The internet is over-burdened with writers marketing
their wares. And I’m adding to the general plethora out there. But hear me out.
I’ve been writing Regencies for eighteen years now
and getting them published. Now my three main publishers have closed their
doors, I have joined the endless queue of self-published authors. So many of us
out here jostling for position like mid-field marathoners. The chances are
you’ll never hear my plea. But I’m chucking this out there in the anorexic hope
that you just might read this. Perhaps you have nothing better to do.
I hope you’re one of the many readers who like
historicals, and in particular, the Regency era. It was such a short period in
Britain’s history, but has given rise to many things such as the development of
canals (as trade with its trading partners hotted up with the imprisonment of
Napoleon, freeing up trade routes and resulting in large numbers of goods that needed
to be transported all over England), the Royal Astronomical Society was
founded, the early prototype of the bicycle, the development of the railway
system, the Act of Union with Ireland in 1801 etc. All this is from the British
point of view. Elsewhere, in the USA, Whitney came up with the principle of
manufacturing interchangeable parts as pertaining to firearms. The statue of
the Venus de Milo was discovered in Greece (1820) and so it goes on.
So in spite of many Regencies persuading you that it
was all about Almacks and dukes, the Regency era was actually a time on the
cusp of great changes, not just in Britain but all over the world. Minds were
opening up, no longer relying on the dogma of ages past.
In 1814 The Times
adopted steam printing. By this method it could now print 1,100 sheets every
hour, not 200 as before—a fivefold increase in production capability and
demand. This development brought about the rise of the wildly
popular fashionable novels.
The Regency is also noted for its
achievements in the fine arts and architecture (Nash springs to mind, and
remember that striped wallpaper known as ‘Regency’?) This era encompassed a
time of great social, political, and economic change that shaped and altered
the societal structure of Britain as a whole. Remember that in London alone,
the population increased from just under a million in 1801 to one and a quarter
million by 1820.
One of the reasons that the arts
flourished during this era was because of the patronage of ‘Prinny’, the fat
and at times ridiculous Prince of Wales. We might laugh at him, but it’s thanks
to him that the development of British architecture flourished, even if his
schemes often left the common people paying for his over-the-top designs.
The Regency era opened up the
market for many authors including Sir Walter Scott, Maria Edgeworth, Mary
Shelley (who incorporated the general mistrust of science during the earlier
part of the Regency era), John Keats and William Blake. Then there were the
playwrights and artists…the list goes on and on to confirm how minds began open
to new possibilities during that time.
Oh yes, there was a lot more to the Regency period
than those autocratic dukes and the patronesses at Almacks!
My latest Regency historical is a re-release called
Mr. Monfort’s Marriage wherein a chivalrous businessman who is not overly fond
of the aristocracy finds himself married to an earl’s daughter. She teaches him
about noblesse oblige, courage and joie de vivre, and he teaches her…all
sorts of things!
Mr. Monfort’s Marriage:
My Amazon bookpage is here:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Vonnie+Hughes&x=18&y=20
