The
very first Regencies were penned by the master of the craft, Jane
Austen. Miss Austen's witty social satires chronicled the time in
which she lived. Her delightful literary masterpieces have been
embraced by readers of all ages and backgrounds. Not only are
these romantic gems the subject of University degrees, they have
been adapted to both cinema and television screens. The novels
can be enjoyed on multiple levels-as pre-teens and scholars will
attest. Readers developed a taste for the sublime, and they were
rewarded with a genre of their own…the Regency romance.
For shame if you have never picked up a Regency romance!
Those of you "in the know" realize you have found the best that
the romance genre has to offer. The term "Regency" refers to the
period of history in England from 1811-1820, when George III's
madness meant that his eldest son, later George IV, ruled in his
stead. More broadly, books set between about 1800 and 1830 are
usually considered Regency period. Georgian-set novels (late
1700s and early 1800s), such as The Scarlet Pimpernel, are often
confused with Regencies due to their similarity.
What's The Appeal?
If Jane Austen started it all, it is Georgette
Heyer we have to thank for the genre as we know it today.
Georgette penned a series of books that not only portrayed an
era, they defined a literary genre.
All of Georgette's
brilliant novels should be on the following list, but thanks to
our much-beloved, witty and sardonic social arbiter, many authors
have followed in her elegant footsteps and have added to the
oeuvre.
Traditional Regency romances offer readers the
opportunity to enter another milieu-that of the English nobility,
where a "Season" has a different meaning then simply the passage
of time. Young ladies are introduced to society in a Regency, and
they may be "Diamonds of the First Water," "Incomparables" or
"Originals," but they are never dull. Nor are their clever antics
or the manipulations of the story-teller who "brings them out."
Rules are the essence of a traditional Regency romance,
rules of society, language, and of course the accepted doings of
the ton (the British nobility). But what keeps readers turning
the pages is the wit, the playful language and the sexual
tension.
Sadly, traditional Regencies haven't been
selling well of late, but curiously, the longer historical novels
set during the Regency period are doing famously well. The
difference: Regency historicals are longer and contain sex. While
some readers are delighted with the changes, others, inevitably,
are frustrated by them.
To help save the genre we hope
all romance fans will buy a Regency and support our efforts.
Together we can make a difference.
-Kate Ryan
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