Jo Beverley (35 page)

Dear Reader,

I hope you have enjoyed another book set in the Malloren world of the eighteenth century.

Readers often ask what the difference is between the Georgian and Regency periods. It’s a very good question! Technically, the Georgian period is made up of the reigns of Kings George I, George II, George III, and George IV. However, for practical purposes it usually means the eighteenth century—1700 to 1799.

The “Regency” refers to the period from 1811 to 1820 during which the Prince of Wales was regent for his father, George III, who had gone mad. (This was almost certainly a disease called porphyria, but no one knew that then.) As the regent eventually became George IV, the Regency is part of the Georgian period, but it’s treated as a distinct period, and generally thought of as 1800 to 1830 or so.

There are differences. Regency fashion put women in high-waisted, slender-skirted dresses, whereas Georgian dresses were shaped to the natural waist but with wide, hoop-supported skirts. Georgian gentlemen were peacocks in brilliant silks and flowing lace, which is one reason I love them. Regency gentlemen wore simpler clothing in more sober colors. Evening wear was almost universally black.

The Malloren world is the world of the early years of the reign of George III, and the time of true Georgian magnificence. It is also the world of great change and exploration in all areas. It was the Enlightenment, when all ideas were looked at afresh. This led to its being the time of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. Change was seen as a good thing, and many members of the aristocracy were involved.

This didn’t mean they were sober citizens. They saw no contradiction in someone being a glittering courtier, avid gambler, rakish wencher, scientist, agricultural innovator, and parliamentary orator. In fact, they’d think that a well-rounded gentleman.

I hope you found the idea about Prince Henry Stuart intriguing. It’s all my own invention, of course, but I have long thought it sad that he died when he did. And, of course, the what-ifs of his not dying are fascinating.

If this is your first Malloren-world book, you may wish to read the others:
My Lady Notorious, Tempting Fortune, Something Wicked, Secrets of the Night, Devilish,
and
Winter Fire.
I also write novels set in the Regency and the Middle Ages.

For a complete listing of my books, please visit my Web site at www.jobev.com. While there, you can subscribe to my monthly e-mail list and be kept up-to-date about my new and reissued work. I think you’ll find the background information to my books interesting, too.

If you prefer to write in the old-fashioned way, please do so, care of Margaret Ruley, The Rotrosen Agency, 318 East 51st Street, New York, NY 10022.

All best wishes, Jo