All Categories - Victoria's Regencies

Latest news: A Cover for Lady Laura's Curiosity

6/24/2022

My latest novella, Lady Laura's Curiosity, will be a part of "A Regency Summer Garden," now available for preorder in Amazon and live on July 12, 2023.

Here is the e-book cover for the anthology, with stories by Arietta Richmond, Regina Jeffers, Summer Hanford, Janis Susan May, Olivia Marwood, and me.

Below, the Fashion Plate from Le Beau Monde in 1807 from which I extracted the picture on my 'inner cover' thus continuing my usual/ unusual covers for the series of anthologies.
The magazine Le Beau Monde was published for just a few years (c.1806-1810).

The magazine's descriptions call the lady's headwear a Straw Gypsy Hat, continuing, "a beautiful white down muff adds much to the elegance and splendour of this much admired Walking Spring Dress."
Below a few examples from my previous releases, all with details from period fashion prints. Please click on each image to enlarge the view.

ENCHANTING AURORA: ON AUDIBLE

6/1/2022

Now Available! Narrated by June deBorahae

CLICK HERE: viewbook.at/EnchantingAurora

Experience Sizzling Regency Romance!
She needs to lose her maidenly innocence, he needs to fulfill a wicked challenge. Will this short term arrangement give them both more than they bargained for?

February 18th, 2022

2/18/2022

NEWS FLASH!!!
ENCHANTING AURORA IN PRINT!!

My first STEAMY Regency Romance is NOW AVAILABLE in a 47-page trade paperback version. It's just the right length for curling up with a cup of tea and enjoying the story of how the virginal widow Mrs. Aurora Williams arranged the end of her maidenly innocence.

Order from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09SDVY7VV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vamf_tkin_p1_i5

ENJOY!!

Thinking about SCANDALS...

2/15/2022

The Georgian era abounded in scandals...in a supremely patriarchal society where women were chattel, married women had few rights, and divorce was almost impossible, inevitably many illicit liaisons not only occurred but became public. As a fiction writer, I find I can hardly dream up anything more shocking than the truth, or at least a gossipy, perhaps exaggerated version of it.

Popular print shops sold a wide variety of images of Society beauties, prominent individuals, ever-popular caricatures of politicians, and irreverent portrayals of all sorts of scandals.

Above is one of the most scurrilous, referring to the scandals involving Seymour Dorothy Fleming, Lady Worsley (1758-1818). Caricaturist James Gillray in 1782 portrays her husband "Sir Richard Worse-than-sly, exposing his wife's bottom; – o fye!" that is, showing off his nude wife to a lover.
Married since 1775, the union had gone badly and she was said to have had more than twenty lovers. The story is told in a book by Hallie Rubenhold which was the basis for a film, The Scandalous Lady Worsley. Remember to please click on the thumbnails for larger versions

The spectacular portrait of Lady Worsley reproduced on the covers above is taken from the 1775-76 painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds which hangs at Harewood House, Yorkshire, where Seymour lived after her widowed mother married the wealthy planter Edwin Lascalles, 1st Baron Harewood, in 1770. He owned several Caribbean sugar plantations. Seymour had a handsome dowry with which to attract potential husbands.

Below, a copy of the painting alongside that of her first husband, Sir Richard, in the remains of Appuldurcombe House on the Isle of Wight, their one-time home. I visited the property, maintained in its ruined glory by English Heritage, a couple of years ago and found it beautiful, sad, and haunting. Below are some photographs taken by me and by Kristine Hughes Patrone, my partner in travel adventures. Access her upcoming tours at
http://numberonelondontours.com/

Appldurcombe House was damaged in WWII and fell into ruin after most of the architectural features were sold.

Kristine and I roamed the silent house and grounds with a near reverence for the tragedies that must have played out to leave the estate in such a condition. If you are curious about more, the whole story is told many times on the net as well as in books and the film.
However, I now must admit that after all was said and done, I chose another family scandal to use in my current WIP. More on that next time.

Tales from a Slothful Blogger...

1/31/2022

Do you ever feel like one more task will simply push you over the edge into numbness? I suppose one shouldn't admit it, but I can say now and then, I give into the urge to curl up with a book and pretend I don't have a looming deadline or carelessly avoided chores piling up. Or maybe cuddle with a stuffed flamingo?

