My thoughts and prayers are with the pro-life movement more than ever these days because my daughter is involved with a Teens 4 Life group, and does fund-raising and essay-writing to advance and support the cause of life.
What does this have to do with Regency England? A controversial author in those days was the Rev. Thomas Malthus. His erroneous fears that population would outstrip resources gained credence and even today, his anti-life stance is still studied.
Not so, in his case.
A surprising defender of life (though not on Biblical grounds) of that day was the author Shelley, who wrote about “the hardened insolence of any proposal to rob the poor of the single alleviation of their sufferings and their scorns.” The famed political writer Cobbett also called Malthus a ‘monster.’
The battle against life has been going on since the Garden of Eden. But we have God’s word to guide our minds and we all know the eighth commandment “Thou shall not murder.”
My 8 year-old niece recently saw my daughter’s fund-raising display and said, “It wouldn’t be okay for a baby to kill an adult, so it’s not okay for an adult to kill a baby.” So well said, little one.
So true.
So, let’s always choose life. Jesus has defeated death and we are on His side.
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.” Deut. 30:19 (ESV)
I am all a twitter, (not the recently IPO’d kind) but excited about planning a baby shower for a dear friend. As I become steeped in color choices and decorations, the need to play games or not to play games, I begin to think about childbirth or the expectation of childbirth during the Regency.
Bibs and nappy cake for a Girl -Wiki Commons
Sadly, I couldn’t find any corollaries to anything we know today as a baby shower. No cards, or nappy cakes, no diaper genies unless you count the wealthy woman’s servants.
No one seemed to plan any kind of celebration for the expectant mother. What we now call baby showers have their roots in Victorian times.
Why No Regency Celebration?
Let’s face facts. It might be a little hard to plan a tea or invite friends and family over to celebrate an event that had a 20% or greater chance of killing you. Poor hygiene, lack of knowledge of difficult pregnancies, unsanitary practitioners, bloodletting, the discouragement of using midwives (ladies versed in how save women, turn babies coming breach) etc. all played a role in the not so great outcomes for pregnant women during the Regency.
Moreover, the pressure to have a male child could be daunting. Knowing the dire need to produce an heir to protect your husband’s entailed property (and your future comfort upon the death of said husband ) had to decrease the need for pre-birth celebrations.
Boy’s diaper cake – Wiki Commons
Though Aristotle (384BC to 322BC) tried to clear things up with his theory of men determining the child’s sex, it was still easier to blame the woman for the child-rearing failings. Good thing science cleared that matter up. Just in case you are new to the world of scientific discovery, the male’s X (female) or Y (male) chromosome determines the sex.
Yet, I did find celebrations or at least acknowledgements of surviving childbirth. People would gather and offer support. They brought food to the mother. During the Renaissance and still practiced during the Regency, visitors (the gossips -Middle Ages term for women and family who gather during the birth) gave painted trays with words of encouragement for the women. Some trays were so pretty, they were hung along the walls to surround the mother during her confinement . With confinement potentially lasting up to 40 days, seeing these kind words and beautiful images had to lift the new mother’s spirits.
Painted for the Birth of Lorenzo de Medici – 1449, Wiki Commons
As baby shower details are finalized, I will be looking to add a few Regency touches. I’m sure my friend will enjoy these little sentiments to make her prenatal and postnatal time encouraging.
What are some encouraging words or gifts that you would offer to a first time mother?
Camy here! I just turned in the manuscript for my Christian Regency romance coming out next year from Zondervan, and I finally have a title–Prelude for a Lord.
It’s about Lady Alethea Sutherton, who owns a mysterious Stradivarius violin that was bequeathed to her by her neighbor and dear friend, an Italian widow. Living in Bath with her aunt, Alethea is hoping to receive her inheritance in two years and be independent, but then someone tries to steal her violin, putting her life in danger. She needs the help of Lord Dommick, gifted in music and especially the violin, to stop whoever is trying to harm her.
One fantastic part about writing a book about two musicians is that the music of the time period becomes almost like another character in the book! I am a fan of Vivaldi, but I especially listened to a lot of his music in writing this book, both for inspiration and because his music played a significant role in the musical training of the heroine.
