What was the first Regency romance you read? A few weeks ago on another blog we were discussing our first romance books and not surprisingly a lot of these were Regencies. Even less surprising, perhaps, many people came to Regency romance through Georgette Heyer. I was one of those who ran through practically all of GH's books in my teens. But once I had read
them (several times) I needed more books to feed my burgeoning Regency addiction so I turned to other authors including Clare Darcy, Sheila Walsh and Alice Chetwynd Ley. Alice Chetwynd Ley's books were my favourites. I still have every one of her books on my keeper shelf with The Beau and the Bluestocking and The Jewelled Snuffbox in pride of place. Sheila Bishop's A Speaking Likeness is another one I still have. It sums up the feelings of the hero and heroine at the end of the book with the line: "They were violently in love and they knew it." A far cry from the depth of emotional description that many publishers require from their authors today!
them (several times) I needed more books to feed my burgeoning Regency addiction so I turned to other authors including Clare Darcy, Sheila Walsh and Alice Chetwynd Ley. Alice Chetwynd Ley's books were my favourites. I still have every one of her books on my keeper shelf with The Beau and the Bluestocking and The Jewelled Snuffbox in pride of place. Sheila Bishop's A Speaking Likeness is another one I still have. It sums up the feelings of the hero and heroine at the end of the book with the line: "They were violently in love and they knew it." A far cry from the depth of emotional description that many publishers require from their authors today!
Marion Chesney was another author on my list. I heard her speak last year and she said that she had given up writing Regencies because she found it a strain permanently to be living in the early nineteenth century, which I found interesting. And then, of course, there was Barbara Cartland. I have to admit that I haven't read a great many of her books but I was thrilled to discover that a handful of them had been made into films.Does one count authors such as Jane Aiken Hodge as Regency? Marry in Haste and Watch the Wall My Darling were historical adventure but they were also hugely romantic. Again, I still have almost all the books on my shelf and frequently re-read them. Which were the books and authors that introduced you to Regency romance? Do you still have your early Regencies? What are your favourite nostalgic reads?
