Regency novel
Encyclopedia
Regency novels are either:
In both cases the setting is typically Regency England, although the settings can sometimes be extended to the European continent or to the various British colonies of the same time period. Traits often found in both types include a highly developed sense of social standing between the characters; emphasis on 'manners' and class issues; and the emergence of modern social thought amongst the upper classes of England.
The Regency period in the United Kingdom
is the period between 1811 and 1820, when King George III
was deemed unfit to rule and his son, later George IV
, was instated to be his proxy as Prince Regent
. It was a decade of particular manners and fashions, and overlaps with the Napoleonic Period in Europe.
's Temeraire books and some of Patricia Wrede
's novels.
, Ashley Gardner
, Carrie Bebris, Rosemary Stevens, and Stephanie Barron.
, Bernard Cornwell
, and C.S. Forester. More recently, Novik
(see above) refights the Napoleonic Wars
with dragon
s for air support
.
, Barbara Metzger, Joan Smith, Marion Chesney
, Mary Balogh
, Jo Beverley
, Nancy Butler, Lisa Kleypas, Stephanie Laurens, Sorcha MacMurrough, Amanda McCabe and Julia Quinn.
Many readers and writers of Regency Romance make a distinction between "Traditional Regency Romance" (also known as "Regency Romance," "Traditional Regency," and "Trad") and "Regency Historical".
The Regency-set books published by the Fawcett Coventry line are all Trads, and the Regency-set books written by authors such as Amanda Quick and Christina Dodd and Suzanne De Launton are Historicals. Signet Regency romances were also popular for many years, and can still be found online second-hand.
The distinction rests on the genre
definition of regency romance: Works in the tradition of Georgette Heyer
, with an emphasis on the primary romance plot, would be traditional.
Regency romances which may include more social realism, or, conversely, anachronistically modern characterization, might be classed by some as "Regency historical", signifying that their general setting is in Regency England, but the plot, characterization, or prose style of the work extends beyond the genre formula of the Regency romances published by Heyer, Fawcett, etc.
Many authors have written both Traditionals and Historicals, including Barbara Metzger, Jo Beverley
, Mary Balogh
, Edith Layton, Mary Jo Putney, Susan Carroll
, Suzanne De Launton, and Loretta Chase.
The sensual Regency historical romance has been made popular in recent years by Mary Balogh
, Jo Beverley
, Lisa Kleypas, Stephanie Laurens, Sorcha MacMurrough, Julia Quinn. These novels are much more explicit than the traditional Regency, and include many more love scenes. These love scenes also tend to be more racy.
In addition, these novels tend to be published in a series, with groups of friends of either gender the focus of interest as they get married off one by one.
The Regency period, overlapping as it does with the Napoleonic War period in Europe, offers the opportunity for high drama, with wounded heroes, mystery and adventure, and thus would help to explain the popularity of Regency romance novels in particular.
- Fiction actually written during the Regency era - The works of Jane AustenJane AustenJane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
, Sir Walter Scott, Susan Ferrier, and Maria EdgeworthMaria EdgeworthMaria Edgeworth was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe...
would fall into this category. - Later fiction set within the Regency era. - These include romance novelRomance novelThe romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
s (called "Regency romanceRegency romanceRegency romances are a subgenre of romance novels set during the period of the British Regency or early 19th century. Rather than simply being versions of contemporary romance stories transported to a historical setting, Regency romances are a distinct genre with their own plot and stylistic...
s"), detective fictionDetective fictionDetective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
, and military fiction.
In both cases the setting is typically Regency England, although the settings can sometimes be extended to the European continent or to the various British colonies of the same time period. Traits often found in both types include a highly developed sense of social standing between the characters; emphasis on 'manners' and class issues; and the emergence of modern social thought amongst the upper classes of England.
The Regency period in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
is the period between 1811 and 1820, when King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
was deemed unfit to rule and his son, later George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, was instated to be his proxy as Prince Regent
Prince Regent
A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....
. It was a decade of particular manners and fashions, and overlaps with the Napoleonic Period in Europe.
Modern Regency fiction
Fiction set in the Regency period grew in popularity during the late 20th century, leading to an increased number of novels in all of the categories. In addition, there has also been some Regency-set science fiction and fantasy, such as Naomi NovikNaomi Novik
Naomi Novik is an American novelist. She is a first-generation American; her father is of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, and her mother is an ethnic Pole. She studied English Literature at Brown University, and holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from Columbia University...