One really lovely violin concerto is featured in one of my favorite scenes, where Lord Dommick plays Alethea’s violin for the first time. Alethea’s Italian neighbor and friend, Lady Arkright, had been trained in music in Italy at the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi had been employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. After Lady Arkright married her husband and moved to England near Alethea’s home, she taught Alethea to play the violin, including many of her favorite pieces from her teacher, Vivaldi. Lord Dommick knew all this, and so when he first plays Alethea’s violin, in honor of the deceased Lady Arkright, he chooses Vivaldi’s violin concerto number one in G minor.
One great thing about the internet is that you can find recordings for so many pieces of classical music! Here is what Lord Dommick played to Lady Alethea in this scene in my book:
Do you have any favorite classical music pieces?
Camy Tang writes romantic suspense under her real name and Regency romance under her pen name, Camille Elliot. Her first Regency, Prelude for a Lord, releases in summer 2014. She is a staff worker for her church youth group and leads one of the Sunday worship teams. Visit her website at http://www.camytang.com/ to read free short stories and subscribe to her quarterly newsletter.
“Poor woman, I shall support her as long as I can, because she is a Woman and because I hate her Husband.” This is what Jane Austen wrote of Caroline of Brunswick, official wife of the Prince Regent.
Princess Caroline Portrait
Besides making this shockingly feminist statement for the time, Miss Austen spoke support of a woman who was hated by her husband and popular amongst the common folk. She caused contention everywhere she went, dividing families, politicians, and society itself.
The prince married Caroline in 1795 because he was in debt and Parliament agreed to give him more money if he did so. Caroline of Brunswick was imminently suitable on paper. An alliance on the continent was important. Caroline was of high birth.
She was also outspoken and unhygienic. She spoke her mind without tact, and she didn’t change her clothes enough. Nor did she bathe often enough. She and the prince were disgusted with one another, as she considered him fat and not as handsome as his portrait. Caroline claims that George spent their wedding night under the grate, where he had fallen down drunk.
Despite their distaste for one another, they did produce a daughter, Charlotte, who became a pawn in the battle between her parents. Caroline was forbidden access to her daughter except for arranged visits, weekly at first and then less frequently. The prince used Charlotte in an attempt to keep Caroline under control.
Caroline, however, was rarely in control. She gave elaborate parties and adopted children, giving rise to rumors that at least one of them was her own illegitimate offspring. As early as 1806 set up enquiries as to whether or not Caroline had committed adultery, a crime.
Enquiry into a princess’ conduct.
Until her death in 1821, the social battles continued. When heads of state visited England in 1814, the queen would not allow Caroline to visit the drawing room to meet them. She showed up at the theater they were attending with her husband.
Shortly afterward, however, she left England for Italy, where her behavior became even more scandalous. She hired an Italian man who, by all reports, was more than a servant, sharing her dinner table the least of their improper contact.
So when the Regent acceded to the throne in 1820, he wanted rid of Caroline; he did not want her to be his queen. She stood trial for adultery and was removed from her position. George IV was crowned without her presence. Indeed, when she tried to attend the coronation, she was blocked at every entrance to Westminster Abbey.
In reading several accounts of Caroline and the years of her marriage to the Prince of Wales, I could not find much sympathy for her in my heart. Although Prinny did not treat her well, most of her woes she brought upon herself.
She died in 1821, possibly of a bowel obstruction, possibly of cancer, or possibly from poisoning, an ignominious death for an ignoble life of a woman who could have been a queen.
Laurie Alice Eakes is the author of four novels set during the Regency, as well as a dozen other books. You can find more about her and her books by following her on Twitter @LaurieAEakes or on her web site http://www.lauriealiceeakes.com.
In a given week it’s not unheard of for me to put 300 miles on my minivan. That’s a lot for a stay at home mom that lives in a suburban area. Somehow over the years my life ended up that spread out.
My family drives 25 miles each way to get to church. My daughter has to go to a special type of eye doctor. The closest one is 44 miles away. My other daughter sees a different type of specialist three times a year. That one is 37 miles in the opposite direction.
Seriously, I spend a lot of time in my car. Sadly it looks like I live in it, but that’s beside the point. One of the things I frequently find myself thanking God for is a vehicle that makes this constant driving possible. Yes it is unpleasant to drive for two and a half hours round trip for a simple trip to the doctor, but the fact that I can get to a specialist that far away is incredible.
Trevithicks 1804 attempt at a steam powered road vehicle.
For our Regency friends the thought of traveling so far would have been a daunting task. It’s a common debate among Regency authors: how far people could travel in a day and how long it took them to do so.
