A Victorian Love Story

The 2009 film The Young Victoria
is a lush and lovely portrayal of the
relationship between Victoria and Albert.

Writing historical romance is one of my favorite endeavors because it means that I get to spend a good deal of my time reading about the Victorian era. Obviously love stories of the era draw my particular attention. When I considered this month’s blog theme of favorite love story or romance, I couldn’t help think of the many Victorian couples I have read about during my research. One among them necessarily stands out.

Queen Victoria and her Prince Consort, Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, were the Victorian era’s power couple. In terms of setting cultural standards, social standing, and literal power, they were the couple to watch. As an eighteen-year-old queen, many vied for Victoria’s hand and there were two main contenders: her cousin Albert and Prince Alexander of the Netherlands. On visits to her court, Albert made a lasting impression. No one can blame her for preferring the handsomer of the two front runners. In letters to her uncle, Victoria enthused over her choice, saying that Albert had every quality necessary to make her happy and added that he had “the most pleasing and delightful exterior and appearance you can possibly see."

The famous 1846 Winterhauer portrait of Queen Victoria,
 Prince Consort Albert, two of their sons, and three of their daughters.

Victoria kept a diary and wrote in it nearly every day of her life, which is a rich boon for historians. Most of her entries are pretty tame and detail the mundane and repetitive activities of daily life. However, her entry after her wedding night is the stuff of romance novels. She writes that she “NEVER, NEVER spent such an evening!!!” The capitalization and exclamation marks are all those of the twenty-year-old queen.

By all accounts, the royal marriage was one of close companionship and sincere affection. Albert became a key advisor and powerful influence on Victoria during the early decades of her reign. Though he was initially unpopular with the British public, the tide eventually turned and the relationship between the queen and her prince became an iconic symbol, a shining example of ideal love. Their marriage was a fruitful one too, with nine children born during the first seventeen years of their marriage.  Tragically, four years after the birth of their ninth child in 1861 Albert contracted typhoid fever and died, leaving Victoria a widow at just forty-one years old.

Albert in 1842, two years
 after his marriage to Victoria.

Queen Victoria was devastated by the loss of her husband, lover, friend, and closest confidante. She wore black for the reminder of her days and significantly reduced her public appearances after Albert’s death. Some criticized her continuing seclusion, and the popularity of the monarchy waned among the British public. However, Victoria continued on the throne until the turn of the century, becoming the longest reigning British monarch in history. She ruled for six decades, but she only had Albert by her side for twenty-one of those years.

The love story of Victoria and Albert is such a compelling one, not just because it was so visible and emblematic of the era, but because it includes all of the hallmarks of a great romance: attraction, passion, a successful partnership, and commitment that endures despite the pressures and challenges of life. So many marriages of the Victorian era, particularly those among the wealthy or titled, were arranged for social and material gain. Marriage for love alone was a rarity. In Albert, Victoria managed to find a husband (she proposed to him) that both satisfied the expectations of others and also answered the desires of her heart.

www.christycarlyle.com

Are there any love stories from history that particularly inspire you?

I've an INVITATION...to Scandal

I live in two worlds. The real world where I spend my physical days and nights, and then the Regency world that swims in my head and makes me have to type my stories. 

I love both worlds. I often find story ideas by comparing the day I’ve had and thinking about what my day would have been like in Regency times.

For instance, I’ve been away at a conference for several days and I’ve come home to a pretty messy house and loads of washing. So I’ve spent the morning doing the washing, vacuuming and dusting, and cleaning bathrooms. It only took me a couple of hours.

But in Regency times it would have taken me all day! For a start I’d have to heat the water as there were no taps I could simply turn on.  The washing would have been done by hand and that in its self would have taken me all day and rubbed my skin raw—no rubber gloves.

I would have had to take rugs outside and beat them thoroughly to get the dirt and dust off and I’m not sure dusting would really have gotten rid of much dust as there was nothing to shift it outside. i'd have simply stirred it all around.

If I had been born a ‘Lady’ I would never have had to lift a hand to clean anything. My servants would have done everything for me, including washing my hair if I’d wanted.

I suppose I could hire a cleaning lady in today’s world, if I wanted (not sure I’d want them to dress me or wash my hair though.)

