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| FORTUNE'S FLOWER |
I’m delighted to be here at
Romancing the Genres today as part of the spotlight on Victorian historical
romance.
I love writing romance set in the
Victorian era, because so many boundaries were shifting at that time – within
the nobility, overseas, with the advent of the Industrial age and scientific
inquiry. The role of women was changing, too, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
There’s no doubt that having a Queen of England rather than a King had some
impact on Society as a whole. Women of all class levels saw that they, too,
could perhaps be more empowered. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the
Women’s Suffrage movement grew strong in the 1840s (Victoria took the throne in
1837, at the age of eighteen).
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| ORCHID |
On top of all this marvelous change,
however, the strictures of proper behavior between a man and woman remained,
which provides a delightful tension to writing romance set in that time. The
fact that an unmarried woman was not supposed to spend time alone with an
eligible man gives a lot of external tension to a love story.
How are the
couple going to get to know one another in a meaningful way? And how are they
going to manage to steal a kiss… or more?
In addition to the love story, I
also incorporate a lot of adventure and travel in my books – a perfect fit for
the Victorian era! My first novel, Fortune’s
Flower, features a botanical expedition to Tunisia, while subsequent books
are set on Crete and parts of the Continent.
I hope you’ll join me on these
romantic adventures, and dive into some of the exciting history of the time! Fortune’s Flower is free at all ebook
retailers during the month of February.
USA Today bestselling author & 2-time RITA nominee
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| AUTHOR ANTHEA LAWSON |
Anthea's books have received starred reviews in
Library Journal, and Booklist named her "one of new stars of historical
romance."
Anthea lives with her husband and daughter in the Pacific Northwest, where the rainy days and excellent coffee fuel her writing. In addition to writing historical romance, she plays the Irish fiddle and pens award-winning YA Urban Fantasy as Anthea Sharp.
Anthea lives with her husband and daughter in the Pacific Northwest, where the rainy days and excellent coffee fuel her writing. In addition to writing historical romance, she plays the Irish fiddle and pens award-winning YA Urban Fantasy as Anthea Sharp.
5 comments:
Welcome to Romancing The Genres, Anthea. We're delighted you could join us this weekend. I'm curious why you've set your books outside of England proper. My history is failing me as I don't remember if Tunisia was a part of the British Empire - most likely Crete was. With the stretches in time with communication, I would think that Britain's influence in areas where they did not control the government, people and land would be basically non-existent.
Hi Anthea, I'm also attracted to the Victorian era. So many social changes and big events make a dramatic setting for stories!
Hi Anthea, you've laid out exactly all the reasons why I enjoy writing stories set during the reign of Queen Victoria. So much was changing in the world, new discoveries, and new freedoms for women, even if they needed to stomp their foot and demand to be heard on occasion. That tension makes conflict between the hero and heroine pretty much guaranteed!
Cheers!
I really enjoy reading Victorian Romance. For all the reasons you listed in your blog post! I will definitely download the free book and leave a review.
I love historical books and am a writer of stories during the Regency time period. Best wishes for your success!
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