Researching Settings for Regency Romance

by Vivienne Lorret

The main reason that I write Regency romance is because I love history. I also love old maps. With a magnifying lens in hand, I could comb through stacks of them for hours. My research always starts with a look at a map.



Then, I find the name of a street or a town and Google it. You’d be amazed at how much history and first person accounts you can find. In addition, if you look in Google Books, they have a fabulous archive of old journals that have been scanned page for page—and most of these you can download for free. *Warning: if you are a history lover, it is entirely possible to lose days and even weeks reading old books. Therefore, stock up on tea whenever possible.

For my new series, The Rakes of Fallow Hall, I chose Lincolnshire for the setting. These rakes each have their own reasons for wanting a place outside of London. For Gabriel in THE ELUSIVE LORD EVERHART, he needs to escape the constant family pressure to marry. Unfortunately for him, he can’t escape it. In fact, his biggest temptation ends up knocking on his door.



I also find tons of interesting pics on Pinterest, not only prints from the Regency Era but of abandoned mansions and places that still exist to this day. If I start with a map and then find an old manor house or castle, it’s easy to fill in the blanks after that. And the research is a lot of fun, too.

Happy writing!

_{~USA TODAY bestselling author Vivienne Lorret loves romance novels, her pink laptop, her husband, and her two sons (not necessarily in that order ... but there are days). Transforming copious amounts of tea into words, she is proud to be an Avon Impulse author of works including: Tempting Mr. Weatherstone, The Wallflower Wedding Series, and The Rakes of Fallow Hall Series. For more on her upcoming novels, visit her at www.vivlorret.net}