Top 30 posts from 10 years of blogging on the Regency History blog

Me (Rachel Knowles) with my husband Andrew
at White Nothe, Dorset (2021)

This month I’m celebrating 10 years of the Regency History blog. I started this blog to record and share the research I was doing into the Regency period (1811-20) as background for The Merry Romances. I became distracted by the history and expanded my research to cover what I call the long Regency – from about 1780-1830. 

 

You can read what I mean by this in my all-time top post: When is the Regency era? 

 

As a result of my research, I decided to set the first book, A Perfect Match, in 1788-9, some 20 years before the start of the Regency. The five sequels tell the stories of the children from the couple who got together in the first book. A Reason for Romance is set in 1810 and A Single Obsession (due to be published in 2022) is set in 1811. 

 

My first post went up on this blog on 1 October 2011 and this is my 357th blog post (not including pages). I’ve researched lots of different areas of Regency era life as well as some of the people who lived in late Georgian Britain and the places they lived in and visited. I’ve blogged about exhibitions and events and posted reviews of historical non-fiction and clean Regency era romance as well as cheat guides to some of the classic novels of the period. 

 

You may have read lots of these posts or perhaps you have only recently discovered my blog. You will find a list of what I’ve blogged about here or in the index tab, except for my Regency romance reviews which have got their own index under Regency reviews. 

 

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If you haven’t already done so, please sign up to my newsletter so you’ll know what’s new on my blog every month. The added bonus at the moment is my blog birthday giveaway. Answer a simple question in my newsletter for a chance to win one of my books or a $10 Amazon voucher. The giveaway has now ended, but you can still sign up to my newsletter: Sign up here.

 

 

 

My all-time top 30 posts (clickable links)

 

#1: When is the Regency era?

 

 

#2: When was the London season?

 

#3: Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire

 

#4: A Regency History guide to dukes, marquesses and other titles

 

 #5: Hair powder and pomatum

 

 

#6: The Grand Tour 

 

 

#7: Curricles, gigs and phaetons in the Regency 

 

 

#8: What is the haut ton? 

 

 

#9: Lady Elizabeth Foster, later Duchess of Devonshire 

 

 

#10: Headdresses and hairstyles for Regency evenings 

 

#11: A genuine Almack's voucher 

 

 

#12: 30 Beau Brummell quotes and anecdotes 

 

#13: The Bachelor Duke - William Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire

 

#14: Where Mr Darcy walked - film locations used in the BBC's 1995 Pride and Prejudice 

 

 

#15: Who was 'Silly Billy'? 

 

 

#16: 25 quotes from Pride and Prejudice 

 

 

#17: Vauxhall Gardens in the Regency 

 

 

#18: Marriage of minors in Regency England 

 

 

#19: How to behave in a Regency ballroom 

 

 

#20: Carlton House - a Regency History guide 

 

 

#21: Regency History's guide to Almack's Assembly Rooms 

 

 

#22: Georgian architecture - a Regency History guide 

 

 

#23: The rise and fall of Beau Brummell 

 

 

#24: Finding your way around Vauxhall Gardens in Regency London 

 

 

#25: A Regency History guide to titles for married daughters of dukes, marquesses and other peers 

 

 

#26: The Gold State Coach at the Royal Mew, Buckingham Palace 

 

 

#27: Georgian watchmen - security on the night-time streets 

 

 

#28: Mrs Fitzherbert – the future George IV’s secret wife

 

 

#29: Regency introductions - a Regency History guide 

 

 

#30: The Whigs and the Tories

 

 

Rachel Knowles writes clean/Christian historical romance set in the time of Jane Austen. She has been sharing her research on this blog since 2011. Rachel lives in the beautiful Georgian seaside town of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England, with her husband, Andrew.

Find out more about Rachel's books and sign up for her newsletter here.

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The Regency History blog is 10 years old

My Regency History blog is 10 years old today.

To celebrate, I'm doing some offers and giveaways this month, starting with A Perfect Match which is on an Amazon countdown deal for 99c in US/ 99p in UK from now until 5 October. 

Alicia Westlake longs for a man of faith to love. Her mother plots to secure her a titled husband. Mr Merry is neither. Has he a hope of becoming the man she needs before she gives into her mother's matchmaking schemes?

