I love writing Regency era Pride and Prejudice variations. At heart, I am a history geek and getting to do research for my writing is probably the best thing ever (unless I’m being too specific and run into brick walls). I’ll even do research “just in case” I decide to include something in a book sometime down the road.
You might remember me mentioning a trip down the rabbit hole last November when our beloved couples spent the evening at the theatre. For that brief scene (which I am considering expanding in order to justify the time I spent researching), I spent several hours (probably an entire afternoon) on The Adelphi Calendar Project website, as well as others, in order to find out what plays and operas were being performed in the London theatres in the months of April and May 1812. (If I ever figure out where I put my notes, I’ll share them with anyone interested.) 😉
For the first book in my Defying Propriety Series, As a Proper Lady Would, I had detailed calendars with dates of the Eton semesters, characters’ birthdays, and holidays,
as well as maps showing the distance for travelling from Pemberley to Eton or Longbourn to Reading Abbey, and the potential stopping points depending on the time of year.
I believe there is probably an app or website that does this for you, but I love the research. (Yes, I know that I am using modern maps, but in truth it is just an estimate and, for the most part, modern roads are built over pre-existing roads.)
Going back a bit further, when I wrote Missing Jane, the majority of the story took place around Bishop’s Castle in Shropshire, England. Shropshire borders Wales, which is a key point in my story. In my search for surrounding towns, I accidentally blew the map up so large that I lost my place and ended up finding Montgomery, Wales. Montgomery? I knew Montgomery! It was one of the places I drove through when visiting Wales in 2019. I had stayed at a manor house called Mellington Hall – so of course I had to go looking and sure enough:
There it was on the map from the early 1800s. You know when you are staying in these places that they are old, but when you see them on the map from over 200 years ago, it really sinks in.
It wasn’t that big a distance between where we stayed and where my story took place. My Welsh character might have even been familiar with the manor! 😀 I totally geeked out over that possibility.
Don’t worry, I am still working on An Interrupted Proposal and trying not to get lost down any rabbit holes. The eBook should be out September 1st and the paperback a few weeks before as I am participating in at least 2 book festivals in September and October. More information to come!
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