Inspiration can strike you anywhere...

People are always interested in where writers get the inspiration for their stories. For me the ideas can come from anywhere. The idea for "To Catch A Husband" grew out of living on the Yorkshire/Lancashire border and being surrounded by old mills. The small mill towns around me are still full of reminders of the past, the small stone houses with their rows of upstairs windows, giving light into the room where the weaving would be done. The loom would clack away throughout the daylight hours weaving cloth and providing a living for the family, the Piece Hall in Halifax where the cloth merchants used to bring their cloth (or "pieces") to sell,. and Quarry Bank Mill just south of Manchester, now a fascinating museum with working machinery that shows just how tough (and noisy) life in the mills was in the 18th and 19th centuries.
For my next book, "The Dangerous Lord Darrington", inspiration came when I was staying with a friend in Sussex and she took me to see Michelham Priory pictured above).

We went to see it on a sunny summer's day, but I immediately imagined what it would be like to approach this ancient building on a dark and stormy night and have the steeply gabled roof towering over you. I wasn't planning to write a gothic novel, but I did think it would be a splendid setting for a mystery.

I decided to set my own house, the Priory, in the wilds of Yorkshire. In the opening scenes of the book, Guy Wylder (Lord Darrington) brings his wounded friend to the house on a wet and windy evening, when the house looks at its most gloomy and menacing. Then, in the dark reaches of the night he hears strange noises and uncovers a family secret.

Of course, the house is also the family home of my heroine, Beth Forrester, so it is not really as dark and threatening as it first appears, but the first images give the story a terrific impact and set the scene for a fast-paced adventure that sees Beth and Guy thrown together in a desperate search for justice.

But, as I said at the beginning, inspiration can come from anywhere. I recently had a great holiday on Exmoor, which has provided me with ideas for my next couple of books…..watch this space!

Sarah Mallory

Ancient Words, Modern Meanings

I hope some of you saw the blogs Harlequin posted on the peregrine falcon family that nested within sight of the office windows in Toronto. The falcons, who mate for life by the way, had a baby bird and Harlequin staff named it Harlequin, or “Harlie,” for short. (Here’s a peak at the saga: http://harlequinblog.com/2011/06/harlequin-peregrine-cam/)
It’s a perfect romance.
I wish this camera had been in place when I was writing my last book, because the heroine of HIS BORDER BRIDE was an avid falconer who also raised a baby bird and trained it to hunt. This was not done during medieval time and still not recommended by many experts because the bird becomes too “imprinted” upon humans, potentially losing its natural hunting instincts.
As I studied the ancient sport of training raptors (birds like falcons and eagles) to hunt prey on command, I also learned some of the specialized terminology of the sport. I was surprised to find how many words from falconry are used today in a totally different context. Here’s a sample of ones I suspect most people use without knowing their origin:
Fledgling: A fledgling is a young falcon that has just grown it’s “flight feathers.” (To “fledge” is to take the first flight.) Today, a fledgling is a newbie. It is also used as an adjective, e.g. a fledgling novelist.
Codger: Originally “cadger.” This was a person who carried the cadge, a portable perch which could carry several birds, into the field for the hunt. Usually, the cadger was an old falconer. Hence, codger now means an old person.
Hoodwinked: We use it to say someone was fooled, but originally, it literally meant putting a hood over the falcon’s head. This made the bird think it was night and calmed it. This was done to prevent the bird from being disturbed or, for example, so the hunter could take the prey away without the bird knowing.
Gorge: This was originally the bird’s crop, a sort of sack in the bird’s throat in which food is stored before swallowing. Hence, to gorge, or overeat.
Mews: This was originally housing for falcons. Later, it became attached to the place where horses were kept, and then to a small of houses converted from stables, or made to look like stables.
Boozing: A bird drinking water, sometimes to excess, was said to be “bowsing.” Hence, drinking…other things…to excess.
Haggard: A haggard was a bird caught in the wild as an adult, older than a fledgling. The word evolved to indicate something or someone who looks well-worn.
Are any of these new to you? Or do you have words to contribute, from falconry or not, that have dramatically changed in meaning through the years?