A Perfect Match is a clean/Christian Regency style romance set in 1788-9 in London and my hometown of Weymouth. 

You can buy A Perfect Match here.

If you read it and like it, you'll be able to get the sequel, A Reason for Romance, for the same price from 6-10 October. 

I'm also doing a giveaway in my newsletter. If you're not already subscribed, why don't you sign up now? It's a great way to keep up to date with my latest blogposts, news and reviews. Tell me which is your favourite post on my blog for a chance to win a paperback copy of one of my books or a $10/£10 Amazon giftcard.  This giveaway has now ended. Sign up here.

A Reason for Romance is out now!

A Reason for Romance is out on Kindle!₁ This is the long-awaited sequel to A Perfect Match (now with a new cover₂). It’s only taken me six years to publish it… 

Available now on Amazon UK and Amazon.com

And so a series is born – The Merry Romances.

What is A Reason for Romance about?

Set in 1810, 20 years after the close of the last book, A Reason for Romance is the story of Georgiana Merry, the eldest daughter of my hero and heroine from A Perfect Match.

The Earl of Castleford believes he’s found the love of his life. Georgiana Merry is searching for a romantic hero nothing like the reserved Earl. How can he capture her heart before the intriguing Sir James steals it away?

Repelled by his father’s unfaithfulness, Lord Castleford has locked away his feelings, saving them for one woman alone. He does not expect her to be the impulsive Miss Merry, the reckless young lady whose elopement he once foiled.

Georgiana Merry tends to act on her feelings with no thought to the consequences. She goes to London looking for romantic love, but all she finds is friendship with the philanthropic Lord Castleford.

The appearance of the fascinating Sir James seems like the answer to her dreams.

But Georgiana has been misled by her feelings before. Afraid of making another mistake, she takes counsel from the mysterious Sylph - her self-appointed guardian who sends her anonymous letters.

Can the Sylph help her discover where her heart truly lies before she makes another decision she might regret?

What research did you do for this novel?

Lots! I spent time researching London charities like the Asylum and the Magdalen House as institutions that my charitable Lord Castleford could be involved with.

Feltham’s The Picture of London has been a valuable resource, giving me details about the season’s entertainments, as well as the tourist attractions that Georgiana’s younger sister Hetta drags Lord Castleford and Georgiana around.

Another great resource I used to research this period was the Persian ambassador’s journal of his stay in London in 1810-1 which gave me contemporary descriptions of various places and events, some of which I have used in the novel.

I also reread The Sylph, by Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, which was my Georgiana’s favourite book and the inspiration for part of the story.

Skating Lovers (1800)
Drawn by Adam Buck; published William Holland; engraved by
Piercy Roberts & JC Stadler © The Trustees of the British Museum
Used under Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) 

A painful bit of research

Early on in the book, Georgiana’s sister Eliza goes ice skating and falls over. She hurts her ankle, and I wasn’t sure how long she would be out of action. Would it ruin her whole season? During the first Covid lockdown in March 2020, I missed my footing and sprained my ankle. It took a couple of months to recover, and I certainly wasn’t ready to dance on it then. I had my answer, but it was very painful research. 

What was your favourite scene to write?

I can’t pick one! Building to the climax was exciting to write and the final getting together was emotional, but I can’t be more specific without giving away the plot…

But I can say that I set two separate scenes at masquerades and it was great fun creating the disguises and the way they impacted the action.

Masquerade at the Pantheon (cropped)
from The Microcosm of London Vol 2 (1808-10)

Do you need to read A Perfect Match to enjoy this book?

No. Each book is a complete story in its own right.

How would you describe the genre of the series?

As The Merry Romances start 20 years before the Regency, I don’t like to call them Regency romances, but that is what they are in feel, if not in date. I have taken to describing them as clean historical romances set in the time of Jane Austen (ie during her lifetime). They fit into the clean and wholesome/sweet/Christian Regency/historical type category.

Does the matchmaking mother from A Perfect Match appear in the sequel?

Yes. Mrs Merry’s matchmaking mother (now a grandmother) is an important character in A Reason for Romance. You may or may not be glad to hear this. A reader once told me she wanted to hit her, she was so annoying!

  Notes

1. Paperback version to follow.

2. New cover for the paperback version of A Perfect Match to follow.