Category: Regency era

  • Danger: Rabbit Holes

    Danger: Rabbit Holes

    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…

  • Royalties and The Weight of Paper – Jane Austen’s Relationship with her London Publishers

    Royalties and The Weight of Paper – Jane Austen’s Relationship with her London Publishers

    Jane Austen, a renowned novelist, faced financial struggles due to early 19th-century publishing practices and gender biases. Despite limited success, her works like Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice critiqued societal norms and paved the way for future generations of female authors.

  • The Wonders of the Royal Menagerie

    The Wonders of the Royal Menagerie

    So many books set in the Regency mention the Royal Menagerie that I could not resist learning how close my imagination and other authors are to the real deal. What I did not realize was that there were two places to see exotic animals in London. The Tower of London housed animals for much of…

  • The Woman Who Left England-and Convention-Far Behind

    The Woman Who Left England-and Convention-Far Behind

    What if Elizabeth Bennet had never married Mr. Darcy? What if, instead, she packed a few essentials, headed off to the Middle East, donned turbans and pantaloons, read ancient prophecies, and hosted Bedouin chieftains in a mountaintop fortress? Of course our favorite fictional heroine never did that. But Lady Hester Stanhope, a real life contemporary…

  • Fillin’ the Pudding-House!: Regency Slang

    Fillin’ the Pudding-House!: Regency Slang

    Your personal dictionary of Regency slang

  • The Very English Soundtrack of Jane Austen’s World

    The Very English Soundtrack of Jane Austen’s World

    My 10-year-old had a tin whistle unit in school, and she liked it, so now she is asking me for more music. I have printed a few hymns and (what is all the rage in her homeschool group) the hobbit theme from Lord of the Rings. As soundtracks to my day go, it is really…

  • EBBD Chapters IV and V

    EBBD Chapters IV and V

    Well, I am about two thirds of the way through Elizabeth Bennet’s Bad Days. This will be the last post for this book, but only for a little while. First of all, I am making some changes after Chapter V that may involve shifting chapters. So I will stop here until I finish the entire…

  • The End (Finally)

    The End (Finally)

    I am certain you will be glad to hear that I am finally bringing An Interrupted Proposal to an end. Unfortunately, there are rewrites and covers and editing to be done before it can be released. But I have 2 book festivals this fall so it will be out by the beginning of September, at…

  • A Taxing Subject for Americans—and for Austen, Her Peers

    A Taxing Subject for Americans—and for Austen, Her Peers

    April is tax month in the U.S. for most people, so this month’s blog will cover the topic. For the British of Jane Austen’s time, as well as for modern citizens, taxes were both necessary for the realm and a drain on the populace. (My fellow Always Austen author, Don Jacobson, took on the topic…

  • No Phones, No GPS: How People Navigated England Before Maps Were Standard

    No Phones, No GPS: How People Navigated England Before Maps Were Standard

    One of my favourite 1-star reviews of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice was left on Amazon in July of 2010. It reads as follows: “Just a bunch of people going to each other’s houses.” Now, can you argue with that, really? It’s a very apt description of the main action and plot devices in our…