P.S. The picture was taken at the South Carolina Center for Birds of Prey, when I was doing research for the book. This falcon is (dare I say it?) hoodwinked.

Blythe Gifford

HIS BORDER BRIDE, May 2010

www.blythegifford.com

The Regency Governess

One of this month’s Harlequin Historicals is Christine Merrill’s Dangerous Lord, Innocent Governess, reminding me that the governess has been a popular heroine in Regency Historical Romance. So popular that I’m even considering a governess heroine for my next book.

Perhaps literature’s most iconic governess heroine was Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte (and her sisters) knew first hand about the life of a governess. They each worked briefly as such. Jane Eyre’s experience as a governess had gothic overtones (as does Christine’s Dangerous Lord, Innocent Governess). But we also learn about the life of a governess from Jane Austen. In Emma, Austen shows both the best of a governess’s life and the worst. Emma’s beloved governess, Miss Taylor, was treated as a member of the family and, when Emma no longer needed her, married the prosperous Mr. Weston. On the other hand, Emma laments Jane Fairfax’s fate when Jane is any day expecting to be forced to accept a position as a governess and “retire from all the pleasures of life, of rational intercourse, equal society, peace and hope…”

The life of an early nineteenth century governess could be similar to Emma’s Miss Taylor—paid well, treated well, valued as important. A governess’s salary could be as much as 200 pounds a year, but often it was as little as 20 pounds or, in the worst cases, no salary at all, just room and board. Often a governess had no ability to save money for retirement. When her teaching days were over, her circumstances became even more dreadful.

A governess was expected to come from a respectable family with a social background similar or better than the family employing her. But, of course, her need for employment meant that her status was unequal to her employers. Neither was she considered a member of the servant class. Her situation in a household could, therefore, be a lonely one, fitting in neither Upstairs nor Downstairs. Her reputation must be spotless.

No scandal could be attached to her name or she might be seen as corrupting her charges rather than instructing them in moral behavior. She had great responsibility for the children in her care, both for their education and behavior, but she might not necessarily have authority over them. Always she must please the parents lest she be let go and not given a good reference.

A governess’s grim life makes her a perfect heroine for a Cinderella story. Who would not cheer such a heroine for earning the love of the hero and achieving a happily ever after? Another popular governess heroine, and the premise Christine uses, is a respectable lady pretending to be a governess.

Can you think of another story premise involving a governess heroine? Do you have a favorite governess heroine? And, most importantly for me, are you up for another governess story?

The Two Faces of Masquerade

Lately I've been working on a story that begins at a masquerade. The masquerade isn't important to the story except to facilitate a case of mistaken identity, but it occured to me (belatedly) that a masquerade is the perfect place for two strangers to meet and fall in love. There's something so thrilling about the costumes, the secrets, the flirtations... My interest in masquerade as a setting was triggered by Vic Gatrell's Love and Laughter: Sex and Satire in Eighteenth-Century London. Yes, I've mentioned it before. I adore this book. It's chock-full of fascinating stuff about what made people laugh a few centuries ago. (Among other things -- potty humor! The 18th Century was a very down-to-earth time. :))

Masquerades gave people an opportunity to play at being someone they weren't. To indulge in risky behavior without being frowned upon. To throw off the bonds of civilization and be just a little bit (or perhaps a lot) wild. Despite the illicit sexual behavior associated with masquerades, plenty of respectable people indulged in them, even though the costumes often weren't good enough to conceal the wearer's identity -- or even intended to.

