This month, I'm continuing the historical romance theme and tackling... Regencies!
Why is the Regency such a popular setting? Lots of reasons-- just take a look at what was going on in those days: the Napoleonic Wars, the peak of the Industrial Revolution, the women's rights movement, the birth of Gothic literature, and the Romantic poets, just to name a few. It was the day of Beau Brummel, the Elgin Marbles, Byron, Keats, Shelley (both of them), Ann Radcliffe, and of course, Miss Jane Austen. And at the heart of it all, the Ton: the glittering, fascinating, hothouse environment of Britain's upper crust. Wealth, privilege, education, and refined manners, all held together by a rigid code of conduct for the space of a London Season. I like to think of the Regency period as romance's answer to the sonnet: the rules might seem oppressive and needlessly complicated, designed to strangle creativity, but think what marvellously subtle and nuanced work can result! Is it any wonder that the Regency is the most popular type of historical romance in our library?