Rheda Kerrick, my heroine in my new Regency romance, INVITATION TO SCANDAL, released later this month, is a ‘lady’ but she is forced to ‘work’ to save her family home for her younger brother. No house cleaning for her though. Smuggling and horse breeding are on her agenda. It’s such a pity that the extremely handsome, Rufus Knight, Viscount Strathmore, is set on catching a certain smuggler. It’s making Rheda’s life more perilous than she’d wish.

Here is the RT Book Review 

RT Rating 4 Stars

With snappy dialogue, lively action, a hero that believes in honor above all and a strong heroine who loves fiercely, Evans’ story will have readers laughing and crying, savoring every scene.

Rheda Kerrich has been helping the townspeople and trying to hold on to the family home for her brother in her own unconventional way, as local smuggler “Dark Shadow.” She has one last shipment to deal with before retirement, but then Rheda gets stuck under a barrel of French brandy and is found by Rufus Knight, Viscount Strathmore.

He is immediately attracted to Rheda, thinking she is a simple village girl. Rufus is in Kent to find the smuggler and decides to seduce Rheda, but he will not rest until he finds the Dark Shadow — the only one who can clear his father of treason. But the closer he gets to Rheda and the truth, the more dangerous things become. (BRAVA, May, 320 pp., $15.00)

Read more…

 Reviewed By: Jill Brager

Think about the day you’ve just had. Compare it to the early 1800’s. How would it have been different for you if you lived in that time? The best answer wins a copy of INVITATION TO SCANDAL. Open internationally, in book or eBook format.

Passionate About the Past

I am passionate about history. I think it started with my grandfather, who talked to me about his experiences during World War II and loved reading books about the Civil War. He was a book collector and particularly took the time to acquire history books. He preferred American history. My love is British history. Grandma's family was from Britain, so perhaps that explains it.

Matthew MacFadyen as Mr. Darcy

It's no coincidence that my favorite type of romance is historical romance in a British setting. Those are also the kinds of stories I feel the most compelled to write. When I imagine a hero, he is inevitably wearing 19th century clothing. If you think buff breeches, shiny black boots, and an elegant waistcoat equally sexy, then perhaps you share my passion for the past. Put a man in a cravat and he's immediately more attractive to me. Maybe it's Mr. Darcy syndrome. If so, I am perfectly content to be afflicted.

Box Hill, Dorking, Surrey, UK

I have traveled to England and Ireland and even lived in both countries for a time in order to quench my passion for British history. I visited Box Hill in Surrey, England and couldn't help but be transported back to the early 19th century and Jane Austen's imagined picnic there with Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley. I wanted to know the real history too and learned that two barrows (burial mounds) on the hill date from the Bronze Age. 

Not surprisingly, when it came time to decide on a major in college, history was my first choice. Everyone told me there was nothing I could do with a degree in history. The warnings scared me, but I ended up enjoying every single class I took for my major. I also discovered something that I could do with a history degree. I could share my passion for the past with students by becoming a teacher. History teaching jobs are few and far between, but I have had the pleasure of teaching American history to middle school age students and it was the most fun I've ever had in the classroom. 

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

During graduate studies in history at Portland State University, I discovered a local historic treasure here in the Pacific Northwest and had the opportunity to work there for a time. Fort Vancouver is a National Historic Site and sits right on the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington. The original buildings from the 1820's are gone, but the National Park Service has done an amazing job of reconstructing many of them. At Fort Vancouver, I got paid to talk about history. I was encouraged to share my passion for the past with every visitor and even got the chance to dress up in 19th century costume for certain events. Is it wrong to admit that I actually enjoyed wearing a corset for the presentation I gave on 1860's army wives?

The best thing about being a history lover is that there are so many ways to indulge your passion. Popular shows like Downton Abbey generate interest in the past. History books line the shelves at bookstores and talented historians continue to produce new research. I get to visit the past by researching and writing my historical romance stories. Others join historical re-enactment groups to dress in accurate costume and truly "live" in the past for awhile. Sites like Fort Vancouver also offer another way to get involved in the past by seeking volunteers to lead tours. 

Do you have a passion for history? If so, how do you indulge your passion?

Hello from new Genre-ista Christy Carlyle!

