by Rebecca Ann Collins, guest blogger and author of My Cousin Caroline
Love, Romance and Passion are the essential ingredients of many modern novels set in the Regency period—a mere 20 year time span in early 19th century England. It may lead one to conclude that the literary output of the period must have been pretty hot!
Not really; because the writings of authors of that era are set against the manners and mores of a rather formal society, with strict protocols of social behaviour and the “adventure and romance” were of a somewhat tamer variety than one might have expected.
The Regency bucks and their willing women portrayed in many novels written about the period were chiefly those in the small circle surrounding the Prince Regent and his hangers-on, with their superficial liaisons and risqué pastimes that were not admired by the general populace. Quite clearly Jane Austen, Mrs Gaskell, George Elliot and the Brontës did not fall under spell of the Regency rage, that absorbed the courtiers of George IV; few of their characters are seducers and fallen women and those who are, seem to get short shrift from their authors—mainly women. Their novels are filled with far more traditional, but no less attractive characters than those of the Regency set.
All over England, thousands of families and communities had grown heartily sick of the excesses of the Regent and his court. They mainly lived ordinary lives – whether they were well bred, wealthy, educated and professional men and women or simple, hard working farmers and tradesmen, their lives were filled with activities and anxieties that many of us would recognise as part of modern life. Their concerns – how to get their sons into employment or their daughters married, while maintaining their hold on the slippery social ladder, provided the subjects for many a famous novel. We meet them in the stories of Austen, Gaskell, Elliot and the Brontës (I would exempt the Gothic drama of Emily’s Wuthering Heights) and later in the novels of Charles Dickens.
Families like the Bennets, the Gardiners, and the Knightleys, fill the pages of the novels we turn to when we want to discover what life was really like in Georgian and Victorian England. Familiar rather than bizarre, they were one reason for the huge popularity of these writers.
This is the genre into which The Pemberley Chronicles, my sequels to Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, fit, and My Cousin Caroline is about the development of a young girl, whose romantic nature and deep passions do not preclude her from becoming a woman of strong convictions, with the skill and sophistication that enables her to match her wits with the best minds in the land, when she is lobbying politicians or running a business.
And, there is certainly no lack of Romance, Love or Passion! Indeed Love and Romance are vital ingredients in almost all the novels of this period. It may not be the reckless romance of the so- called “penny dreadfuls” that filled the circulating libraries, but it is certainly romantic love with familiar elements of dalliance, flirtation, falling in love, courtship and marriage, with an emphasis on the exploration of deeper emotions that engage their hearts and minds.
When Caroline Gardiner, Elizabeth Bennet’s incurably romantic young cousin, falls in love with the amiable Colonel Fitzwilliam (Mr. Darcy’s cousin), few would have believed that she would be more than a compliant Victorian wife and mother. Yet, she surprises her friends and family and even her adoring husband, when she takes up causes dear to her heart with enthusiasm, without losing any of the passion and warmth of her relationships. One of the most attractive couples in the Pemberley Series, Caroline and her Colonel have a very special place in my heart.
My Cousin Caroline; In Stores September 1, 2009!
In this installment of The Pemberley Chronicles series, Mr. Darcy's cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth's cousin Caroline Gardiner take center stage.
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, Caroline develops from a pretty young girl into a woman of intelligence and passion, embodying some of Austen's own values. Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth, Jane, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, and the Wickhams all move through the story as Caroline falls in love, marries, and raises her children. Caroline rejects the role of a compliant Victorian wife and mother, instead becoming a spirited and outspoken advocate of reformist causes in spite of the danger of scandal.
Caroline's advocacy of reform, undaunted by criticism, demonstrates strength in a time when a woman's role was severely restricted.
About the Author
Rebecca Ann Collins is the pen name of a lady in Australia who loves Jane Austen’s work so much that she has written a series of 10 sequels to Pride and Prejudice, following Austen’s beloved characters, introducing new ones and bringing the characters into a new historical era. Thoroughly researched and beautifully written, this series has been extremely successful in Australia with over 80,000 books sold.
Giveaway: Rebecca Ann Collins and Sourcebooks are sponsoring a giveaway of one set of two books: The Pemberley Chronicles
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