's Temeraire books and some of Patricia Wrede
Patricia Wrede
Patricia Collins Wrede is an American fantasy writer from Chicago, Illinois.The eldest of five children, she graduated from Carleton College in 1974 with a BA in Biology, married James Wrede in 1976 , and obtained an MBA from University of Minnesota in 1977.She finished her first book in 1978,...
's novels.
Mysteries
Well-known authors include: Kate RossKate Ross
Kate Ross , born Katherine Jean Ross, was an American mystery author who wrote four books set in Regency-era England about dandy Julian Kestrel...
, Ashley Gardner
Ashley Gardner
Ashley Gardner is an American stage actress. A graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, she has an extensive resume in live theatre, as well as supporting parts in various movies and television programs. She appeared in the sitcom Seinfeld episode "The Library" as Marion...
, Carrie Bebris, Rosemary Stevens, and Stephanie Barron.
Military fiction
Well-known authors include Patrick O'BrianPatrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
, Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
, and C.S. Forester. More recently, Novik
Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik is an American novelist. She is a first-generation American; her father is of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, and her mother is an ethnic Pole. She studied English Literature at Brown University, and holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from Columbia University...
(see above) refights the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
with dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s for air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
.
Romances
Well-known authors include: Georgette HeyerGeorgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer was a British historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer...
, Barbara Metzger, Joan Smith, Marion Chesney
Marion Chesney
Marion Chesney is a popular and prolific author. She has written numerous successful historical romance novels under her own name, including the Travelling Matchmaker and Daughters of Mannerling series. Using the pseudonym M. C...
, Mary Balogh
Mary Balogh
Mary Balogh is a Welsh-Canadian historical romance novelist.-Personal life:...
, Jo Beverley
Jo Beverley
Jo Beverley, née Mary Josephine Dunn is a prolific British-Canadian writer of popular historical romance novels....
, Nancy Butler, Lisa Kleypas, Stephanie Laurens, Sorcha MacMurrough, Amanda McCabe and Julia Quinn.
Many readers and writers of Regency Romance make a distinction between "Traditional Regency Romance" (also known as "Regency Romance," "Traditional Regency," and "Trad") and "Regency Historical".
The Regency-set books published by the Fawcett Coventry line are all Trads, and the Regency-set books written by authors such as Amanda Quick and Christina Dodd and Suzanne De Launton are Historicals. Signet Regency romances were also popular for many years, and can still be found online second-hand.
The distinction rests on the genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
definition of regency romance: Works in the tradition of Georgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer
Georgette Heyer was a British historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer...
, with an emphasis on the primary romance plot, would be traditional.
Regency romances which may include more social realism, or, conversely, anachronistically modern characterization, might be classed by some as "Regency historical", signifying that their general setting is in Regency England, but the plot, characterization, or prose style of the work extends beyond the genre formula of the Regency romances published by Heyer, Fawcett, etc.
Many authors have written both Traditionals and Historicals, including Barbara Metzger, Jo Beverley
Jo Beverley
Jo Beverley, née Mary Josephine Dunn is a prolific British-Canadian writer of popular historical romance novels....
, Mary Balogh
Mary Balogh
Mary Balogh is a Welsh-Canadian historical romance novelist.-Personal life:...
, Edith Layton, Mary Jo Putney, Susan Carroll
Susan Carroll
Susan Coppula is an American writer of romance novels under her pen names, Susan Carroll and Serena Richards.-Biography:...
, Suzanne De Launton, and Loretta Chase.
The sensual Regency historical romance has been made popular in recent years by Mary Balogh
Mary Balogh
Mary Balogh is a Welsh-Canadian historical romance novelist.-Personal life:...
, Jo Beverley
Jo Beverley
Jo Beverley, née Mary Josephine Dunn is a prolific British-Canadian writer of popular historical romance novels....
, Lisa Kleypas, Stephanie Laurens, Sorcha MacMurrough, Julia Quinn. These novels are much more explicit than the traditional Regency, and include many more love scenes. These love scenes also tend to be more racy.
In addition, these novels tend to be published in a series, with groups of friends of either gender the focus of interest as they get married off one by one.
The Regency period, overlapping as it does with the Napoleonic War period in Europe, offers the opportunity for high drama, with wounded heroes, mystery and adventure, and thus would help to explain the popularity of Regency romance novels in particular.