Hello, new friends and fellow readers!  I’m Christy Carlyle and I’m thrilled to be the newest Genre-ista at Romancing the Genres.  What genre do I write?  The answer isn’t neat and tidy. How much fun would that be anyway?  To be honest, I read just about anything in the romance genre that I can get my hands on.  Reading inevitably leads to ideas, and the result is a bulging file of plots, characters and story ideas for everything from historical to contemporary romance, paranormal, YA and romantic suspense.

  

My first love is and always will be historical romance.  Even as a kid, I romanticized the past, particularly British history. I am certain that passion is a result of my grandparents' influence.  Grandpa’s bookish ways combined with Grandma’s British heritage to boil up some kind of hocus pocus that transformed me into a diehard bookworm and brit-o-phile.  To prove it, I have collected more British history books than I have room for and spent (far too little) time living in Ireland and England.  I even married a Brit. Though, he would firmly insist that he is a Scotsman first and foremost.

My historical romances and romantic mysteries are set in the Victorian era.  To me, it’s a period that oozes writing possibilities…dark, narrow tenement alleys, gaslight glittering on rain soaked cobblestone, corsets, cravats, and drawing rooms full of drama.  If they ever get that time machine thing right, you know where I’m going!

Where did I come from?  Pounding out stories on my mom’s green Hermes 3000 typewriter, I spent my early years in northwest Indiana.  In the Midwest, I shivered in the winters, sweltered in the summers, and gloried in the colorful autumns and springs.  I sometimes miss the sharply defined four seasons of Indiana, but I love the lush and rainy climate of western Oregon too. With a Scottish husband and that British wannabe heart of mine, rainy days suit me just fine.

I am a follower of this blog, so it is an honor to be a contributor.  Thank you in advance for reading my posts and commenting too.  I look forward to hearing from you.  

If, like me, you’re a historical romance writer or reader, what inspires your love of the genre?

Regency Historical, or Regency make-believe?

In my on-line writing group for Regency Writers, some of us were bemoaning the fact that so many novels labeled historicals are historically inaccurate.

Which begs the question: does it matter?

In the 1980’s, the attitude toward historical novels was pretty much anything goes as long as it's a good story. A few authors did a great job of blending a great story with historical accuracy, but many best-selling authors just wrote whatever they wanted and didn’t worry too much about research. Because the stories were fun and engaging, publishers let them get away with it. Unfortunately, a lot of those stories had situations that readers believed were truth, many of which are still accepted as truth today.

A prime example of this is the myth in Regency romance novels is that marriage could be quietly annulled if it wasn’t consummated. I don’t know who started that, but it is unarguably false. There was an ancient Scottish tradition that allowed for annulment in certain circumstances if the marriage was not consummated, but for all intents and purposes, marriage was permanent, especially in England. Annulment was messy and scandalous and never, ever happened quietly. It also socially ruined both the husband and the wife. Even after King Henry VII legalized divorce in England, divorce was difficult to obtain and still had a huge social and legal backlash.

Today, more and more publishers are looking for historical accuracy, but still not enough to satisfy some history geeks. The winner of a nationally recognized historical contest began her Regency romance novel with a grand wedding full of descriptions that are modern inventions which never happened in that era. Why did she win? It was a lovely fantasy that blended history with modern-day traditions, and she was a good writer. Too bad the judges overlooked the fact that it was historically inaccurate. A few hours spent in research would have won her not only the contest, but the respect of other regency authors and the well-informed readers who know better.

Why do we, the authors of Regency Romance novels care about historical accuracy? Several reasons.

First, it’s true. The fiction comes from the plot and the characters, not the setting.

Second, accuracy helps preserve our heritage.

Third, we can learn from the past and see that maybe the good old days weren’t all that good, or that they were wonderful and should be treasured.

Fourth, many readers (and writers) are fascinated with the Regency era and want sources to guide them through it. In other words, they want to know what it was really like. That's part of why they read Regency romance novels.

Fifth, keeping an accurate backdrop helps shape the characters. Research is more than just learning about what the clothing looked like, or what kind of carriages they drove; it’s about society and people. It’s a realm long gone and our only doorway back is through painstaking research.

Some say, “Oh, well, it’s the story we want and the fantasy that entertains us.”