45 miles in an hour and a half is never considered. Our heroines are still 100 years away from Henry Ford’s assembly line constructed Model T. The groundwork for the automobile was already underway, though.
Self-propelled vehicles actually existed for 40 years before Prinny was installed as Prince Regent. They weren’t very impressive and would have moved considerably slower than the ubiquitous horse and carriage, but they existed. They were used to haul heavy artillery across the French countryside.
One of Trevithicks’ train engines, attempted after the steam powered carriages were outlawed.
In 1801, Richard Trevithick drove the first people carrying, self-propelled conveyance on England’s roads. The short Christmas Eve journey was a fun novelty, but he never managed to perfect the road-going vehicle. The Puffing Devil, as the vehicle was known, worked it’s way into the history of the steam engine trains that were soon to be working their way across England’s landscapes.
Steam powered vehicles pop up in Regency stories with enough frequency that the idea of the Puffing Devil isn’t very far fetched.
A drawing of de Rivez’s combustion engine vehicle.
But what about a fuel powered vehicle? Several countries and a Napoleonic war away, Francois Isaac de Rivaz was inventing the first internal combustion engine in 1807 Switzerland. In 1813 he attempted to turn his electric ignition motor into a vehicle.
He was, for all intents and purposes, unsuccessful, though he did create something that moved.
In 1824 London, though, a steam powered vehicle converted to a gasoline engine managed a brief trip up Shooter’s Hill.
Robert Anderson
Even the electric car, considered such a modern day advancement, has it’s roots at the fringes of the Regency era. Robert Anderson, a Scotsman, built the first electric car in the 1830s. The batteries weren’t rechargeable and, just like other self-propelled vehicles of the era, the trip was exceptionally short.
While it was far from conceivable that your favorite Regency hero could tool down to Brighton in his Bugatti, the idea of the car as we know it today was much closer than you might have thought.
For more information about methods of transportation people in the Regency actually used when they wanted to travel reliably and more than a few dozen feet, check out this previous Regency Reflections article on carriages.
What was your first car? Have you ever imagined how different historic eras would be if they had the modern conveniences we take for granted?
Our world today is filled with cartoons and satires of just about everything, and the blooming of social media has only seemed to grow the number of caricatures. Whether it be a joke about coffee, politics, or haggard mothers, everywhere you turn someone’s using a picture and a few words to make a sarcastic comment.
Did you know Regency England had its own caricaturists? Obviously those caricatures looked a little different than today’s versions. They were oftentimes done in etched or done in other techniques we’d now consider antiquated.
James Gillray was one of the most famous caricaturists of the Georgian and Regency Eras, and much like today, he made satirical cartoons of everything from the commoners, to the royal family, to the Napoleonic Wars. Take a look at some of his work:
This caricature, Tales of Wonder, mocks the popularity of Gothic novels.
This one, The Cow Pock, mocks the new smallpox vaccination.
This caricature paints a rather unflattering picture of Prince George, who was know for being obese and gluttonous. It’s called A Voluptuary in the Throws of Indigestion.
This one, is called Plumb Pudding in Danger. It’s one of my favorites, featuring Pitt and Napoleon each carving up the world to their own liking. It has been dubbed the best know political print every published.
So what do you think of these caricatures? Do they seem different from modern caricatures, or not so much? Do you have a favorite caricature from the Regency Era?
We are happy to announce that “Lis” is the winner of the Reluctant Courtship Grand Prize. Lis left a comment on Thursday, October 17, about how much she likes when authors share about their spiritual journeys and how authors then incorporate those journeys into their novels.
Congratulations, Lis!
Thanks to everyone who participated in our Reluctant Courtship Contest. Several of you also won gift cards:
Monday, Oct 14: Marianne
A Reluctant Courtship
Thursday, Oct 17: Martha J Strum
Monday, Oct 21: Melody D.
Thursday, Oct 24: Camille
For all the participants who stopped by and showed interest in A Reluctant Courtship, we enjoyed chatting with you. Thank you so very much for your interest both in Regency Reflections and A Reluctant Courtship. If you’d like to learn more about the novel or Laurie Alice Eakes and her other books, please visit her website at www.LaurieAliceEakes.com.
“If you get… me out of this … Lord…” No, she was not supposed to bargain with God. “Please God?”
