: Julia Quinn’s Curated Romance Book Box are thriving.

Have a Ball with these Regency Romances