For example, in 1749, Elizabeth Chudleigh, Maid of Honor to the Princess of Wales, attended a masquerade bare-breasted! Theoretically, she was disguised as Iphigenia, the Greek maiden who, in most versions of the myth, is saved at the last moment from being sacrificed. Obviously, though, Miss Chudleigh wasn't in disguise at all, but just out for some exhibitionistic fun! She offended many people, but doesn't seem to have cared. Here's a picture of her in costume, with a few very interested fellows:
 
That's the entertaining aspect of masquerade, but there were also the potential consequences, such as disease and unwanted pregnancies. By the early 1800s, values had changed and masquerades were more likely to be frowned upon. Here's an 1816 print by Rowlandson called Dance of Death: The Masquerade. Everyone shrinks away as Death stalks his latest victim at the masquerade -- a clear message about the consequences of self-indulgence.

Not much has changed, has it? People still long to be bad, to throw off the shackles of good manners, to indulge in risky sexual behavior regardless of the consequences, and often they regret it afterward. The sorts of scandals we see from time to time in the political arena are only a reflection of what goes on everywhere -- always has and maybe always will. My question is, why? What in the human psyche drives us toward this sort of release? Is it a useful aspect of human nature or only a perilous one? And since this is a blog about romance, is the hero as bad boy -- which we certainly find plenty of -- a safe way of satisfying the longing to throw off restraints and indulge in exciting and dangerous pleasures?

Barbara Monajem
My new Harlequin Undone, The Wanton Governess, will be out August 1st!

Harlequin Historical Authors converge on the Big Apple!

This past week saw over 2,000 romance authors converge on Times Square in NYC, to attend the 2011 Romance Writers of America national conference. This is a place to learn, network and basically refuel the writer's well, so to speak.

There were many of your favorite Harlequin Historical Authors there, too --and wouldn't you know, we'd find a way to get to some fascinating local history during our stay there! The HH editors sponsored a wonderful and informative afternoon for us at the Mount Vernon Hotel, a historical landmark in the midst of bustling modern day Manhattan.

The Mount Vernon Hotel began as a carriage house, built out of local stone, in 1799. Since the original owner went bankrupt shortly after the main house was finished, and the new owner lost it in a fire sometime thereafter, the carriage house was eventually converted to a hotel. Situated a few miles from the bustling new port city of New York, we were informed that this 'day hotel' became a popular day trip for folks looking to get to the country side. Later, it was converted into a private home, and in the 20th century it was purchased by a utility and several monstrous oil tanks were erected behind it (not unlike the towering skyscrapers that surround the little building today).

The hotel is currently being restored with period pieces, and boasts a full kitchen, dining area, common room, men's parlor, ladies' parlor and bedroom. I was fascinated by the location of the ladies parlor directly above the common room, where locals would come for drink and merriment --I imagine their delicate ears were exposed to quite a few improper remarks that drifted through the floorboards below!

Most fun of all, was the opportunity to share time with the awesomely talented editors and authors who contribute to the wonderful reads in the Harlequin Historical line.

Some of the authors you may know:
Carole Mortimer, Ann Lethbridge, Terri Brisbin, Deborah Hale, Diane Gaston, Elaine Golden, Blythe Gifford, Christine Merrill, Kate Bridges, Michelle Willingham, Julia Justiss, Jeannie Lin.

____________________________

Elaine Golden has written for Harlequin Historical since 2011, debuting with a Regency series, the Fortney Follies, for Harlequin Historical Undone! The 3rd book in the series, A COMPROMISED INNOCENT, released this month.

You can read an excerpt from A COMPROMISED INNOCENT and find a link for information on how to order on her website: www.elainegolden.com

A True Regency Rags to Riches Tale

Michelle Styles examines the life of Harriot Mellon Coutts, Duchess of St Albans, Celebrated actress, senior partner in Coutts Bank and forgotten by today's feminists.

Last month, I blogged about Lady Jersey and Evangline Holland kindly recommended a book – Women Who Made Money – Women Partners in British Private Banks 1752 -1906 by Dawes and Selwyn.   I ordered and read it, not expecting that much. But as I turned the pages , my jaw kept dropping. Why had these women been overlooked? Why aren’t they better known? 14 women possessed licences to print money in 1812. Women in the Regency period not only inherited banks but they also founded banks. When Ann Butlin’s bank was wound up at 100 years, her great grandson retired a wealthy man.

