Regency Romance
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developed BY women FOR women!
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Regency romances are a sub-genre specifically set in Regency period of England where King George was ousted from the throne and his son took his place, followed by Queen Victoria
(late 1700's-early 1800's.)
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Rather than simply being romances in a historical setting, Regency romances are a specific and distinct genre with their own unique plot and stylistic conventions, works in the tradition of Georgette Heyer 's works, her first published in 1921, drawing on the style of Jane Austen and the deft Novels of manners, they create a highly fanciful backdrop that shows off characters to maximum advantage.
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Traditional Regency Romance features intelligent, fast-paced dialogue between protagonists with very little explicit sex. Thus the distinction between the "Traditional Regency Romance" and its successor, the "Regency Historical" novels.
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Regencies highlight the central romance plot-line, but writers do extensive research and emphasize historical detail, replicating the voice of the genre, but don't necessarily create historically accurate female characters. Instead, the heroines often have “unusual” ideas about how to behave, as the conventional-minded characters around them constantly point out, ideas that are often distinctly twentieth-century.
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The style that evolved into the “Regency Historical” romance emphasizes more social realism, or modern characterization, where the plot, characterization, or prose extends, and characters behave according to modern values, rather than Regency England's; they are much more explicit than Traditional Regency works, and include many more love scenes.
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Characteristic elements or tropes include references to le bon ton,
social season activities such as carriage rides, morning calls, large social gatherings / parties, and the attendance of plays and operas.
Participation in athletic activities such as riding, driving, boxing, fencing, and hunting come up frequently.
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The differences between social / economic classes are integral to Regency novels, as are marriages of convenience, as marriage based on love was rarely an option for most women in the British Regency (securing a sufficient income was the first consideration for both the woman and her family.)
False engagements were a common device, as were "Cyprians" (sex workers), women of "ill repute," mistresses, and prodigals, wastrels and men from the upper classes, rakes who combined riotous living with intellectual pursuits and patronage of the arts.
Mistaken identity, deliberate or otherwise frequently is a plot device, and mysteries and moments of farce, or farcical plot lines were common.
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