To that I say, “Well, fine, then label it a fantasy, or fiction, but not a historical.” If you’re going to call a novel Historical, or Historical Fiction, or Regency, do the research. I know it's a pain. I had characters nagging me to write their stories for years but I resisted because I didn't want to do the amount of research that would be required. Finally, when they wouldn't leave me alone, I broke down and began researching. At first, it was hard, and frustrating, and very time consuming. But worth it. The end result was my first ever Regency romance novel entitled, The Stranger She Married, published in 2008, Book 1 of the Rogue Hearts Series.

Now I'm hooked on the Era so much that I read research books on Regency England just for fun. Okay, well, it's continuing research and all that, but really, I read those research books because I have become a Regency geek. My head is so stuffed full of Regency trivia that I have probably lost touch with the real world. But I digress.

In the midst of the on-line ranting, one of the published authors in my group shared with us her philosophy:

As a Regency romance author, my job is threefold:

1) do my homework well enough to please my fellow history geeks,

2) make the story compelling enough to hook readers who don't care whether or not it's accurate, and

3) don’t stress over writers/readers who prefer the fairytale.

It resonated within me. I hope it helps you, too.

Historical Accuracy....Important or just too nerdy?

In my on-line writing group for Regency Writers, some of us were bemoaning the fact that so many novels labeled historicals are historically inaccurate. In the 80’s, historicals were pretty much anything goes. A few authors did a great job of blending a great story with historical accuracy, but many best-selling authors just wrote whatever they wanted and didn’t worry about too much about. Unfortunately, publishers let them get away with it and readers swallowed it. Now don't get me wrong, they crafted wonderful stories with wonderful characters, but they created their own rules which many readers accepted as fact but were, in fact, myth.

A prime example of this is the myth that marriage could be quietly annulled if it wasn’t consummated. I don’t know who started that, but it is unarguably false. There was an ancient Scottish tradition that allowed for annulment in certain circumstances if the marriage was not consummated, but for all intents and purposes, marriage was permanent especially in England. Furthermore, in England, annulment was messy and scandalous and never, ever happened quietly. It also socially ruined both the husband and the wife. Even divorce was difficult to obtain until King Henry VII legalized divorce in England, and even then, never became an easy thing to do until late in the 20th century.

Today, more and more publishers are looking for historical accuracy, but still not enough to satisfy many history geeks. The winner of a nationally recognized historical contest began her Regency novel with a grand wedding full of descriptions that are modern inventions which never happened in that era. Why did she win? Probably because it was a lovely fantasy that blended history with modern-day traditions, and she was a good writer. Too bad the judges overlooked the fact that it was historically inaccurate. A few hours spent in research would have won her not only the contest, but the respect of other regency authors and the well-informed readers who know better. However, she probably understood that readers have a certain expectation and wanted to meet that instead of rely upon historical accuracy.

Why do we care about historical accuracy? Several reasons.

First, it’s true. The fiction comes from the plot and the characters, not the setting.

Second, it helps preserve our heritage.

Third, we can learn from the past and see that maybe the good old days weren’t all that good, which helps us appreciate our day....or that the good old days really were wonderful and should be treasured--and remembered.

Fourth, many readers (and writers) are fascinated with that era and want sources to guide them through it.

Fifth, keeping an accurate backdrop helps shape the characters. Research is more than just learning about what the clothing looked like, or what kind of carriages they drove; it’s about society and people, how they behaved and what their expectations and frustrations were. It’s a realm long gone and our only doorway back is through painstaking research.

Some say, “Oh, well, it’s the story we want and the fantasy that entertains us.” To that I say, “Well, fine, then label it a fantasy, not a historical.” If you’re going to call a novel Historical, or Historical Fiction, do the research. I know it's a pain. A few years ago, I had characters nagging me to write their stories but I resisted because I didn't want to do the amount of research that would be required. Finally, when they wouldn't leave me alone, I broke down and began researching. It's hard, and frustrating, and very time consuming. But it was worth it. The fruits of my labor became the Rogue Hearts series, beginning with The Stranger She Married and The Guise of a Gentleman.

In the midst of the on-line ranting, one of the published authors in my group shared with us her philosophy:

As a writer, my job is threefold:

1) do my homework well enough to please my fellow history geeks,

2) make the story compelling enough to hook readers who don't care whether or not it's accurate, and

3) don’t stress over writers/readers who prefer the fairytale.

It resonated within me. I hope it helps you, too.