One of the most remarkable  female bankers is Harriot Mellon Coutts who later became the Duchess of St Albans.

Harriot is a true rags to riches story and I am utterly amazed that no one has seen fit to have her as a  subject of a biography since 1915. Born circa 1777 to an Irish actress and one Leiutenant Mellon of the Madras Army (there are no records of the man btw), Harriot went on the provincial stage at an early age.  There is evidence that her mother severely abused her. When she was 18, she met Sheridan who urged her to come to London. She made her debut in 1795 as Lydia Languish at the Drury Theatre. She was considered to be a great comic actress.

Harriot was blessed with incredible good sense and a prudent and sound business head. She became wealthy but continued to work.  She also made sure that she was utterly respectable.

In 1810 while on a professional tour, in Cheltenham, she met the elderly banker Thomas Coutts. She kept the five guineas he sent as good luck pieces for the rest of her life. They rapidly became friends and he became her trusted business advisor. She was welcomed into his family and became friends with his daughters who were known as the Three Graces on account of their beauty. Unfortunately the first Mrs Coutts suffered from serious mental illness and eventually died in 1815. A month later Harriot and Thomas married.  Thomas ensured that Harriot had a proper marriage settlement and she retained control of all her property. Harriot was presented at court by Baroness North (one of Thomas’s daughters). There is a story that Baroness North had offered, expecting the Queen to refuse to meet Harriot as there had been a slight friction that their father remarried so quickly. In the event, the Prince Regent did meet Harriot and was utterly charmed by her (note if you want an actress to be presented, have her meet the Prince Regent).

In 1822, Thomas died and left the senior partnership to Harriot. Harriot was an active partner and controlled the hiring and firing of the other partners. She was also paid 4x as much as the other partners. She did much to introduce Coutts bank to various high flyers.  She knew everyone. And in 1825, she married the Duke of St Albans, a man twenty years her junior. She knew about marriage settlements and continued to retain control of her money and Coutts bank.

She was a great patron of the arts as well as the poor. The over-whelming picture of her was that she was kind and never seemed to notice slights. For a time after she married the Duke of St Albans she was mercilessly caricatured.

She died in 1837, leaving Coutts to Thomas Coutts’ granddaughter Augusta Burdett-Coutts. Lady Burdett-Coutts preferred to concentrate on philanthropy rather than directly running the bank. She did a huge amount for the poor in the East End of London. However when she married an American in 1881, under the terms of Harriot Mellon’s will, the control of Coutts changed. Coutts remains one of the leading private banks in Britain and among other things, there is a cash point machine in Buckingham Palace for the Royal family’s use.

It shocks and amazes me that she is not better known. There is a 1915 biography called The Jolly Duchess which is available on the Open Library if anyone is interested in more detail. And I thoroughly recommend Women Who Made Money for anyone interested in how businesswomen thrived in the Regency and Victorian periods.

Michelle Styles writes historical romance in a number of different periods including the Regency. Her latest To Marry a Matchmaker is an early Victorian set in the North East of England. You can read more about Michelle's books on her website www.michellestyles.co.uk

Carriages and Trains

Images of heroes and heroines on horseback or riding in grand carriages are part of what I love about writing books set in Regency England. So it is daunting to me to know that the beloved characters in my books are about to experience a radical change in their mode of travel. On their horizon is railway travel and in the wink of an eye posting inns and mail coaches are about to be replaced.

Regency people certainly must have known about steam engines and railroads. The the late 1700s, railways in Great Britain served the mining industry, carrying only freight. In 1808 a steam locomotive called Catch Me Who Can was run on a circular track as a sort of novelty exhibition in Bloomsbury. The exhibition closed after a derailment caused by the relatively brittle cast-iron rails breaking.

