GUEST AUTHOR ANNE GALLAGHER on Research, specifically for Regency Romance.

Hello fellow RFWers.  Today We have the pleasure of hosting a guest post by Regency Romance Author Anne Gallagher (Piedmont Writer).  Anne has published several Regency Romances, and as she eloquently describes, proper research into the setting, historical figures, culture is essential to creating believable fictional characters and plot concepts.

Over to Anne:

Research is vital in writing historical fiction. I have at last count, fifteen folders in my Favorite Bar with titles like – Parliament, Aristocracy, Maps, Napoleon, Etiquette, Fashion – with articles such as  “How to Load and Fire a Flintlock” “Field Surgeon's Tools and their Practical Use” “How to Address a Peer,” “Lord Sittings in Parliament”. I once had to change three different stories’ timelines because the Lords weren’t in session during the months I wanted to use. Some people called me crazy for changing them, but I wanted to be accurate. There is nothing worse for a dedicated reader of the historical genre to find a mistake. (I once used “tuxedo” for want of another description “of a man dressed in blacks.” I received several letters from outraged readers stating the term “tuxedo” wasn’t invented until 1922.)

I write Regency romance, the era in which Good King George III succumbed to his final bout of madness (porphyria). Parliament declared his son, Prince George, Regent, hence the Regency period – 1811-1820. When George III died in 1820 and the Prince became King, some say the genre encompassed the whole of George IV’s reign from 1811 through 1830 when he died and his brother William took over until the reign of Victoria in 1837. However, the timelines of my stories never go further than the winter of 1811. In any historical era, it’s good to know exactly when your timeline begins and ends.

If you write in the Middle Ages, which part do you write about – Early, High, or Late? Different things happened in each of these eras and you want your reader to know your research paid off. You don’t want to be writing about Charlemagne and then the story takes a swift turn through the Renaissance. There’s almost a thousand years difference between the two.

In this modern day and age, you're only one click away from Wikipedia and Google, but that does have its drawbacks. Yes, you can get an overview of the Napoleonic Wars, or who the hostesses were at Almack’s, but those are generally bare bones factoids. In my research, I also watch movies to get a feel for the language, fashion, and ‘tone’ of the day (Sense & Sensibility, Amazing Grace, Master and Commander to name a few). When I rely on books, certainly the tome PRIMER OF NAVIGATION, (George W. Mixter 1940) left a lot to be desired, while JANE FAIRFAX (Joan Aiken 1990) was delightful and I found that someone other than Jane Austen could write a Regency romance.

I, for one, am a stickler for dialogue. Certain words were not in use in the early part of the 19th century – "tuxedo", for instance. An etymological dictionary is a lifesaver for using the correct word choices of the day.

As a character-driven writer, I do use some figures from history, but they are always minor characters. I also take ‘creative license’ when writing them. For example, when writing the Prince Regent, I took into consideration the newspaper accounts from that time, which portrayed him as a randy, drunken sot; but I did give him a human side. I allowed myself to think about the reasons why he could have become this way. Raised to be King, he had an education unparalleled by any of his Peers, although he was not allowed to use it when he gained the throne. His ideas were too radical. (I believe he was a forward thinking man, way ahead of his time.) I have always looked on his vices as a pointed rebellion against the establishment. His forced annulment to his first wife, Maria Fitzherbert left him broken hearted. He hated the woman he finally married, and after their child was born, never saw her again.

In my book THE LADY’S FATE, Ellis, the Marquess of Haverlane, doesn’t know what to do about Violet (an impoverished daughter of an Earl, sixteen years his junior). Prince George tells Ellis a story about his own marriage to the love of his life, Mrs. Fitzherbert (widowed twice, six years older than he and a Catholic). I have allowed George to be vulnerable when he says to Ellis: “It matters not who she is. There is no life when one lives without love.” Whether the real George would have said such a thing, matters not. It is how I chose to portray him.

Literature scholars maintain there are only twelve major plots in the universe (some say there are less than six). In developing your own plot line, sure you can write a romance, boy meets girl, gets girl, lives happily ever after. But it’s what happens between those highlights that matter. At one point, I knew I wanted to write about something taboo (forbidden, unmentionable, prohibited,) so I tackled THE DUKE’S DIVORCE.

Divorce was almost impossible in the early 1800s.  Gaining an annulment was a long, drawn out process that sometimes took years. For the book, I took creative license again and made the annulment proceedings last only six months.

When writing ROMANCING LADY RYDER, I knew I wanted to make the Earl of Greenleigh a spy for the Foreign Office. I spent countless hours researching the who’s who of Secretaries in the Foreign and Home Office, the Napoleonic Wars, Russian diplomats, the country of France, sailing vessels, even true Russian and French dialogue. I believe I spent more time researching than I actually did writing the story. However, I wanted to make sure everything was as true as I could get to historical fact. You never know who’s going to be reading what you write.

My characters are all from the upper echelons of Society, the haute ton. I like the class structure of the nobility. Of course, taking the time to learn precedence is a bear. Who bows to whom, what you may call your friends, your wife, even your own mother. The social customs of the day are exhausting. Women were known to change five times. And the era was all about money – who had it, who wanted it, who lost it.

My characters may be of noble birth, but they are also human. In LOVE FINDS LORD DAVINGDALE, the Earl of Davingdale’s father lost the family fortune gambling. Davingdale joined the Army to try to maintain his respectability. After his discharge with a serious injury, he finds himself “working,” much to the chagrin of his friends. The aristocracy didn’t “work.”

I once did a writing exercise that took my heroes and placed them in present day circumstances – what kind of job they had, where they lived, who their family was. The lesson I gained was that no matter where or when you were born, people are people. They all have the same intrinsic core values. Invaluable information when forming your characters.

Writing historical fiction and using historical figures is not easy. Research is the key. I cannot stress that enough. It can make or break your book. Even if you never use the word “crinoline” in your story, at least you’ll know what it is (a stiff fabric made of horsehair and cotton or linen used in the making of petticoats for use in hoop skirts). And be the better writer for it.

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Anne Gallagher was a voracious reader at a very early age. In her teens, with Trixie Beldon, Nancy Drew and even the Hardy Boys as her constant companions - she one day hoped to be a detective. Her first foray into the romance genre with THE HONEY IS BITTER by Violet Winspear, trounced the idea of being a female Columbo.

Instead, she decided to become a romance writer. Unfortunately, her dream would have to wait nearly thirty years. As a professional chef, she was forced into an early retirement from the restaurant industry by a serious injury, and Anne finally found herself with the time and dedication needed to pursue a new career.

She writes sweet, single-title Regency Romance with heroines who are not afraid to speak their minds. Her heroes, on the other hand, do not realize when they've met their match. Sparks fly, sexual tension sizzles, but never spills out of the pan, so-to-speak. Anne believes you don't have to end up in the bedroom to have a good book.

Currently, Anne lives in the Foothills of the Piedmont in North Carolina with her daughter, three dogs and a cat named Henry David Thoreau.

Anne also writes character driven women's fiction set in her old home-state of Rhode Island, where the sounds of the ocean, east coast accents, and Providence -- both literal and figurative -- feature prominently.

  You can contact Anne at her writing blog, Amazon profile page, Smashwords profile, or visit her author website for synopsis and purchasing links to her romance novels.

Don't forget our next challenge, no 39. Stuck in the Middle. Check it out on the Challenges Page. Linky up this Thursday 28th June.


Donna & Denise