Love is worth the risk
For much of the eighteenth Century, Roman Catholics in England faced penalties for not attending Church of England services. They were also restricted from voting, holding public office (including as an officer in the army or a magistrate) or sitting in Parliament. The Papists Act 1778 allowed Catholics to own land, provided they took an […]
Jude Knight brings us facts about 19th century travel with no internet banking and no American Express! Most of my stories are set in the Regency, and my people tend to zip around the country, and even the world, quite a lot. So I’ve had to get my head around something we in our century […]
This week I took ship and rambled to Portugal with Dorothea O’Toole who has recently wed to a colonel. The lives of the camp followers were, well, appalling in some ways. Yet those women are as cheerful as they are tough. They contribute heroically to the well-being of the troops without compensation and little respect. […]
Goodness, but this ramble was a rush! When Lady Kitty’s brother-in-law’s game keeper fled their home with villains on his heels, the impulsive young woman pursued him into the hills. Longford Court, a stately old home in West Gloustershire, had every comfort a young lady of good family might want. What might provoke a young […]
Highlighting the facts behind the fiction with Jude Knight who brings us the origins of time keeping. Most of us know that, once upon a time, everywhere in the world took their time from the sun. Water clocks, candles, and sundials—all attempts to be more precise, were calibrated by the sun. That state lasted far […]
Highlighting the facts behind historical romance with Jude Knight and thoughts on marriage in the Regency era. 1140 was a watershed year in the Western understanding of the institution of marriage. In that year, the Benedictine monk Gratian published his canon law textbook, Decretum Gratiani, ruling that the consent of the couple was essential for […]
Highlighting the facts behind the fiction with Jude Knight on mourning in the Regency Era. In the novella I am currently writing, my duchess is coming to terms with being a widow and, at the same time, losing her job. So I’ve been checking up on mourning customs. As in so many things, we look […]
Highlighting facts behind Historical Romance with Jude Knight’s research into marriage laws. Most readers of Regency romance have a fair handle on what it was like to be a resident of Regency England, but some of what we think we know is the exception rather than the rule, and some is just plain wrong. Here’s […]
Highlighting the facts behind Historical Romance with Jude Knight. In Georgian and Regency England, women who had sex out of wedlock were regarded as ‘fallen’. (Unlike men who had sex out of wedlock, who were only doing what came naturally, according to the opinions of the time.) It’s hard to know how many of those […]
I travel. Sometimes I travel by boat, plane, or automobile. Sometimes I travel by book. Sometimes I explore the real world. This week I rambled through the worst sections of London with the Marquis of Aldridge. I wouldn’t normally dare go to St. Giles, Seven Dials, the Devil’s Acre etc., the lairs of thieves, murderers, […]