by Amelia Grey, guest blogger and author of A Marquis to Marry
Do you think love was different between now and during the Regency? The easy answer to this for me is an unequivocal, “no.” But that said, I do believe most of the trappings that lead to and surrounded love were different than from today.
Historians have called the Regency period a time of over-indulgence, maddening elegance, and wasteful extravagance, and from all I’ve read they were right and then some. Even with their lavish parties, their luxurious clothing, and their excessive eating and drinking, one could only come to the conclusion that they loved as passionately, as openly, as secretly, as wildly and as tepidly as we do today.
But to me the main difference between today and yesteryear is that affairs of the heart were not as free as they are today. Society’s rules were much stricter and simply being affectionate in public could open you to ridicule or being completely outcast by Society. In the Regency marriages were often arranged for political or financial reasons. Fathers often went against their daughters’ wishes and forced them to marry men they didn’t love and certainly didn’t want to marry. Today most of us find ourselves shaking our heads over this tradition.
I do think there were probably less intimate love affairs and more pining and loving from a distance because of the rules of Society were so strict concerning women. It was a lot more difficult to court or to carry on a love affair during the Regency because a young lady was seldom left alone for any length of time. As an example of this happens in my current book A Marquis To Marry, which is the second book in the Rogues’ Dynasty Series. My heroine is a thirty-year-old widow, yet she can’t go anywhere alone. She must have a lady companion or a family member with her even if she goes to a park, the dressmakers’ or to a party. It is sometimes quite challenging as an author to come up with ways for the hero and heroine to be alone so I can show the romance developing and have a romantic scene.
One of the ways I did this in A Marquis To Marry was by making the hero and heroine backdoor neighbors. Of course, I had to make it a little more difficult for my strong, sexy hero to get to the heroine’s door than simply letting him walk from his house to hers in the black of night. After a little thought, I decided to have their grounds completely separated by a seven-foot-tall, three-foot-wide yew hedge. And then I had to determine if he would find a way around it or cut his way through it. But finding myself with dilemma’s like that are half the fun of writing.
But when the trappings are gone and love comes down to what people felt in their hearts years ago and what people feel in their hearts today there is no difference.
Now, why don’t you tell me if you think there is a difference between love today and yesterday?
A Marquis to Marry, Book Two in the
Rogues’ Dynasty Trilogy, In Stores October 2009
Alexander Mitchell Raceworth, the dashing fourth Marquis of Raceworth, is shocked when the alluring young Duchess of Brookfield accuses him of stealing priceless pearls belonging to her family. Susannah Brookfield is the most beautiful, enchanting woman he has ever met, but despite his attraction, he's not about to hand over the pearls.
Though suspicion and mistrust drive them apart when the pearls are stolen, Race suggests they pool their resources to recover them. If they do find them, will they finally be able to give in to love, or will the truth of the elusive necklace tear them apart once and for all?
Buy: A Marquis to Marry: The Rogues' Dynasty
About the Author
Amelia Grey’s awards include the Booksellers Best and the Aspen Gold, and as Gloria Dale Skinner, the coveted Romantic Times Award for Love and Laughter and the prestigious Maggie Award. Her books have been featured in Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs. Happily married for twenty-five years, she lives in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Giveaway: 2 winners will receive both of Amelia’s Books out so far: A Duke to Die For and A Marquis to Marry. Open to readers in the US and Canada only. Enter by answering Amelia's question. Additional entries allowed: 1 per relevant comment. Ends: October 12, 2009.
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