The early 1800s were a time of great invention and innovation in the development of steam engines and in improving rails. Early steam engines included the Rocket, the Puffing Billy, the Salamanca, and the Blücher. The Salamanca was named after Wellington’s victorious battle at Salamanca in 1812. The Blücher was named for the Prussian general whose arrival at Waterloo secured the victory for Wellington.

In 1825, shortly after the Regency officially ended, the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened. It was 26 miles long and carried passengers as well as freight. In 1830 the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened as the world’s first inter-city passenger railway. One of the passengers on the train on opening day was the Duke of Wellington.

By the 1840s there were dozens of competing companies building and running railroads to all parts of Great Britain. By 1900, carriage travel became a nostalgic relic of the past.

But carriage travel still lives on in our Regency romances, whether for a leisurely turn in Hyde Park or a mad dash to Gretna Green. We can still enjoy it vicariously.

What do you think Regency people thought of the first railways?
What do you find most romantic about carriage travel?

RITA Spotlight on Cheryl St. John

Congratulations to Cheryl St. John, RITA finalist in the novella category for “Mountain Rose” in the TO BE A MOTHER release from Love Inspired Historical. Cheryl also writes for Harlequin Historical and I’m featuring her on my Facebook page today. Come by www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford to read a special note from Cheryl and to learn how to win one of her upcoming books from Harlequin Historical or Love Inspired Historical: Marrying the Preacher's Daughter, Love Inspired Historical 6/11Her Wyoming Man, Harlequin Historical 7/11. She's giving one of each via my website, www.blythegifford.com.

Reading outside my rut

Reading is a wonderful escape to a familiar landscape for most of us. My reading “comfort food” includes historical romance, of course, as well as straight history. (Yes, I do read history for fun.) I also rely on some well-loved thriller writers as a “palate cleanser” and a motivational self-help book is always at my bedside.
Throw in the occasional contemporary romance by one of my go-to authors and you’ve summed up my reading habit.
Lately, I’ve been wondering whether my reading diet needs to be a little more adventurous. Yes, it’s familiar and comfortable. It’s also in a little bit of a rut. Maybe I should actively look for reading that will take me far away from the mists of the Scottish Borders, where I spend most of my writing and research time.
One option is to dip into one of the many downloads on my Kindle. When the price is right, I’ve impulsively clicked “buy” on any number of things: an inspirational suspense, a history of the underground press of the Sixties, a contemporary comic novel, and a collection of essays, for starters. Any one of those would take me far afield from my normal routine.
Or maybe I should make a plan. A list of genres I rarely read would include paranormal, inspirational, erotic, and mysteries. I could look for the best in each category, RITA nominated books, for instance, and systematically pick one from each.
On the other hand, I already have a teetering TBR pile full of novels from my author friends: a YA novel, a cozy mystery, women’s fiction…each very different. And each from a writer I KNOW tells a good story. If I start at the top and work down, I’d cover a lot of unfamiliar territory.
So how do I move beyond my reading comfort zone? Should I choose at random, create a plan, or just work from the top of the pile down?
Hmmm. While I ponder, I’ve a book calling to me. The biography about the sisters of Henry VIII is due back to the library soon…
Have you ever tried to expand beyond familiar reading habits? How did you do it?

