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Researching the Regency With Elaine Golden

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Note from Amanda: Thanks to my computer choosing last weekend to have a Complete and Utter Meltdown, I was not able to post Elaine Golden’s guest blog! She has graciously agreed to reschedule for today–and is offering a giveaway as well! Welcome to the Riskies, Elaine…

One of the things I love most about writing historical romance is the research. Oh, I don’t particulraly care about poking around in dusty tomes, but I do love to learn little tidbits about how things were, how people thought and lived differently than they do today. I’ve been known to get lost randomly flipping around in an encyclopedia, or the modern day equivalent by following curious links in Wikipedia. I even keep a Historical Trivia page on my blog filled with odd historical facts (as well as blurbs and excerpts!).

The old author’s adage suggests to “write what you know.” Research is an essential tool to understand the dynamics of the era, and to present a story that will immerse readers in the culture and trappings of an historical romance.

The Internet is such a vast resource for historical research. There are wonderful bloggers who share their knowledge of the era, digitized maps and images and period publications, and there are endless photographs from tourists and travelers. So very many resources available at our fingertips!

And such interesting things I have discovered as I research the Regency era for my Fortney Follies series published by Harlequin Historical Undone!
–The British Regency nearly began 22 years before the Regency Act was passed on February 5, 1811. The reigning George III suffered several bouts of mental illness during his reign and in 1789 Parliament almost passed the Regency Act after a great deal of debate. Only a swift recovery from the King at that time stopped things. I blogged about it earlier this month on the Harlequin Blog.

–When researching the origin of the Regency phrase “in the pink” I discovered the phrase’s origins–and a whole lot more. Dod you know the color pink was considered a “masculine” cover until the 1940s? I blogged about all things to do with pink on my site…

–The Prince Regent loved Brighton and taking the waters there. And he had a favorite bather, a local character named Martha Gunn. I’ve also blogged about bathing in Brighton, Prinny, and Marth on my site!

Earlier this month Diane Gaston posted some great links on Regency research. In addition to those wonderful sites, some of my own favorite Internet links include:
—The Online Etymology Dictionary: Not a traditional dictionary, but an explanation of the origin of words and what they meant at various points in time. Ever wonder if a word is historically accurate? What it meant to the Regency hero or heroine? You’d be amazed at how the meaning of a word can change so radically over the centuries!

–Historical Map overlays with Google Maps: Match historical avenues and parks to today’s view of the world!

Do you have a fun bit of Regency trivia to share? Favorite website for Regency research?

Comment on this blog post for a chance to win an electronic copy of my debut Regency romance, An Imprudent Lady! I’ll select two winners at random at 6 pm Pacific time on Wednesday, February 23…

And do check out other Undones! These short sexy romances are perfect when you have limited time but want a great romance to read. Michelle Styles generously shares this month with me, offering a sexy Roman-era romance with The Perfect Concubine

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Presidents’ Day – Things I Didn’t Know

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Today is Presidents’ Day, a National Holiday celebrating the birthdays of our two greatest presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln (No, it is not just an excuse for some really good sales!).

I decided to look into how Washington and Lincoln might “intersect” with our England, if not just the Regency and to tell you things I learned that I didn’t know (or remember) from my American History school textbooks.

Washington, as we all know, was Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, leading the American victory over Britain in the Revolutionary War. The pivotal battle in the American War of Independence was the Battle of Yorktown, when Washington’s army defeated Cornwallis’s British Army. Cornwallis died in 1805, but certainly his life affected the Regency.

Things I didn’t know:

  • Cornwallis wasn’t just a bad guy, as I thought in elementary school. In fact, he took leave from the Revolutionary War to be at the side of his dying wife.
  • Cornwallis wasn’t perfect, though. He did not exactly approach the defeat of Yorktown as a gentleman. Instead, he feigned illness and sent his second in command to formally surrender his sword to Washington.
  • He did redeem himself in the eyes of Britain, though, going on to become civil military governor in India and Ireland and bringing about significant changes. In Ireland he helped to bring about the Act of Union, and in India, Permanent Settlement.
  • Half of Washington’s army at Yorktown were French soldiers under the command of Rochambeau.
  • Washington, who could not tell a lie, sent fake dispatches to Cornwallis’s superior in New York, convincing him that the American attack would be on New York and not Yorktown.

Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809, a year before “our” Regency time period and his leadership during the American Civil War made him one of our greatest presidents, but, in looking into how his life might have intersected with Britain, I discovered things I did not know.

Things I didn’t know:

  • Lincoln was almost involved in a war with Britain.
Confederate president Jefferson Davis sent two special commissioners to Great Britain, James M. Mason and John Slidell, to England and France as part of a plan to involve Great Britain into a war with America. As they were crossing the Atlantic, an American Captain, Charles Wilkes (who turned out to be a Confederate spy, which shows how convoluted this period of US history was), stopped the British ship on which they were passengers and, with no authority from anybody, had the two commissioners taken into his custody. Known as the Trent Affair, all of Great Britain rose up in outrage at this illegal act. War fever was at high pitch and British men were enlisting in the army in great numbers to sail to America and right this wrong.

  • Queen Victoria’s Prince Albert was instrumental in averting this war.

The Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, wrote a harsh ultimatum to President Lincoln, basically threatening war. When this letter reached Queen Victoria for approval, she sought her husband’s advice. Prince Albert, ill with the fever that would take his life soon after, rose from his bed to draft a less volatile missive, one that would not provoke war. It was his last political act.

  • Lincoln was almost involved in a world war.
During the time of the Trent Affair, Russia was the enemy of England and France. The Czar of Russia sent a fleet of warships to New York and his admirals had instructions to report to President Lincoln if Great Britain did indeed declare war on the US. Who knows what the outcome of that war would have been for the world? Russia and the US on one side; the Confederacy, Great Britain, and France on the other.

Thank goodness Queen Victoria listened to her husband.

Ain’t history grand? What historical facts have surprised you recently? What are you doing this Presidents’ Day?

I have a new contest on my website.
Blogging at DianeGaston.com

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Good Conflict

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I’m working on a fight between the hero and heroine in the balloonist story. I’m pretty happy with it so far and looking forward to the makeup sex that comes next. 🙂

But I realized while writing this that I don’t often write this sort of scene. IMHO one has to be careful with arguments and fights and use them only where they make sense.

I’m not a fan of stories in which the characters are constantly squaring off, unless there’s a really good reason. I have trouble imagining a happy ending when people can’t work anything out. There’s an idea out there that there are couples who constantly fight and make up and it makes things exciting. But the one couple I know in real life who are like that (and I was told early on that this was “just their way”) are fighting more bitterly as they get older. They are afraid to separate and yet neither is willing to compromise, apologize or forgive. It is not romantic. It is tragic. I want better for my heroes and heroines!

I also like story setups in which the hero and heroine are thrown together and try to get along toward some common goal, while there is some other problem that they have to solve before they can be together. Conflict doesn’t always have to be adversarial.

Anyway, what do you think makes a conflict work well? Do you sometimes enjoy a good fight (fictional, of course)?

Elena

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Festive Friday!

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Happy Friday!

It’s currently approaching 60 degrees here in New York City, and that means everyone, myself included, is giddy. GIDDY, I tell you!

I’ve been unable to do much (okay, any) of my own fiction writing because I’ve taken on the job of Community Manager, Romance, for a new site, Heroes and Heartbreakers.

[In thinking about my post today, I guess it could be called Shameless Self-Promotion, only this isn’t about me. It’s not. Really.]

It’s super-cool, and I am having a blast. If you pop by, you’ll see posts from our own Laurel McKee and Carolyn Jewel, with posts from Diane Gaston happening in the future (Janet and Elena will be on-board, too, they just don’t know it yet).

But I have made a vow–and an Excel file with my friend Myretta Robens–to write my own stuff next week, so I’ll be doing that or facing my own and Myretta’s shaming words.

This weekend I’ll be watching a mooseload of Asian films so I can be inspired to return to my Asian heritage demonic hero of my Urban Fantasy. I would say it’s research, but we all know better. Plus, my husband is out of town.

Okay, so enjoy the weather–whatever yours is–and see you next week!

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