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Tag Archives: Dukes

In the comments, if you don’t mind, answer one or more of these questions:

1.  Name a few of your favorite historical romances. Books you’d want with you if you were stuck some place for a long time.

2. Are there types of stories you miss?

3. Duke. Pro or Con?

I’ll answer to get things started.

Mary Balogh’s A Summer To Remember is one of my all time faves. I loved Amanda Quick’s Ravished. I loved Karen Robard’s Loving Julia.

I miss the the big honking saga. I wish there were more Gothics. Once, I read a Regency-Set vampire book and I totally hated it. But now I wouldn’t mind. I can’t explain that.

Pro.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not open to non-dukes.

Last week I was at the RWA National conference in San Antonio. I can reliably report that it is too hot in San Antonio for this California girl. I was all about the AC.

[Watch me appear to change the subject and then not really — CAUTION!! Advanced Blogging technique!]

In this year’s Brenda Novak Diabetes auction, I bid on and won a very lovely scarf. Here is a picture of it:

a cream, silver and light plum scarf with a floral pattern

Scarf!!

I was in the elevator at RWA with my spiffy red hair and my beautiful scarf, and a gentleman who looked a little bit hipsterish was in the elevator with me. We said nothing. As he got off on his floor he said, “Love the red hair and the Pashmina.”

Pashmina? Then I remembered that my scarf is, indeed, Pashmina, which I had not understood until that very moment, was something quite so recognizable.

You guys. It is one hell of a moment when the woman who wore jeans and Keds for the ENTIRE CONFERENCE manages to impress a hipster with her fashion “sense.” Admittedly, my jeans were black, as were my Keds. I’m pretty sure I was wearing socks.

This is living proof that the right accessories make all the difference.

Just think what a Regency heroine could do with a cashmere scarf. Why, she could impress a hipster duke.

 

This is a newsy post of news. To make it worth your valuable time, there are pretty book covers AND at the end of the post, a way to read my upcoming December release before it’s actually released. Consider yourself teased. And now, on to research books, holiday stories, a hot deal, a boxing hero, a free book, and a demon.

Boxing Book!

Most of you know by now that A Notorious Ruin features a boxing hero, among other things boxing. I did a lot of reading about boxing and boxing culture of the period for this book. There are lots of great resources in publications of the time, subject, of course, to any and all agendas that a given author might or might not have. It was fun reading.

You might recall that I posted about some great research from David Snowden, particuarly his book Writing the Prizefight, which yesterday won the 2014 British Society of Sports History’s Lord Aberdare Literary Prize. It’s a book you should consider having on your reference shelf. Snowden is on twitter as @PierceEgan so if you’re curating lists and the like, he’s a good follow.

Other Book News

Did you get your copy of Christmas in the Duke’s Arms yet?

Cover of Christmas in the Duke's Arms.

Christmas in The Duke’s Arms

There have been some very kind words about all the stories. So, hey! You should get your Holiday stories now!

My contribution is titled In The Duke’s Arms. Because you can never have too many dukes. Though I will admit I limited myself to one.

Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play | All Romance eBooks | Print

Fresh Fiction (Reviewed by Monique Daoust) had this to say:

An Exciting, Sensuous and Romantic Regency Christmas!

Ms. Burrowes’ story is ingenious, sensuous, and elegant, and her vocabulary is positively dazzling! It’s spectacularly well-written, the characters are engaging, and it’s very witty; it left me giggling several times. A delicious story of seduction!

In The Duke’s Arms is simply wonderful! The characters are very complex and the interaction between Ryals and Edith is utterly compelling; it’s a joy to watch Edith try to tame the gruff Duke. The story is unhurried, and it’s quite the feat that Ms. Jewel can turn developing passion into something quite suspenseful. The author possesses a perfect knowledge of the period’s language and idioms and writes in a fluid, flowing style that perfectly suits her characters.

