Category Archives: historical fiction

The Pitfalls of Breaking an Engagement During the Regency Era

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Only if a man uncovered a flaw in the morals of the lady to whom he proposed could he even consider calling off a marriage proposal. Once he spoke the words and the lady had accepted, there was no “take backs.” If the man left the woman standing at the altar as a no-show, it was thought he had discovered something of her low character, generally, that she had known another intimately. Continue reading →

Posted in book excerpts, British history, customs and tradiitons, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, laws of the land, Living in the Regency, marriage, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, reading, reading habits, Regency romance, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

‘Kinder- un Hausmärchen’ + the Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of their collected fairy tales in 1812 under the title Kinder- und Hausmärchen. By 1822, the brothers had published three volumes containing 170 tales total with subsequent editions bringing that number to over 200. Continue reading →

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Cecil Sharp’s Influence on “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

As with many folk songs, the author and date of origin of “Hush, Little Baby” remain an unknown. The English folklorist Cecil Sharp collected and notated a version of this song found in Endicott, Franklin County, Virginia in 1918, but such simply means the song had been around much longer, passed down from generation to generation, with little changes in it depending on whether one’s ancestors were from Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, or Northwest Europe. Sharp, himself, found a different version with complete lyrics in Micaville, North Carolina. A version recorded by James Madison Carpenter on a wax cylinder in the early 1930s in Durham, North Carolina, can be heard online at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website. Naturally, that date is well past the time of my story, but Cecil Sharp discovered such songs over and over again. If you have never heard of Sharp, you will be surprised by all he accomplished. Continue reading →

Posted in Appalachia, ballads, book excerpts, book release, British history, customs and tradiitons, eBooks, excerpt, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, Ireland, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, tradtions, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Could Longbourn Be Lost to Mortgage Debt? + the Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Only registered debts like mortgages and those on which the stamps and fees had been paid were legally enforceable. The law of the time said an heir was only liable for debts to the sum of the assets he inherited. Most mortgages could be continued, just by paying the interest. Continue reading →

Posted in aristocracy, book excerpts, book release, British history, eBooks, estates, finance, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, history, Inheritance, Jane Austen, laws of the land, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, primogenture, publishing, reading habits, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Origin of “Humpty Dumpty” + the Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

The most common version is Humpty Dumpty is a representation of King Richard III of England, who was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. The “egg” shape refers to King Richard supposedly being a “humpback,” as is portrayed in Shakespeare’s play. “Shakespeare called Richard III a ‘hunchback’, which means that he was hunching forward while walking. Richard III’s skeleton actually shows a sideways displacement of the spine, a heavy scoliosis, which made the king walk obliquely. So there is a certain match between the two: something unusual about the body.” (British Council) The “wall” falling is the loss of his reign as king. The king’s horses and men are the army who failed to defeat their enemy Continue reading →

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Marriage by Proxy, Possible or Myth? + The Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

When the Hardwick Act for the Prevention of Clandestine Marriages went into effect in March of 1754, the rules for marrying in England changed dramatically. Prior to that time, all the couple had to do was to pronounce their vows before a clergyman of the Church of England. Heck, it did not even have to be one’s local clergyman or even one’s local church. In fact, the Fleet Street prison saw quite a few marriages in those days Continue reading →

Posted in Act of Parliament, book excerpts, book release, British history, customs and tradiitons, England, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, laws of the land, Living in the Regency, marriage, marriage customs, marriage licenses, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, reading, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Lease and Release as a Plot Point in “Where There’s a FitzWILLiam Darcy, There’s a Way”

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

For Lease and Release to work, two agreements were required. First, a bargain (sale) contract was executed by the seller to convey a lease on the land… (Unlike an outright sale, short leases did not require enrollment in a public registry.) The seller then separately executed a release to grant to the buyer (who was now his tenant) the seller’s remaining interest. [This transfers] title to the buyer, since he now owned both the current and future interests in the land. [“A Bit of Deed History,” Bob’s Genealogy Filing Cabinet]  Continue reading →

Posted in book excerpts, book release, British history, estates, family, Georgian Era, historical fiction, Inheritance, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Regency Etiquette for Men and Women

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

I have never found an etiquette book publish during the Regency. The book named Regency Etiquette is not an etiquette book as we might think of it. The closest I once came was an etiquette book published in 1827. The … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, dancing, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, marriage customs, peerage, Pride and Prejudice, real life tales, Regency romance, research, romance, tradtions, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Happy Twelfth Book Birthday to My REALM Series and the Creation of “A Touch of Scandal”

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Until I wrote The Scandal of Lady Eleanor, all I had written were Jane Austen adaptations and retellings, including Darcy’s Passions, Darcy’s Temptation,Vampire Darcy’s Desire, The Phantom of Pemberley and Captain Wentworth’s Persuasion. I was very appreciative of Ulysses Press … Continue reading →

Posted in book excerpts, British history, eBooks, Georgian Era, historical fiction, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Napoleonic Wars, Realm series, Regency romance, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

A Young Lady’s “Come Out” in Regency Society

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Recently, I received this question from an author/reader: Can you tell me if a young lady could have her debut ball at age 17 or 18, instead of the age 16 we customary read in Regency romance? Would a death … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, family, Georgian England, Georgian Era, heroines, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, marriage, marriage customs, Pride and Prejudice, reading, Regency era, Regency romance, research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Young Lady’s “Come Out” in Regency Society