The shrub tore a little further. Only Honore’s arms and hands clung to the earth. Only two thread roots still clung to thin soil. So, apparently God did not please. -A Reluctant Courtship
We have all been there, begging God to get us out of some trouble, something horrid we wrought upon ourselves. Laurie Alice Eakes showcases a fallen woman, Honore Bainbridge, whose past mistakes make her shunned in society and threaten to steal her chance at true love.
This is the gripping tale, the concluding story of the Daughters of Bainbridge House Series, A Reluctant Courtship. The rich message that God’s forgiveness is real, even when we don’t feel it, is meshed with this suspenseful romance.
Hanging from a Cliff
When we meet Honore this time, she’s literally hanging on to a cliff, trying to save her life. The memories of her past sins wash before her eyes. A part of her heart tires of the shame, causing her to wonder if it would be easier for everyone if she just let go.
Now, Honore’s crime was heavy for the 1800’s. She’s been caught kissing two bad men, a traitor and a murder. Everyone ostracizes her, yet God still gives her a caring chaperone as a friend. God never leaves or forsakes us, even when we think He has.
No one wanted to marry Honore, any longer. If her escapades with a handsome rake during her first Season hadn’t been bad enough, getting caught kissing another gentleman in her brother-in-law’s organgery—and then that man turning out to be a murder—sent Miss Honore Bainbridge flying beyond the bounds of acceptability. -A Reluctant Courtship
Everyone has those moments of discouragement when we know we aren’t good enough. The taunts are unforgettable.
You’re not good enough. You are worthless. No good, just like your father.
Even the hero, who has questions of his own character, judges poor Honore (Pot and kettle syndrome).
“Such beauty and courage shouldn’t be connected with a morally suspect character.” -A Reluctant Courtship
Neighbors and peers judge Honore.
Not a yard away, the Devenish ladies tittered behind fans or gloved fingers.
“Little more than she deserves,” was followed by “Worst misalliance yet.” -A Reluctant Courtship
Fans a Twitter
So, she loved a few bad men. Who hasn’t? But in the 1800’s, connections in the war weary England meant everything. With her earthly protector (her father) gone, Honore has to withstand shunning and evil gossip, even at church. At one point, Honore internalizes the guilt.
I make so many mistakes I think God no longer listens to me. -A Reluctant Courtship
But Laurie Alice doesn’t leave Honore or the reader without hope.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God -Romans 3:23
She allows the saving grace of Jesus Christ to touch Honore.
You are not alone. God promised to never forsake us, and His promises are true.
Your willfulness does not stop God from loving you. -A Reluctant Courtship
Finally, Honore allows God’s hope to shine through her.
“I do not deserve Your help, but I am asking for it anyway. This time I am simply going to believe You are here with me.” -A Reluctant Courtship
When Honore surrenders to the fact she is forgiven by the One Person that matters, she is able to focus on doing what she does best, throwing her whole heart into saving the hero. Hopefully, she’ll live long enough to know the love of a good man.
I asked Laurie Alice, what she wants the reader to take away. Her message is clear:
No matter what you have done, no matter how many mistakes you have made, God’s love reigns supreme and He loves you regardless. Nothing is beyond redemption.
May everyone be blessed with this understanding.
For a chance to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card today, answer the question below in the comment section. If you answer the question, your name will also be entered into our Regency Grand Prize giveaway in honor of the release of A Reluctant Courtship. The giveaway includes a tea cup, a package of tea, a box of chocolates and a $10 gift card (to either Amazon or Barnes and Noble).
A Reluctant Courtship
Today’s question: Have you ever made mistakes you think are beyond God’s redemption? If you can, we would be blessed to learn how the Lord worked in your life.
Camy here! Today I get to interview Laurie Alice Eakes on her newest release, A RELUCTANT COURTSHIP.
1. What inspired you to write A Reluctant Courtship?
Since I like to go in other directions than the norm, I kept thinking opposite other books I read. One question I asked myself was: What if a heroine decides to go along with her father’s wishes for an arranged marriage instead of fighting against it, as usual. She’s a heroine who wants to marry and is so disillusioned with love that a mariage de convenable sounds great to her. So, in other words, a desire to deliver a story outside the norm inspired me.
2. Tell us what makes your heroine and hero special to you.
Honore is a truly loving person who wants everyone happy. I have lived with her for two other books and have maternal feelings toward her, so writing her story was like spending time with an old friend I loved, but also shook my head at and wanted to force to take good advice.
