As has been mentioned by many readers all over the internet, Roberta Gellis infuses her books with an excellent sense of time and place. And I can picture what “there” is because I have characters with personality and they function in a world that is far from generic.įor me, romance does not flame to life in a vacuum. When I read a good book, I can close my eyes and imagine I’m there. Instead of this rich tapestry, I’m seriously supposed to settle for yet another Duke of Slut meeting his Duchess of Faux Skank and screwing off into the sunset together while they engage in dialogue that sounds like what I hear walking the hallways of a 21st century courthouse? I don’t need slavish historical accuracy in every single detail, but a sense of time and place would be nice. Given the inherent conflict in actual historical events of the time such as struggles of over industrialization (landed gentry meets factory owner romance, anyone?), scandalous doings at Court or perfectly normal, non-James Bond wannabe military men coming back from war and trying to reestablish themselves, I feel somewhat cheated by many of the Regency-set romances I see today. One thing that has always struck me when reading books such as Our Tempestuous Day, Georgette Heyer’s Regency World, or any of a gazillions books about the Napoleonic War is just how complex and how alive this time in history feels.

If you’ve read much nonfiction history of the time, you’ve probably encountered a rich tapestry of stories.

It was a time of war, of changing social mores, the British Empire was on the rise and the transition from primarily agrarian to industrial societies was beginning to spread in Europe. The actual historical time period from 1811-1820 is actually pretty darn fascinating. I don’t dislike the Regency period as a historical era it’s more that I’ve read too many books that claim this time period as their setting even though one would never be able to discern this from the text of the book itself. The Regency period itself has much to recommend it, and modern-day silliness dressed up in poofy gowns was certainly not what it was all about. I’ll moan about Regency-set historicals as a shorthand for “historicals with idiot twit leads, wallpaper settings and stupid gimmicks that make me crazy.” And I know that’s not fair of me. In my search for good historical reading, I’ll admit that I’m sometimes guilty of something.

Taking Liberties by Diana Norman