Duty, Responsibility, and Freedom: An interview with historical fiction author Lauren Gilbert

Today I'm talking with Lauren Gilbert about her Regency novel, HEYERWOOD.

Lauren Gilbert has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a minor in Art History. She has continued her education with classes, work shops and independent study. An avid reader, she is a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. She has presented several programs to JASNA chapters. She lives in Florida, with her husband Ed.

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1. Tell us about your book. 

HEYERWOOD is a historical novel, with romantic overtones, set in the late Georgian/Regency era. A woman who has been a chattel and pawn finds herself free, wealthy and able to do whatever she wants. The novel is about choices and growth.

2. What kindled your interest in Regency/Georgian England? 

I have always loved history, and historical novels set in all periods. The late Georgian period and Regency era seem to have an additional glamour. They also remind me alot of our own time, in their political turmoil, class and income divides, and sharp clashes between conservative and liberal values.

3. What went into creating your heroine? 

A line in EMMA, where Emma is explaining to Harriet that wealthy women don't need to marry, caught my attention, and I started thinking about what such a situation might be like. I've also done some research about women's daily lives during the time, and (even for upper class women) there were a lot of duties and responsibilities. I wanted to create a rounded character, with a full life, finding her way.

4. How has your membership in the Jane Austen Society of North America informed or helped your writing? 

It has deepened my understanding of Jane Austen's life, her time and her writing. Jane Austen's writing is amazing, in that she created so many layers of meaning and had such a light touch. Just listening and reading discussion and interpretation of her writings has given me an ideal towards which to strive.

5. What do you think is most commonly misunderstood about this period? 

A significant issue is the brevity of the Regency itself, and the fact that it is part of the Georgian era, not a completely separate and unrelated time. (The Regent did become George IV, after all!) The Georgian/Regency era was when the industrial revolution really began, and saw the middle class beginning to rise in wealth and status. It's the point where the very decadent earlier Georgian period begins the shift to the more conservative climate that ultimately characterized the Victorian era.

On a more mundane note, the daily cares and responsibilities of running a home or estate are frequently ignored, as if having servants or works relieved the master or mistress of all involvement. (It may have done so for the uber-wealthy, but there was a lot more involved for most, and even the uber-wealthy needed to pay some attention!)

6. Georgian and Regency books are popular all over the world, but particularly in North American and the UK, particularly among women. Why are modern women so interested in period where women were far more limited in their rights? 

When we think of these periods, we think of a time of grace, beauty, glamour and sparkle. Women in beautiful gowns and jewels, dashing gentlemen, adherence to rules of courtesy, a time of elegance. This offers a total contrast to one's normal way of life, and provides entertainment and escape.

7. What is your favorite Jane Austen book?

PERSUASION. I love the way the characters evolve with the seasons, and the romance of the hero's and heroine's second chance at love.

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Thanks, Lauren.

You can find more from Lauren at : http://www.heyerwood.com and http://laurengilbertheyerwood.wordpress.com.

HEYERWOOD can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Author House.

The Era of Refinement and Snobbery: An interview with English historical fiction author Debra Brown

Today, I'm talking with Debra Brown about her Victorian novel of manners and romance, The Companion of Lady Holmeshire.

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1) Tell us about your book.

The Companion of Lady Holmeshire is an early Victorian novel about a foundling girl who was given the name Emma. She was raised as a servant and then became the companion of a countess. She was polished up and taken along into snobbish, aristocratic society where she was often rejected and treated rudely because of her background.

She had eyes for the young Earl of Holmeshire, but he was engaged by arrangement. Mysterious men seem to be watching both her and the earl's fiance. Sweet romance and humor come together, upstairs and down, as the story moves from a stone castle to London mansions to the Midsummer's Night Dream Ball, and answers begin to fall into place.

2) What inspired your interest in this period of English history?

I love all of English history, but I really love the eras of gentlemen, ladies and manners. If you don't dig too deeply, it seems so peaceful and pleasant. I also like the idea of gentlemen walking ladies to picnics on a hill rather than driving them in a car. The beginning of the Victorian era was still somewhat agricultural outside of the cities.

3) There's quite a bit of period detail in this novel. How much research did you do?

I did quite a bit, but in an unorthodox way. Like everyone, I read some of the classics in school. Then I spent some years making jewelry, and during those years I had period movies on the TV as I worked. I frequently went to books or the computer to find answers to the questions that the movies brought to my mind. With Britain a continent and an ocean away, books, movies and the internet are what were available to me.

4) You've set your book in the early Victorian period, a time of transition away from the lengthy Georgian era. Why this time, instead of earlier, such as the always popular Regency, or the later Victorian era?

I actually like the Regency era better, at least on the Isles. It seems a little quieter without as much grating machinery and influx into the busy cities. However, I needed the help of a certain historical personage, a traveler in the Regency era, as part of the back story. I had to move the "present" to about 1840. I have to say that I really like the lady's fashions and hats of the 40s better than Regency wear. It was quite elegant, with larger hats, billowing sleeves and (artificially) tiny waistlines.

5) Even in this modern more democratic age, the aristocratic societies of the past continue to fascinate readers. Why do you think that is?

It is partly because we allow ourselves to be fooled by it. The class structure allowed for quite the lovely and leisurely lifestyle... for a relative few. The landowners in the magnificent homes had vast sums of money... at the expense of the tenants. If we can close our eyes to the plights of the poor and the servants and other dismal realities of the time, we can picture ourselves dressed to the hilt in finery, lovely hats and jewels, riding in carriages and living in leisure. There was an expectation of absolutely enchanting manners. A gentleman would never turn his back on a lady without excusing himself. People bowed and curtsied to each other. Hands were kissed. Perhaps this all hit me at age 20 when an elderly man from England kissed my hand when we were introduced. I was charmed beyond belief. I want a fair amount of that charm in my novels.

6) Though this is more in the style of the 19th-century novel of manners, you touch on some of the inequities of the period. Why did you include those elements rather than focus on a more straight-forward aristocratic novel of manners and romance?

Though I love the Austen-like fairy tale, I suppose I don't want to mislead anyone about the times. Life was not all beauty. Regency novels are often so pretty that people who don't dig deeper can get the wrong idea of the time- though I am not against such novels. People bowed and danced, but what about those men who carried in the drinks? Did they only exist for that ten or twenty seconds, and then they disappeared and ballroom-perfection returned? Or were there lives and problems downstairs? The vast majority of people were not lords or ladies, and much of life was truly sad. I tried to introduce some of that while leaving the conclusion of the matter pleasant.

7) You've put a lot of obvious effort into studying the period. Do you have any other novels in this time period planned?

My second novel, working titled For the Skylark, is set back in the Regency. I preferred to back out of the noisier, busier Victorian era. I would like it if we, today, could take a step backward. It would be nice if we could all have some quiet land and the know-how to live from it. I think we could manage hot showers and some decent hygiene with what we have learned by now... and I'd be happy with that. I think.

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Thanks, Debra.

The Companion of Lady Holmeshire is available in both physical and electronic form at Amazon, Barnes and Noble.