All that by way of an excuse for not blogging since November. Oh yes, there was Christmas and all that...and my return to Florida. But I really haven't forgotten all the research rabbit holes I fell into...here are some hints about a few.

The hero in my next summer anthology novella cultivates a grove of walnut trees. Did you know that in the early Eighteenth Century, an extraordinarily frigid winter caused the loss of thousands of English Walnut trees? Walnut trees are prized for their nuts and for their timber, used in paneling, furniture, and particularly for gun stocks.
Like Catherine Morland in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey who "learnt to love a hyacinth," Lady Laura Newhurst (heroine of the unnamed novella in progress) will learn to love walnut trees as more than the source of nuts to flavor baked goods. Please click to enlarge the pictures below

Above, left, Dorothea Bland, aka Dora Jordan (1761-1816), long-time mistress of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV). She was a famous comedienne on the British stage, as well as mother of William's ten children, the Fitzclarences. Right, a portrayal of one of Dora's renowned trouser roles, Rosalind in Shakespeare's As You Like It. The artist is Robert Walker Macbeth. In my story, Lady Laura and her circle will enact a version of this play. It is filled, as so often in The Bard's comedies, with mistaken identities, misadventures, and cross-dressing characters. Below Rosalind dressed as "Ganymede," who mixes delightfully with the typical Shakespearean flair in romantic twists and turns leading to a happy ever after of sorts.

As things stand now in my work-in-progress, the setting is a Berkshire estate in the year 1807, a bit before the actual commencement of the Regency in 1811, but featuring a similar cast of characters: handsome young women looking for a match and young men enjoying the single life, though some of them are gullible enough to be truly worthy of scandal. And speaking of scandal...

One doesn't have to look very far to find lots of scandals to research. As above, a print by James Gillray, 1782, from the National Portrait Gallery in London, which illustrates the story of Lady Worsley (nee Seymour Dorothy Fleming, 1758-1818) and her marital and extra-marital affairs More about this Lady W. in my next blog post.

In the meantime, I am thinking of this graceful equestrienne as Laura, as portrayed in a fashion print from La Belle Assemblee, March, 1807. But I would prefer to find a better depiction of her face...which will FORCE me to keep wandering the net. LOL

And look what's happening in just two weeks...watch for specials on some of my books, including my novella "The Valentine Poem" in a holiday deal!

Check out Love Kissed:

https://lovekissedbookbargains.com/2022/01/28/february-ku-giveaway/

for special prices and a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

Happy Day for Love...heck, make that Happy Month for Love!

Jane Austen in Chicago

10/18/2021

The delightful AGM has concluded and, aside from my over-loaded brain, the event was better than I could have imagined, after all the special problems of the covid era. A brilliant array of speakers and topics kept us busy and fulfilled. Gillian Dow joined us on screen from England, speaking on Theatre and Theatricality, or Jane Austen and Learning the Art of Dialogue: Very engaging analysis of how Austen created such realistic characters and scenes.

The Art Institute of Chicago had an open house in several galleries where we could talk with curators about the art of the Jane Austen era. Below left, J.M.W. Turner seascape; right, Sarah Dupont by Thomas Gainsborough, 1777-79.

Above left, Lady Sarah Bunbury Sacrificing to the Graces,
Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1763-65; right, Stoke-by-Nyland, John Constable, 1836. Below, among the decorative arts; left, Gaming Set, c. 1735, Du Paquier Manufactory; right, Anti-Slavery Medallion, 1787 Wedgwood. Middle row left: Brand Cabinet, c. 1743, design by Horace Walpole, William Hallet, cabinet-maker; right, Library Ladder 1782, William France (English, 1759-1838), made for Badminton House, Gloucestershire

Above, left, King Vulture 1734, Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, modeled by Johann Joachim Kandler, German 1706-75; right, Table Centerpiece, gilt bronze 1768, Denis Rene Gastecloux, London. Below, The Emporium, display of Jane Austen's Regency World magazine with a life size cut-out of Tim Bullamore, publisher, substituting in the Age of Covid.

Below, Victoria poses with speaker Devoney Looser at a Plenary Session.

Dr. Looser, JASNA's North American Scholar, spoke on Sisters and the Arts: Austens, Porters, & Beyond, comparing Writer Jane Austen and her sister Artist Cassandra Austen with Jane and Anna Maria Porter, both novelists. Adding to the fascination of the topic is the anticipation of reading the Porter novels with which I was completely unfamiliar.