Michelle Styles: Blind Alleys and Research

When I was researching my latest book (accepted yesterday!), I had cause to wonder about the Lady Patronesses of Almack’s. Specifically I wanted to know who was a Lady Patroness during the 1811 season. The answer – you have to make an educated guess. The only list we have is for the 1814 Season. Using some detective work, I managed to eliminate Countess Lieven as her husband hadn’t become ambassador to the Court of St James. The same is true of Princess Esterhazy. It was unlikely that Lady Castlereagh had risen to the heights as her husband had not become Secretary in the Foreign Office. So I started looking at the others. Lady Shefton probably was and so was Sarah Child Villiers Lady Jersey. To my shock and amazement, I have been unable to find a good modern biography of Sarah Child Villiers. Here is a woman who not only play a significant role in English high society as a leading hostess but also was the senior partner at Childs and Co, one of London’s oldest bank. She maintained a desk there and according to the snippets I read online did not allow any of the men in her life to take an active part in the business. She served as the senior partner of the bank from 1806 – 1867. Childs still maintains her papers in their archives, mostly dealing with partnerships. She inherited the bank from her maternal grandfather who was annoyed about her mother’s elopement with the Earl of Westmoreland. Childs provided the bulk of the Jerseys’ considerable fortune. The fact that she was actively involved in the business surprised me. She is also rumoured to have had several affairs including one with Palmerston as far as I can determine. As a Lady Patroness she was responsible for bringing the quadrille to London and had a hand in the introduction of the waltz. According to Princess Lieven’s letters such was her power that she was known as ‘Queen Sarah.’ And in 1820 she held her salon supporting the Opposition rather than the government. Captain Gronow who did the biography of Brummell and who originally gave the list for the Lady Patronesses of 1814 is less effusive saying that she looked like tragedy queen and was ill-bred. (Perhaps Childs had refused him credit.) She was known to be talkative and was sometimes called Silence as a result.

It seems astonishing to me that no biography of Lady Jersey exists and that she tends to be overlooked in favour of her mother-in-law Frances who had an affair with the Prince Regent. If anyone knows of a biography, please tell me. Surely her life is ripe for re-examination.

Actually I would love to see a well-done biography of all the Lady Patronesses or even an examination of Almack’s and its role. There is apparently a 1924 book on Almack’s and Lady Dorothy Nevill’s Memoirs among others are useful at providing snippets but there is nothing solid.

One of the reasons I love writing historical is the opportunities for research. It can be annoying though when one wants to know more!

Regency Plots

Barbara's blog about historical "fairy tale" plots got me to thinking.
What Regency plots are readers tired of?

One of the things that strikes terror into my heart is the idea that the Regency genre might run out of plots. For example, one of the tried and true Regency plots is the lord and the governess plot. You know, the spunky governess comes to care for the lord's unruly children and winds up married to the lord. I love that plot. I have a whole book with such a plot in my head. Would today's reader be clamoring for such a plot?

Several of my plots have been "Marriage of Convenience" plots - The Mysterious Miss M, The Wagering Widow, Scandalizing the Ton. Obviously that is another plot I'm fond of. Are readers sick of that one?

When I first wrote The Mysterious Miss M editors other than the brilliant editors at Harlequin Mills and Boon, said that readers would never accept a prostitute heroine, but now it seems like there are lots of Regencies out there with prostitute or courtesan heroines. Did the readers change or were those editors simply mistaken? And was it my heroine who made that book popular or was it because I used that marriage of convenience plot?

I always wonder if Regencies are in danger of overusing of some of the popular plots - the marriage of convenience, governess and lord, unmarried duke and the ingenue in her first season, bookish spinster and debauched rakehell. What are some others?

Ironically, though, I started reading fewer Regencies when the plots widened into suspense, mystery, paranormal. Was that just me or were other readers saturated by the "traditional" plots?

As I now finish writing my next next book, "Leo's Story," the last of the books connected to The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor, I'll have to seriously think about these issues.

Writing Regency romance is my passion, though. I don't ever want to stop. How do we keep the Regency genre fresh? Is it by reinventing the tried and true plots or by expanding the genre into new directions? Will the Regency ever lose its position as a popular time period in romance? Gosh I hope not!

So, tell me... What Regency plots are you tired of? Which ones do you never get tired of? Do you like it when Regency spreads itself into other genres? And, last of all, do you think the Regency genre is here to stay?

(Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress is up for Best Historical cover, as are other Harlequin Historical covers, at the Cover Cafe contest. Vote for your favorite today)

Goodreads Giveaway: To Marry A Matchmaker by Michelle Styles

Goodreads Book Giveaway

To Marry a Matchmaker

by Michelle Styles

Giveaway ends June 23, 2011.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win