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Category: Regency

What is it about military men?

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The hero in MY LADY GAMESTER was a cavalry officer before he became an earl. Military heroes are quite common in Regencies, aren’t they? And I love to read about them.

So — what is the appeal of the military man in historical romances?

Is it the physical courage?

Is it the gorgeous uniform? Is it the honor, the selfless dedication that such service implies?

Jane Austen had military men in her novels too, of course — she particularly liked the navy, as she had two naval brothers. In her novels, PERSUASION’s Captain Wentworth is a naval officer…as is the heroine’s brother in MANSFIELD PARK.

In PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, Wickham is in the Militia, seducing the hearts of women everywhere with his red coat. In SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, Colonel Brandon is a retired army officer.

And of course, there are the 20th century military novels set during the Napoleonic era — Bernard Cornwell’s SHARPE series, C.S. Forester’s HORATIO HORNBLOWER series, and Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels (such as MASTER AND COMMANDER.)


Do you like military heroes? If you like to read them, what’s the attraction? If you like to write them, what are the advantages to a scarlet coat? Which are your favorite romances featuring military or ex-military heroes? On the other hand, do you think these heroes are overdone, and approaching cliche?

All opinions welcome!

Cara
Cara King, www.caraking.com
MY LADY GAMESTER — out now!!!!

Posted in Reading, Regency, Writing | Tagged , | 9 Replies

Undercover agents

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No, not THAT kind of undercover! 🙂 I’m talking about the well-known Regency spy plot. One might even call it a Regency sub-genre, it’s become so popular.

One of my favorite books when I was a teenager (and one I still love) is THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL. It was so exciting, so suspenseful, and I love the whole “dashing espionage genius disguised as a moron” set-up (I also really like this about the Peter Wimsey stories). I even enjoyed the various movie versions. So, I often enjoy a good romance featuring spies and intrigue. Though I often wondered–where do all these duke/spies possibly find time to do all that? Running estates, going to balls/Whites/Almack’s, spying for England, AND romancing the heroine. This led me to a great book, SECRET SERVICE: BRITISH AGENTS IN FRANCE, 1792-1815. I wanted to discover more of the “true story” of Regency espionage, and this is a fabulous source.

A few spy romances I’ve enjoyed:
Elizabeth Boyle’s BRAZEN ANGEL
Loretta Chase’s SANDALWOOD PRINCESS
Mary Jo Putney’s THUNDER AND ROSES and PETALS IN THE STORM
Amanda Quick’s AFFAIR
Gaelen Foley’s LORD OF FIRE
Adele Ashworth’s WINTER GARDEN (a terrific heroine spy in this one!)

I know there are many others, but these were just the ones I remember at the moment. 🙂 What are some of YOUR favorite spy stories? What do you like/dislike about them? And have you ever written an undercover character of your own? (I’ve never written a spy hero, but I did have a heroine who was a spy. But she was Spanish. Does that count?)

Posted in Reading, Regency | Tagged , | 7 Replies

Humor, anyone?

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As you may have guessed from reading some of my previous posts, most of my favorite romances are of the dark, angsty variety. I’m a sucker for drama and deep emotion! But I also sometimes have things going on in my life where a bit more–lightness is called for. A good laugh. This past week has been a long one, and it definitely called for a little reading-on-the-light-side. So, I combed once again through my keeper shelves in search of favorite humorous reads.

Now, by “humourous” I don’t mean not-as-well-written, because, IMO, it’s a lot harder to write “funny” than it is to write “angsty” (as one of my old drama profs always said “Dying is easy; comedy is hard.”) Humor is also extremely subjective. What is drop-dead hilarious to one person leaves another one just annoyed. I grew up in a family where Monty Python was considered the peak of humor–it’s not funny unless it has a silly song somewhere in it. And this is still the kind of humor I still prefer, witty, odd, a bit on the goofball side–like when the Pythons dress up like British housewives and talk in falsetto. This can be hard to capture in a novel, just as (again IMO) slapstick is well nigh impossible. But funny conversation, ridiculous situations, mistaken identities–all these can be terrific.

