Category Archives: Vagary

How to Rebuild Pemberley After a Fire? + the Release of “Mr. Darcy and the Designing Woman” + a Giveaway

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Last Monday, my latest Austen-related book, Mr. Darcy and the Designing Woman, released. It has been the work of many days, and those of you who have read it already know there was a great deal of research involved to … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, book release, books, British history, buildings and structures, eBooks, estates, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, history, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, reading habits, Regency era, Regency romance, research, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Trompe L’oeil & Grisaille in Historic Houses + an Excerpt from “Mr. Darcy and the Designing Woman” and a Giveaway!

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

To write “Mr. Darcy and the Designing Woman,” I had to learn the “technical” architectural terms for many architectural effects I enjoy viewing in historic houses and buildings. Two such terms are “trompe L’oeil,” and the other is “grisaille.” Trompe-l’œil (French for … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, art, book excerpts, book release, British history, buildings and structures, eBooks, excerpt, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, reading, reading habits, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, tradtions, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Robert Adam and Sir William Chambers, Two Major Architects of the Georgian Era and Their Influence on “Mr. Darcy and the Designing Woman” + a Giveaway

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Adelphi is a district in the City of Westminster. The Adelphi Buildings, a block of 24 unified neoclassical terrace houses, between The Strand and the River Thames in the parish of St Martin in the Fields, was named “Adelphi,” for … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, book excerpts, book release, British history, buildings and structures, eBooks, excerpt, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, heroines, historical fiction, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, Regency era, Regency personalities, Regency romance, research, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

It is Here! “Mr. Darcy and the Designing Woman: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary” is Available Today! + a Giveaway

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Back in 2017, when I wrote Pride and Prejudice and a Shakespearean Scholar, an idea occurred to me, but I kept pushing it to the side, thinking I could not manage it. You see, in P&P&SS, Mr. Bennet is a … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, book excerpts, book release, British history, buildings and structures, eBooks, excerpt, film adaptations, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Mystery and Suspense Month: The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery on Sale Until November 5

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF MR. DARCY was originally published on February 18, 2013. It is a cozy mystery set in Dorset, and it is a real thriller. There are witches and resurrectionists and a mass murderer, oh my!!! I hope … Continue reading →

Posted in book excerpts, British history, Dorset, excerpt, Georgian England, Georgian Era, heroines, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, legends, mystery, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, real life tales, Regency era, research, suspense, Vagary, witchcraft acts, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mystery and Suspense Month: The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery on Sale Until November 5

Happy 4th Book Birthday to Mr. Darcy’s Bet: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Today, I celebrate the birth of what was my 48th book baby. Now I am well over 60 titles and counting. The idea shocks me!!!  Mr. Darcy’s Bet: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary is a story which came to me … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, eBooks, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, Regency romance, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

During the Regency, Could a Female Run an Estate in the Absence of the Male Heir?

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Recently, one of my author friends sent me her Work in Progress manuscript for me to comment on what she had written to that point. She and I often bounce ideas off each other. Although beautifully written, making me sorry … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, family, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, Inheritance, Living in the Regency, marriage, Napoleonic Wars, Pride and Prejudice, Realm series, research, titles of aristocracy, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 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 →

Posted in book excerpts, book release, books, British history, customs and tradiitons, eBooks, excerpt, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, literature, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, reading, reading habits, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, tall tales, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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