As for the hero, I like to put people into a wholly foreign—to them—element. Here he is, a man raised in the wilds of upstate New York, suddenly inheriting an English title. He doesn’t like to ride horses. He doesn’t like being idle. He thinks nothing of walking five miles to get to his destination instead of taking a carriage. Lots of fun to work with.
3. If your hero and heroine had a contemporary theme love song, what would it be and why?
This question sent me running to the pop station on my satellite radio, since I don’t listen to pop all that much. Two songs kind of work: “Just Give Me a Reason” by Pink and “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum. The first one because Honore needs lots of reason to love again. Unlucky in love is putting her situation mildly. “Need You Now” because they both try to resist their lure to one another despite good reasons for staying away, and yet they need one another.
Not to be a prude, because I am certainly not one, and I don’t recommend or advise some of the other sentiments in these songs.
4. What is your favorite dessert and why?
Something I haven’t eaten in a long time, not because I haven’t wanted to, and because I haven’t been anywhere that serves it and am certainly not making for myself: chocolate mousse cake with chocolate ganache icing. Key words in the answer as to why: chocolate, cake, mousse, ganache. Need I say more?
5. Is there another Regency-set book that you would compare A Reluctant Courtship to?
I haven’t run across one, and, believe me, I’ve read dozens. But then, I set out to write one that was different. In tone, though, probably Patricia Veryan meets Amanda Quick.
I’d love input from readers on whether or not they can compare it to another book. Please write me at laewriter@gmail.com, or find me on Twitter @LaurieAEakes
Camy: Thanks for the interview, Laurie Alice!
For a chance to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card today, answer the question below in the comment section. I’ll pick the winner for the $10 gift card tonight at 11:59 pm PST. If you answer the question, your name will also be entered into our Regency Grand Prize giveaway in honor of the release of A Reluctant Courtship. The giveaway includes a tea cup, a package of tea, a box of chocolates and a $10 gift card (to either Amazon or Barnes and Noble). (Click here for more information on the Regency Grand Prize giveaway.) Be sure to come back on Thursday, for another chance to win.
Today’s question: If you have read Regency romances before, why did you pick one up? What keeps you reading them?
In writing classes, we are taught to make things as bad for our characters as we can. Honore should have been easy. In A Necessary Deception, in which she made her debut into society, and in A Flight of Fancy, where she rusticates in the country with her injured sister, Honore managed to make things terrible enough for herself.
But I wanted to make her situation even worse!
Lord Bainbridge, the father of the three sisters, is an autocratic man, a political animal who wants things the way he wants them. He manipulates his children to his will as much as he can, and he can do a great deal. But Honore is the baby and pretty and lively and a daddy’s girl. She got away with too much. Daddy cleaned up her messes for her.
So I had to take her daddy away from her.
And then we introduce Americus Poole (Meric to his friends) now Lord Ashmoor. Most men fall at Honore’s feet. Ashmoor looks at her like most of us view rattle snakes—the further away the better. He has his own issues, and Honore’s presence in his life will only make them worse. After all, a man under suspicion of treason cannot be involved with a young lady with a questionable reputation.
Beyond the romance and adventure that springs from Honore and Ashmoor’s stories is the theme of exile. Honore has been exiled from her family and from society because of her past mistakes. In turn, this physical exile makes her feel exiled from God. Everything that happens to her seems to indicate that God has rejected her, and this rejection of the heart and spirit drives her decisions and actions until her very life hangs on the edge.
Cliffs in North Devon (Wikipedia image)
As with Cassandra in A Flight of Fancy, I related to Honore’s spiritual struggle. I attended a Christian college and my friends were going off to be doctors and pastors, and the wives of doctors and pastors. I, however, had no calling that I saw. I interpreted this as God rejecting me. The decisions I made over the next several years—most of them terrible—stemmed from this sense of exile from God.
The simple response is that God doesn’t reject us; we reject him. Romans 8:38-39 assures us that nothing separates us from the love of God. Yet what I had to learn, what Honore has to learn, is that we often have to be taken out of our comfort zone of the life we think we want or should have, to circumstances we can’t control, for the Lord to shape us into the people we are intended to be to thus serve him better.
I hope you enjoy Honore’s journey back from exile.
For a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card today, answer the question below in the comment section. Your name will also be entered into our Regency Gift Package Giveaway in honor of the release of A Reluctant Courtship. The giveaway includes another gift card, a tea cup, and chocolate.
What types of things do you like to learn from authors? For example: How they work, their non writing life, their spiritual life…
So true.