These are a few favorite funnies I found on that keeper shelf. A couple interesting things–I don’t keep nearly as many light books as dark ones, and there were far more trads than historicals. But these are all titles I loved.

1) MY LADY’S SECRET by Cindy Holbrook (she had several funny books, as I recall, but for some reason this is the only one on my shelf. I probably loaned the rest to my deadbeat cousin and never got them back)
2) THE PIRATE NEXT DOOR by Jennifer Ashley (who knew pirates–aside from Johnny Depp–could be so much fun?)
3) MISTLETOE MAHEM by Kate Huntington (I adore funny Christmas Regencies, and this one is a gem. Sophisticated, clotheshorse heroine who doesn’t much like rugrats falls for a man who is guardian to a slew of them. Holiday hijinks ensue.)
4) Several by the queen of Regency comedy, Barbara Metzger, including MINOR INDISCRETIONS, SAVED BY SCANDAL, and SNOWDROPS AND SCANDALBROTH
5) WHAT CHLOE WANTS by Emma Jensen (bounciest heroine EVER, but it’s cute)
6) MUTINY AT ALMACK’S by Judith Lansdowne
7) THE IDEAL BRIDE by Nonnie St. George
8) MISTRESS by Amanda Quick (plus a few others–this was just the one that stuck in my mind)

Now, I’m curious–what makes you laugh? What makes you groan in abject annoyance? And what are some favorite funny reads (so I can go look for them)? (And this is my newest cover, transformed into Hello Kitty in Luv by the wonders of photoshop. Hopefully good for a laugh)

Posted in Frivolity, Reading, Regency | Tagged | 9 Replies

Book Report Day!

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No, I am not reviewing one of my fellow Risky Regency bloggers’ books–that wouldn’t be risky, would it?
Instead, I thought I’d write about a book I received from my dad, the Enthusiastic Bibliophile, as a birthday gift (note: my birthday was in August, but my dad just sent this. A Timely Enthusiastic Bibliophile he is not).
Anyway. For anyone who’s gotten interested in the Regency period because of the clothing (Amanda? Cara? And I bet the rest of us, too), this is a find. The book is titled Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20 Century, and it is drool-worthy.

Before even opening the book, let’s talk about the presentation. Taschen, a company that’s produced many coolly chic coffee table books, produced this version of the book which costs a lot less than it did in previous editions–follow the link here to get the details. The book is compiled and collected by the Kyoto Costume Institute, which takes its show on the road to museums near you.

The volumes are soft-cover, but are contained within their own little holder, and the cover is just gorgeous. You can see it above, but to see it live is much more impressive.

Then open the book. Volume 1, which is the volume relevant to us: 18th and 19th Century Fashion. Ohmyword. The pictures are huge, clear, and have succinct descriptions, with dates, to give you a clue about what you’re seeing. And you really SEE the clothes here, not just a little tiny picture pulled from some period magazine that doesn’t give you the FEEL of the clothes.

There are men’s and women’s fashions here, and you can track the gradual changes in fashion through the ages. The pictures I’ve posted here are primarily from 1810, although the reticule is 1815. The black outfit is a riding habit–imagine a heroine wearing that as she’s trying to beat the hero in a neck-or-nothing race. The red coat is a redingote, an outer garment that would doubtless keep the heroine (and her muslin gown) free of drafts when she was outside.And in case you thought the current trend for short shrugs was just this century, take a look at the white jacket above–that is as short as anything I’ve seen in Mandee’s lately.
I haven’t spent a lot of time with this fabulous two-volume set yet, but I will be (thanks, Dad!), as much because I am a fan of fashion as I am of the Regency period. Just like our own books (you knew I’d get back there eventually, right?), the Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century books make the period come alive.

Something to look at when I’m wondering just which pair of jeans to don. What was your favorite period for women’s clothing? And is it because your figure is more suited to that style, or for more altruistic aesthetics?

Megan

Posted in Regency, Research | Tagged , , , | 11 Replies