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?)