Judith Lown is the author of A Match for Lady Constance (Avalon) and A Sensible Lady: A Traditional Regency Romance (eFrog Press). She is hard at work on a sequel but still makes time to blog.

The first Regency Romances weren’t historical; they were contemporary fiction written by Jane Austen.  But her work established critical standards that are still used to evaluate romantic fiction today—200 years after she wrote.  Any literate female who reads English will be able to tell you when she first read an Austen novel and which is her favorite.

The first historical Regency Romances were written by Georgette Heyer from 1934-1972. It was Heyer who introduced the ton—London’s most select society—to fiction readers.  And her unique perspective on what makes a lady admirable and what makes a gentleman honorable is the yardstick by which connoisseurs of traditional Regencies still measure Regency Romance writers.

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Judith Lown

No problem.

Dress some ladies in high-waisted, low-necked gowns with narrow skirts and puffed sleeves. Have them say “lud.” Be sure that the heroine is a) a saucy miss, b) pluck to the backbone, c) a minx.  Her best friend has “more hair than wit.”

Gentlemen must wear high shirt points with elaborately folded neck cloths, coats, and inexepressibles molded to reveal all masculine attributes. The hero may or may not be titled, but he doesn’t suffer fools gladly.

Mix all ingredients in London’s Mayfair, a stately country home, an idyllic village—or any combination thereof.

Voilà, you have a Regency Romance!

Not. So. Fast. (more…)