Ms. Neville’s contribution is joyful, playful, as expected splendidly written, and quite funny at times. I loved that Robina is a strong and independent woman within the rules imposed by society; she’s a wonderful character as is the dour Wyatt.

Ms. Galen certainly does not disappoint! Those already familiar with this brilliant series will rejoice at getting a final glimpse at some beloved characters. The Spy Beneath the Mistletoe is fast paced, exciting, dynamic; the characters are delightful, and it’s also very passionate. A more than fitting conclusion to a fabulous book!

And then there’s A Notorious Ruin

A Notorious Ruin by Carolyn JewelFrom a post at Avon Romance:

Ms. Jewel slowly exposed their good, bad & ugly & I loved peeling the many layers back & seeing their inner essence. Let chat about sex, because HELLO it’s a romance. Ms. Jewel uses all forms of NAUGHTINESS with swallowing-lightening shivers & quivers to all my girlie parts & assorted NEKKIDness!
— Patty McKenna Van Hulle

Make Kay of Fresh Fiction had this to say:

A long awaited sequel blends eroticism and Regency elegance…

Jewel did a superb job of evoking the era and locale. The lovely and explicit sex scenes also rang true and yet did not pull me out of the era, which I thought masterful. I am glad that Jewel has gone back to this series, and I’m looking forward to the next of the Sinclair Sisters to fall in love.

Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Google Play | Kobo | Paper

Seven Wicked Nights — Until November 16th!

Seven Wicked Nights by Carolyn Jewel and others

Seven bestselling historical romance authors offer seven sexy stories featuring dukes, lords, rakes, scoundrels…and the unforgettable heroines who bring them to their knees. These stories range in length from long novellas to delectable little bites.

This $0.99 collection goes away November 16th. You should get this while you can.

Amazon | Amazon UK | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

Scandal — Still Free!

Cover of Scandal

Scandal

RITA finalist and free at the vendors below. If you haven’t read me, this is a no-cost way to find out what you think.

This book took my breath away. – SBTB

WOW. Simply, wow. That is the only word I can use to describe this masterpiece. It has been such a long time since I have read such a rich, emotional and tension filled romance. Not only did Scandal have me hooked from the very first page, but this is the first book, in a very long time, where I had to read straight through into the wee hours of the night because I couldn’t put it down. When an author can write such a book, that book is destined for greatness. I wouldn’t be surprised if Scandal becomes one of the favorites of 2009, and perhaps placed on most reader’s lists for all time favorite historical. – Romance Novel TV

Readers looking for a deeply emotional and very well-written book will love this one. I have a certain weakness for flawed but redeemable characters, and this tale very much hit the spot. I cannot wait to see more historicals from this author in the future. –All About Romance

Jewel plays readers’ emotions like a virtuoso, ensuring they will eagerly follow her characters into dramatic, intensely passionate and gripping love stories that will steal your heart and make you beg for more. She grabs you at the first word and never lets go. – Kathe Robin RT Book Reviews

Amazon | Amazon UK | Nook | All Romance eBooks | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

And lastly, I tease and tempt you with an upcoming release and a way to read it before it’s on sale…

Cover of Dead Drop

Dead Drop – Not a Duke

Dead Drop turned out to be Book 6 in the My Immortals series. Demons instead of Dukes. It’s a short novel, at 42,000+ words.

I’m writing what I guess I have to start calling Book 7 in the series now. I have no buy links for Dead Drop yet since I don’t quite have final files yet. Sometime in the next two weeks. The on-sale date will be December 20th.

How, you are wondering, might you have the chance to read this before the book is on sale? Well, I set up a members-only section of my website, and I’m posting the chapters there every few days. Files are subject to update as I play whack-a-mole with typos lurking in the proofreading rounds.

If you happen to subscribe to my newsletter, you will get the login and password to the members only section and can start reading now. If you want. I’ve posted through chapter 6. I believe Chapter 7 will go up sometime tomorrow or the day after.

You can subscribe at my website.

There. That’s all the book news.

Duke of Wellington

Duke of Wellington

For a while now, dukes have been running rampant through the Regency fiction genres, especially in Historicals, but even in Trads. Do you love this? Hate this? Don’t care? The trend seems as strong as ever. The publishers, and apparently the readers, love them. And hey, we’re writing stories that are fantasies based on a romantic view of our time period, so why not? It’s not as if all of these fictional dukes exist in the same version of Regency England –each author’s Regency World is unique to that author (except perhaps in a connected set or special project). Right? But did you ever wonder how many dukes there really were in Great Britain during the Regency?

Douglas Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton and 5th Duke of Brandon

Douglas Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton & 5th Duke of Brandon

You might say dukes are the equivalent historical heart-throbs to the super-billionaires that are the go-to heroes in current contemporary romance. As The Daily Mail has explained it: “Dukes are just one rung down from royalty in the social pecking order and enjoy a special status way above the rank and file of the aristocracy. As peerages go, it’s the jackpot.”

Who wouldn’t want their hero to be that special? Except the way I see it, this status cuts both ways. The very rarified “special-ness” of such high rank begins to suffer when book after book after book has young, handsome, wealthy dukes just ripe for marriage. It just rubs against my personal vision of what I think the Regency was like, or makes the rank of duke seem a little common. Dukes were rare, and most often old…weren’t they? And I’m not even touching the question of the way dukes fit into the political structure, but you can note below how many of the dukedoms are named for the counties of Britain….

Charles+Lennox,+3rd+Duke+of+Richmond+(1758),+Sir+Joshia+Reynolds.

Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond

I’ve nothing against my fellow authors whose heroes are dukes, or the readers who love them. I get it. But I can’t do it. Every time I consider creating a hero who is so highly ranked –well, I feel like I stubbed my toe. The closest I’ve come to it was dealing with a duke’s family in An Unlikely Hero, and that story’s hero was a viscount, a “lowly” friend of the duke’s son. Am I losing readers?

I don’t seem to have the same problem with creating heroes in the lower peerage ranks. There were so many more of them! Earls, for instance. I am fond of them. They could be wealthier than some dukes were! But I have this idea that there were a lot more earls floating around in the real Regency England, so it seems less of a violation to add in a few fictional ones. And barons –they date very far back in time, and there were lots of them, too. Has the demand for dukes devalued the other four peerage ranks (marquess, earl, viscount, and baron) in our fiction?

I decided to put my prejudice to the test and check the numbers. (I’m not including Royal Princes’ dukedoms). After all the dukedoms that have been created, recreated, forfeited, merged (through marriage or elevation to higher rank), or simply gone extinct (no heirs), today there are only 24 still extant. But how many in our favorite time period?

63 English (non-royal) dukedoms starting as early as 1351 went extinct, were forfeited to the crown, or merged prior to 1707. Eleven (including two forfeited and restored several times) were extant at least through the Regency:

1 Norfolk, 1483 (forfeited three times up to 1660)

Edward Seymour duke of somerset

Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset

2 Somerset, 1547 (forfeited 1552-1660)

Charles_Lennox,_1st_Duke_of_Richmond_and_Lennox_by_Sir_Godfrey_Kneller,_Bt

Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond

3 Richmond, 1675

4 Grafton, 1675

5 Beaufort, 1682

6 St Albans, 1684

7 Leeds, 1694 (extinct in 1964)

8 Bedford, 1694

9 Devonshire, 1694

John_Churchill_Duke of Marlborough__van_der_Werff

Duke of Marlborough, Winston Churchill’s ancestor

10 Marlborough, 1702

11 Rutland, 1703

Between 1707-1801, about ten more were created and went extinct, merged, or were forfeit. Eight dukedoms of Great Britain created during these years were still extant into the Regency:

12 Brandon, 1711

13 Ancaster & Kesteven, 1715 (extinct-1809)

14 Portland, 1716 (extinct 1990)

15 Manchester, 1719

16 Dorset, 1720

17 Bridgewater, 1720 (extinct 1803)

18 Newcastle-under-Lynne, 1756 (extinct 1988)

19 Northumberland, 1766

Created between 1801-1822, only two:

20 Wellington, 1814

21 Buckingham and Chandos, 1822 (extinct 1889)

22 Duke of Leinster, 1691, was the only Irish dukedom extant during the Regency

It appears there were nine Scottish Dukes during the Regency, titles dating from 1707 or earlier. (18 other Scottish dukedoms went extinct, were forfeited to the crown, or merged between 1351-1707 ) The nine:

1) Hamilton 1643 (and later Brandon, 1711)

2) Buccleough, 1663 (and Queensbury, 1810)

George_Douglas_Campbell,_8th_Duke_of_Argyll_by_George_Frederic_Watts

G. D. Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll

3) Lennox 1665

4) Gordon

5) Queensbury, 1684

6) Arguyll, 1701

7) Atholl, 1703

8) Montrose, 1707

9) Roxburghe, 1707

By my count, that’s 31 dukes during the Regency, in all of England, Scotland, and Ireland. If I had time, I would now look them all up to find out how old each one was in, say, 1816!!

For comparison, I give you:

1) number of earldoms (English, Scottish, Irish, G.B or U.K.), established before or during the Regency (1398-1822) still extant today: 142. (Because the sheer number of earldoms has long surpassed the number of territorial counties, the names of many earldoms are associated with smaller units (estates, villages, families, etc.).

2) number of baronies (English, Scottish, Irish, G.B or U.K.), established before or during the Regency (1264-1822) still extant today: 124 (and 317 more were created since 1822!)

I am sure there were more of both these peerages during the Regency that disappeared later –sorry I don’t have time to analyze these long lists! You get my point. Slipping in a bunch of fictional earls or barons doesn’t rattle my universe of imagined history nearly as much as all those dukes!

James-Graham-1st-Marquess-of-Montrose-by-William-Dobson

1st Marquess of Montrose

Viscounts and marquesses, the other two peerage titles, were less common, at least as independent titles. Copied from the French, they came into use later, and tended to become subsidiary titles as the holders were promoted. Much more commonly found as the courtesy titles used by heirs-apparent. Today there are only 25 marquesses who do not hold higher titles, and 37 such viscounts. I learned that stand-alone viscountcies were more common in Ireland than the other parts of the UK –24 of those 37 viscounts are Irish titles. Things I’ll keep in mind for future stories!!

I came across two tidbits that I can’t resist sharing. One is this: The Daily Mail reported in 2009 that Tatler Magazine invited the 24 then-current non-royal dukes to lunch. Some were too frail to attend, and some live abroad, but ten of them came. Those ten represented the largest gathering of dukes since Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953! Their ages ranged from 41 to 94. For a photo of them, details and the interesting story, see “Ten Dukes a-Dining”.

And this last bit is at least for Amanda, and also shows that it’s not always good to be a duke:

“When Elizabeth I came to power the only [remaining] living duke was Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk. Elizabeth did not create any dukes, and she beheaded Thomas Howard at the age of 36 for plotting to wed Mary, Queen of Scots and overthrow her. By 1572, this class of peerage was extinct – there were no Dukes in the last 30 years of her reign.” (from Wikipedia) No wonder Shakespeare could so liberally sprinkle both historical and fictional dukes throughout his plays without worrying about direct repercussions! (besides putting them in Italy, of course) No one in England held that rank for most of his lifetime –from the time he was eight until seven years after his death in 1616. The later extant Dukedoms in the Peerage of England were created (or restored, in two cases) in the Stuart period and after.

How do you feel about dukes? In our Regency fantasies, does it matter whether the titles of our characters reflect the nature of the peerage at the time? I’d love to hear what you think!