Category Archives: Living in the UK

Educating England: The Importance of Sunday Schools, a Guest Post from Elaine Owen

Posted on September 4, 2020 by

This post first appeared on the Austen Authors’ blog on July 30, 2020. Enjoy! In England during the 18th and 19th centuries there was no such thing as universal education for children. The government had no formal program for making sure the … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, British history, Church of England, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Guest Post, Industrial Revolution, Living in the UK, real life tales, religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Real Life Influences Upon Jane Austen’s Novels

Posted on August 28, 2020 by

As authors of historical fiction, we take great pleasure in a research “tidbit,” which introduces our fictional characters to historical figures. I, for example, have introduced John Loudon McAdam, the father of the modern road, to the readers of A Touch of … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Georgian Era, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, Pride and Prejudice, real life tales, Regency era, Regency personalities, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Body Snatchers, Part II – the Release of “The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy”

Posted on August 17, 2020 by

On Friday, we looked at Resurrectionists. Today, we will make a slight distinction with Body Snatchers.  Like what resurrectionists did, body snatching is the secret removal of a corpse from its burial site. As was explained in Friday’s piece the … Continue reading →

Posted in book release, British history, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, medicine, mystery, Pride and Prejudice, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, suspense, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mudeford, an English Spa Favored by King George III + an Excerpt from “The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy”

Posted on August 12, 2020 by

With the onset of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, the idea of a European Grand Tour for English aristocratic class lost its appeal. Instead, English men and women turned their sights on popular British destinations, such as Brighton, … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, book excerpts, book release, books, British history, buildings and structures, Dorset, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, historical fiction, history, kings and queens, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, medicine, mystery, Pride and Prejudice, real life tales, Regency era, romance, royalty, spooky tales, suspense | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Thief and Killer – Why I Write What I Do

Posted on August 5, 2020 by

In 2008, I took the plunge in the publishing world when one of my AP students challenged me with “If you know how to do this, do it yourself.” Publishing was not on my radar. I was 37 years into … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, book release, books, British history, eBooks, George IV, Georgian England, Great Britain, historical fiction, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, mystery, Pegasus Books, Pride and Prejudice, Regency era, Regency romance, suspense, Ulysses Press, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Smugglers in Kent, UK, a Plot Device for “Losing Lizzy: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary”

Posted on June 22, 2020 by

In my latest Austen-inspired story, Losing Lizzy: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary, smugglers in Kent were mentioned several times. Yet, what do we know of these smugglers? Daniel Defoe wrote a poem about smugglers in Deal, Kent, who turned the … Continue reading →

Posted in book release, British history, British Navy, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, Living in the UK, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, real life tales, Regency era, research, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , ,

Exercise Tiger, a Tragic Rehearsal for D-Day

Posted on June 5, 2020 by

Most of us know something of D-Day. On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, British history, Great Britain, history, Living in the UK, military, war | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Deadman’s Island, Setting as Character in “Losing Lizzy: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary”

Posted on May 22, 2020 by

Deadman’s Island, located at the mouth of The Swale, opposite the town of Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey, off the north Kent coast, plays a major role in my new JAFF story, entitled Losing Lizzy: A Pride and Prejudice … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, book release, British history, eBooks, England, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, historical fiction, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, Pride and Prejudice, reading habits, Regency era, Regency romance, suspense, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The “Churching” of Women After Childbirth

Posted on May 6, 2020 by

 Although it has largely fallen out of favor with Western religion, the concept of “churching” in the Church of England can be traced well into the 20th Century. (Margaret Houlbrooke. Rite out of Time: a Study of the Ancient Rite of … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Church of England, customs and tradiitons, England, Great Britain, history, Living in the UK, marriage, marriage customs, medicine, religion, tradtions | Tagged , , , , , ,

Dukes: a Dime a Dozen… British Peerages

Posted on April 24, 2020 by

Those of us who write historical romances love our dukes. We create them left and right. I have two, which is not a large number when one considers I have 50 novels available: Brantley Fowler from A Touch of Velvet: … Continue reading →

Posted in Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Saxons, British history, customs and tradiitons, Georgian England, Georgian Era, kings and queens, legacy, Living in the UK, peerage, titles of aristocracy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment