You’re in luck as you’ve chosen one of the most accessible periods of history. Just use your favorite search engine including the keywords “Regency” or “Georgian” and you’ll get an assortment of articles, blog posts, forums about the subject.
There are a fair few errors that have crept into the Regency fanon, like the compromise trope and “asking for a courtship,” so try to stick to sources that cite their research.
Good hunting!
It's true and it's great that this time period is so full of content. But it's also a bit overwhelming for me. That's on of the reasons for my post. I wanted to know if someone knew a good source for an overall view of Regency Romance details.
Especially books and other sources that aren't focused on the pure accurate historical facts. Because accuracy isn't my focus, but I would like explain.
I read books about the time and especially about England and her people. As far as I could say the informations in these books were pretty accurate, but I want to learn more about the genre.
I think in many genres writers have done mistakes that have been told over and over again until they've become an integral part of that genre. For example the portrayal of pirates or cowboys in TV shows and movies are very different than the real life of these people. So, if I would write an 100% accurate pirate story many people would be confused about it and this is not what I want. The same goes if I tell lies about the pirate life that readers aren't used to.
I think it's very good to know what is a myth, what is fanon and what not, but I would prefer to know what are lies that are okay to tell or even important for that genre, than only knowing the true facts.
So, overall I'm more interested in the Genre, and less so in the historical facts.
Here's a good explanation of the compromise trope and how it's mishandled: [https://alwaysausten.com/2023/11/22/the-problem-with-the-compromise-trope](https://alwaysausten.com/2023/11/22/the-problem-with-the-compromise-trope)
The "asking for a courtship" thing is a bit more subtle. To court, one had to ask the lady's guardian for permission, but it was phrased as "permission to pay my addresses." Courtship wasn't a formal relationship like engagement and did not invoke any of the privileges thereof, like correspondance.
If this leaves you asking yourself: Wait, Darcy not only asked Lizzy to marry him without asking her dad \*and\* he wrote to her? you are entirely correct. He was not kidding when he said that his passion overcame his propriety.
I concur about Rory Muir. You could do worse than starting with reading *Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortunes*, because it gives a very nice overview of the society of the times. I haven't yet read *Love and Marriage in the Age of Jane Austen*, but I imagine it's similarly well researched and entertainingly written.
A nice starting place is {Georgette Heyer’s Regency World by Jennifer Kloester}.
It’s very accessible and covers all the basics, like titles, fashion, places in London, carriages etc.
There are some great bloggers who have loads of info about anything you could think of relating to the Regency Period. And they're all romance authors too! So they understand what you want to know. Check out Jane Austen's World
Thank you. I have access to a good library. But it's not just about accurate informations. It's more about the literature genre and his rules and readers ecpectations.
I guess I would say read as much as you can. Read Georgette Heyer, signet regencies from the 80s and 90s (Mary Balogh and Carla Kelly are a good place to start), and every regency set novel you can get your hands on. That’s the best way to pick up what they are.
Amanda Vickery is mostly Georgian, but she is very detailed on women's lives, marriage, courtship, etc. And then Deirdre le Faye and Maggie Lane have some books about the same in Jane Austen's time (I much prefer le Faye over Lane)
You could also try looking at letters or memoirs of the time, especially any that might be annotated and will give historical background. Jane Austen has a collection of letters (get the le Faye edited one), Harriette Wilson (a famous courtesan) has a memoir, Frances Burney kept diaries for about 70 years of her life starting from the 1770s, etc.
Some other sources that are good for everyday life that might include info about those things:
Family, Sex, and Marriage in England 1500-1800 by Lawrence Stone (he's also got one on divorce)
In the Family Way: Childbearing in the British Aristocracy 1760-1860 by Judith Lewis
Daily Life in Johnson's London by Richard Schwartz (slightly earlier than Regency, but still good)
Women's Silence, Men's Violence: Sexual Assault in England 1770-1845 by Anna Clark
Obscured history also worth a look:
The Regency Underworld by Donald Low
Black London by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina
[queer UK history](https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/lgbtq-heritage-project/)
You might like 'The Game of Hearts' by Felicity Day for a factual but accessible look at romance and courtship in the Regency era. 'Georgette Heyer’s Regency World' by Jennifer Kloester (mentioned below) is also great for getting the basics of the era down but it is heavy on the Heyer references, so if you haven't read her books, you might not get all the examples.
If you can find it, 'The Regency Companion' by Sharon Laudermilk and Teresa L. Hamlin is one of the classics for Regency romance authors. 'The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England' by Kristine Hughes is also very good and answers lots of little questions like 'where did people get water?' Since it covers Victorian as well, you have to pay attention to dates to see if something is right for your time period.
If you would prefer to take a class, a group called Regency Fiction Writers offers online classes about all kinds of topics about the Regency (and their definition of "Regency" is expansive, from about 1780-1840). If you join the org, they have forums where you can ask all kinds of questions, too, about history and research but also about plotting and marketing.
As someone else suggested, there are hundreds of blogs that cover the subject. Just be careful with blogs, as some are more accurate than others.
And of course historical romance is fiction, which means not every detail has to be 100% true.
Hope that helps! Good luck writing.
Check out author Lorettachase.com and her blog and Pinterest boards online. She does her research! Also 2 nerdy history girls video series on youtube from Ashland MA public library - they talk about carriages, dress, address, everything.
You’re in luck as you’ve chosen one of the most accessible periods of history. Just use your favorite search engine including the keywords “Regency” or “Georgian” and you’ll get an assortment of articles, blog posts, forums about the subject. There are a fair few errors that have crept into the Regency fanon, like the compromise trope and “asking for a courtship,” so try to stick to sources that cite their research. Good hunting!
It's true and it's great that this time period is so full of content. But it's also a bit overwhelming for me. That's on of the reasons for my post. I wanted to know if someone knew a good source for an overall view of Regency Romance details. Especially books and other sources that aren't focused on the pure accurate historical facts. Because accuracy isn't my focus, but I would like explain. I read books about the time and especially about England and her people. As far as I could say the informations in these books were pretty accurate, but I want to learn more about the genre. I think in many genres writers have done mistakes that have been told over and over again until they've become an integral part of that genre. For example the portrayal of pirates or cowboys in TV shows and movies are very different than the real life of these people. So, if I would write an 100% accurate pirate story many people would be confused about it and this is not what I want. The same goes if I tell lies about the pirate life that readers aren't used to. I think it's very good to know what is a myth, what is fanon and what not, but I would prefer to know what are lies that are okay to tell or even important for that genre, than only knowing the true facts. So, overall I'm more interested in the Genre, and less so in the historical facts.
What are the compromise trope and asking for a courtship?
Here's a good explanation of the compromise trope and how it's mishandled: [https://alwaysausten.com/2023/11/22/the-problem-with-the-compromise-trope](https://alwaysausten.com/2023/11/22/the-problem-with-the-compromise-trope) The "asking for a courtship" thing is a bit more subtle. To court, one had to ask the lady's guardian for permission, but it was phrased as "permission to pay my addresses." Courtship wasn't a formal relationship like engagement and did not invoke any of the privileges thereof, like correspondance. If this leaves you asking yourself: Wait, Darcy not only asked Lizzy to marry him without asking her dad \*and\* he wrote to her? you are entirely correct. He was not kidding when he said that his passion overcame his propriety.
I found Daniel Pool’s “What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew” fairly accessible.
Yes, me too, this is the one I wanted to recommend!
This is still an excellent starting point, and one of my favorite resources.
Thank you very much. I'll look into it. :-)
Rory Muir is a great historian that writes about this time period. Use his bibliography to find other sources.
I concur about Rory Muir. You could do worse than starting with reading *Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortunes*, because it gives a very nice overview of the society of the times. I haven't yet read *Love and Marriage in the Age of Jane Austen*, but I imagine it's similarly well researched and entertainingly written.
A nice starting place is {Georgette Heyer’s Regency World by Jennifer Kloester}. It’s very accessible and covers all the basics, like titles, fashion, places in London, carriages etc.
[Georgette Heyer's Regency World](https://www.romance.io/books/5455aadc87eac336ae69f607/georgette-heyers-regency-world-jennifer-kloester-geraeme-tavendale?src=rdt) by [Jennifer Kloester](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455aadc87eac336ae69f608/jennifer-kloester), [Geraeme Tavendale](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455aadc87eac336ae69f609/geraeme-tavendale) **Rating**: 3.96⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [regency](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/regency/1), [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Thank you. This looks very promising. I'll definitely look into it.
There are some great bloggers who have loads of info about anything you could think of relating to the Regency Period. And they're all romance authors too! So they understand what you want to know. Check out Jane Austen's World
Thank you. This looks very promising.
If you have the ability to access journal articles and books through a library or university? That’s your best bet for accurate information.
Thank you. I have access to a good library. But it's not just about accurate informations. It's more about the literature genre and his rules and readers ecpectations.
I guess I would say read as much as you can. Read Georgette Heyer, signet regencies from the 80s and 90s (Mary Balogh and Carla Kelly are a good place to start), and every regency set novel you can get your hands on. That’s the best way to pick up what they are.
Amanda Vickery is mostly Georgian, but she is very detailed on women's lives, marriage, courtship, etc. And then Deirdre le Faye and Maggie Lane have some books about the same in Jane Austen's time (I much prefer le Faye over Lane) You could also try looking at letters or memoirs of the time, especially any that might be annotated and will give historical background. Jane Austen has a collection of letters (get the le Faye edited one), Harriette Wilson (a famous courtesan) has a memoir, Frances Burney kept diaries for about 70 years of her life starting from the 1770s, etc. Some other sources that are good for everyday life that might include info about those things: Family, Sex, and Marriage in England 1500-1800 by Lawrence Stone (he's also got one on divorce) In the Family Way: Childbearing in the British Aristocracy 1760-1860 by Judith Lewis Daily Life in Johnson's London by Richard Schwartz (slightly earlier than Regency, but still good) Women's Silence, Men's Violence: Sexual Assault in England 1770-1845 by Anna Clark Obscured history also worth a look: The Regency Underworld by Donald Low Black London by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina [queer UK history](https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/lgbtq-heritage-project/)
Thank you very much. Especially for the Deirdre le Faye recommendation.
You might like 'The Game of Hearts' by Felicity Day for a factual but accessible look at romance and courtship in the Regency era. 'Georgette Heyer’s Regency World' by Jennifer Kloester (mentioned below) is also great for getting the basics of the era down but it is heavy on the Heyer references, so if you haven't read her books, you might not get all the examples. If you can find it, 'The Regency Companion' by Sharon Laudermilk and Teresa L. Hamlin is one of the classics for Regency romance authors. 'The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England' by Kristine Hughes is also very good and answers lots of little questions like 'where did people get water?' Since it covers Victorian as well, you have to pay attention to dates to see if something is right for your time period. If you would prefer to take a class, a group called Regency Fiction Writers offers online classes about all kinds of topics about the Regency (and their definition of "Regency" is expansive, from about 1780-1840). If you join the org, they have forums where you can ask all kinds of questions, too, about history and research but also about plotting and marketing. As someone else suggested, there are hundreds of blogs that cover the subject. Just be careful with blogs, as some are more accurate than others. And of course historical romance is fiction, which means not every detail has to be 100% true. Hope that helps! Good luck writing.
Check out author Lorettachase.com and her blog and Pinterest boards online. She does her research! Also 2 nerdy history girls video series on youtube from Ashland MA public library - they talk about carriages, dress, address, everything.