The third plenary talk was presented from England by Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures: The Prince Regent: Jane Austen's Royal Fan. He related the story of how Prince George and his librarian, James Stanier Clarke, requested Jane Austen to dedicate her next work to the Regent. Although Miss Austen did not like him at all, she dutifully did so in the case of Emma. Mr. Shawe-Taylor went on to discuss how the Prince Regent, later George IV, although disliked by the public and considered a spendthrift and even a glutton, was a man of excellent taste who acquired many outstanding pictures which still adorn the Royal Collection, including many Dutch and Flemish Works such as the painting below, The Ship Builder and his Wife, 1633, by Rembrandt van Rijn.

I attended several excellent breakouts and special interest sessions, a wealth of experience I will recall for years to come. But I cannot finish without mentioning the costume promenade at the banquet. Below, one of our favorite outfits.

The weekend was polished off with a musicale of selections chosen from the Austen family collection by Maestro Stephen Alltop and Soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg who enchanted us with their performance, but I'm sorry my picture is so distant. Their final selection was a vigorous version of The Battle of Prague, leaving all of us in laughter.

And finally a few of our JASNA-Wisconsin delegates joined up for a last-minute photo.

Seaside Summer...my new novella

6/22/2021

Regency Mid-Summer Mischief, an anthology of seven stories by award-winning and best-selling authors. Just enter the title in your Amazon account and you'll get the page.

My story is Seaside Summer: Miss Veronica Montgomery depends on help from the manager of a seaside hotel, wounded warrior Captain Drew, to deflect the marriage proposals insisted upon by her mother and sister. But what happens when Ronnie and Drew fall in love?

The 'internal' cover for my story again features a Regency-era fashion plate, this one from Ackermann's Repository of Arts, Plate 23, October, 1815.

Here is the magazine's description:

'Walking Dress' A round robe of fine cambric or jaconot muslin, ornamented with a double flounce of French needlework at the feet, under an open pelisse, composed of French Grey sarsnet, lined with salmon colour; the upper part of the sleeves (s)lashed with satin of corresponding coulour fulled and let in. A full ruff of needle-work, and a small French Handkerchief round the neck. French hat of the satin straw, with a quilling of net round the rim; three rows of grey satin ribbon plain or quilled, round the crown and a full plume of white feathers, edged to correspond. Slippers, blue or red Morocco. Gloves, York tan.

Cambric is a fairly stiff-woven cotton fabric, more substantial than muslin; jaconot is an even heavier cotton. Sarsnet is thin silk, usually shiny. The colors: French Grey and salmon appear a bit dimmed in this print, which like most of the others in fashion magazines of that period, were engraved in black and white and hand colored.

REGENCY MID-SUMMER MISCHIEF: Available
now from Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

GOING ROGUE...

2/15/2021

Spoiler alert!! Note, this is a steamy story. The bedroom door is most definitely not closed!

Enchanting Aurora: She needs to lose her maidenly innocence, he needs to fulfill a wicked challenge. Will this short term arrangement give them both more than they bargained for?

Usually I write traditional sweet regencies, sometimes referred to as "clean." This, quite frankly, is what I like to read, using my own imagination to create the steps following the kiss. But this time, I wrote them down.

If you don't like steamy stories, find one of my sweet books instead. Here is what motivated me. Mrs. Aurora Williams turned out to be a character I couldn't discard. She lingered in my head and my muse kept urging her on. I simply had to take on her story. It seems that the unfortunate Miss Aurora Benson went to Brussels in 1815 and met soldier Charles Williams. Her uncle managed the marriage settlements and they were set to marry when suddenly, a battle loomed. Charles and Aurora were wed immediately, but he was called away the moment the ceremony was complete. Instead of a wedding night, Aurora got a hasty kiss on the cheek, and in the same movement, Charles mounted his horse and was off, never to return. She was left a widow and a virgin.
All this was her back story. Now, as she contemplated marrying again, Aurora wished to learn what the marriage act was. How could she find out? There was only one way to complete her knowledge.
So you see why I had to follow Aurora's initiation into intimacy with a man. Luckily, Blake Kingsley turned out to be the perfect teacher. Following every step of her education turned out to be a pleasure for me. I hope you will enjoy her journey too. And his!
What is your opinion on the level of heat in your favorite stories?

ANATOMY OF A RABBIT HOLE

2/10/2021

Above, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham
Some of us who write historical fiction will freely admit we love the research just as much (sometimes more) than the writing. We often exchange stories about how we fall down the rabbit hole of research, immersing ourselves in some arcane bit of knowledge and following clue after clue, until we realize we've spent a whole day in pleasurable, if mostly irrelevant activity. Happens all the time. So follow along with me as I wend my way down the multidinous corridors of my latest rabbit hole.

Above, Alexander Pope's Villa, Twickenham
In my upcoming steamy Regency called Enchanting Aurora, Blake Kingsley, our hero, has a villa on the Thames River in Twickenham, an escape from central London. Where did I learn that many leading figures in the Georgian era had these retreats? Aha! I enter one Rabbit Hole, aka Wikipedia. Soon I was enjoying a website called Experiencing Arcadia where I came upon this delightful painting by Francis Wheatly (1747-1801) entitled The Browne Family, Yale Center for British Art (YCBA), c. 1776, a charming riverside view.

Next, I stumbled upon another very provocative painting by Wheatley, after which I wished I had set my story in the summer instead of the frosty winter. The Salmon Leap is also in the collection of the YCBA, dated 1783.

But I soon realized I should save that for a future story. Stay tuned! Reluctantly, I decided to follow another winding corridor by recalling my own visit to Twickenham when my late husband and I visited Strawberry Hill House, the famous Gothick abode of author and collector Horace Wapole (1717-1797). Please click on the pictures for larger versions.

If you want to read about our visit, please go to
http://numberonelondon.net/2011/07/travels-with-victoria-a-visit-to-strawberry-hill/

Among Walpole's neighbors were the famous sisters, Misses Mary and Agnes Berry, who viewed Walpole almost as a father-figure. Below, as tweens.

Mary Berry (1763-1852) and her younger sister, Agnes (176-1841), inherited many objects and the papers of Walpole. In addition to exchanging many letters with each other, Mary published journals of her life experiences, a valuable source for late Georgian information. She also was responsible for publishing many of Walpole's papers, another priceless source of information, particularly gossip.

Above, Mary Berry (L) and Anne Seyour Damer (R), by distinguished sculptor Anne Damer. Walpole left his house at Strawberry Hill to Damer, who lived there until 1811. Seven years later, she purchased York House, now the Town Hall of Richmond on Thames, including Twickenham, left below.

The portrait of Anne Damer was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Wait!! STOP. I already spent hours on Horace, Mary and Agnes, Anne, now Josh?? None of these subjects were new to me, but I spend hours enjoying reacquainting myself... No wonder I am hungry. It's dinner time and I never stopped for lunch.
I hope you watch for my spicy story, Enchanting Aurora, to be released around March 1, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

BRIDGERTON...

1/14/2021

Netflix is now presenting the eight episodes of Bridgerton's first season, with more to come in the future. The story is based on Julia Quinn's regency-set novels about the Bridgerton family, their relatives and friends.

Left, Rene-Jean Page as Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, and right, Phoebe Dynevor as Daphne Bridgerton Their romance took place in the first book, The Duke and I, and followed up in several more novels. The first season centers on them, with subsequent romances to be followed as the series continues, or so we hope.

I spent more time, the first run through, trying to identify the settings. I had to watch all eight episodes again to enjoy the story. Did you recognise the room above as the Wilton House Double Cube Room? See my post of December 1, 2020, for previous sightings of the room in period dramas. Here are several more from Bridgerton.

Above, also the Double Cube Room in Wilton House, with the young ladies waiting to be presented to Queen Charlotte.

The Bridgerton family supposedly lives in London but the exterior of their house is actually in Greenwich, the Ranger's House, below as it appears in the series on the left, and right, as it looks usually. Click on the pictures for larger versions

Most of the street scenes in what the story called London were shot in Bath where 8th century architecture still reigns. Below, on the lawn before Bath's Royal Crescent.

Lady Danbury's London home was played by Bath's Holburne Museum, which was the Sydney Gardens Hotel in the days of the Regency.

Keeping track of which set served as which family's home must have been a logistical tangle for the crew and editors. Below, left, a ball was staged in the gallery of Hatfield House in Hertforshire, and right, the duke and duchess arriving at their country estate, played by the elegant facade of Castle Howard in Yorkshire.

Among other country house settings used for Bridgerton scenes were Badminton, Stowe, and several more. The latest I have heard is they are contemplating eight seasons of Bridgerton, and I am cheering. All those sights to identify!!!