Setting a time: an interview with Lorraine Heath

New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath has graciously agreed to be my next interviewee for why she sets her books in the time period she does.

So I asked, "Why Victorian England?"

"I began my career writing books set in Texas but I always wanted to write a book set in England—mostly because my heritage is both Texas (my dad was a Texan) and British (my mom was a Brit). I’m fascinated with both aspects of my heritage. When my editor suggested that I take some of my Texas ladies to England, I was thrilled with the opportunity. I’m fascinated by the Victorian time period as well as the American influences. Six of my novels have involved American heiresses.

"When people think of a Victorian lady, they most often bring forth images of the English aristocrat. She was well known for her regal carriage and her quiet, dignified mien. Being reserved, she was also, unfortunately, dreadfully dull.

"In New York, one could find the "old family" American version of the English lady. Born into a family with generations of wealth behind it, the woman was proud to be known as a Knickerbocker—a name that came as a result of the knee-length trousers worn by her ancestors, the Dutch who settled in New York. This young lady, however, was also as frightfully boring as her English counterpart. Her family did not believe in flaunting its wealth. It was unfashionable to wear the latest fashions. Rather, when her Worth gowns arrived from Paris, she had to set them aside for a year. Her coming out or debut was "little more than donning a white dress, putting up her hair and receiving guests at tea." (To Marry an English Lord, by Gail MacColl and Carol McD. Wallace)

"And then shortly after the Civil War, the newly wealthy American lady arrived. In New York, she was referred to as a Buccaneer. And to say the least, she bucked the old system. She was flashy, not at all bothered by letting it be known that she did indeed possess money. She wore her gowns as soon as they arrived from Paris and had no qualms about filling her house with gaudy excesses.

"She was not, however, welcomed into the Knickerbocker society. She was shunned, never invited to balls or dinners because the old hierarchy felt it was their duty to ensure that these young upstarts understood they did not "belong."

"The Buccaneers were not to be outdone. They went to Europe, and soon realized that the grass was greener in England where noble titles still carried weight.

"Because of the English law of primogeniture, wealthy British heiresses were few and far between. American ladies, on the other hand, often inherited—not only money, but land, businesses, investments. During the 1870's and 1880's, the aristocracy found its coffers dwindling as its agricultural based economy began to flounder with cheaper goods brought in from abroad and the increase in industrialization causing the farm workers to head to the cities.

"Marriage was an acceptable means to acquire funds . . . and American heiresses took England by storm. Unlike their British counterparts, they were not boring. Assertive, they enjoyed life, wanted to have fun. They'd been brought up in American society where chaperones were rare and all the "rules of etiquette" forced on the British were non-existent. Ladies and young men went on picnics and engaged in other forms of entertainment. They were often left alone in the parlor, a practice absolutely forbidden by the English. "Unhampered by constant parental surveillance and suspicion, they could launch themselves into the London season with a confidence that simply could not be shared by their shy, inexperienced English sisters." (To Marry an English Lord, by Gail MacColl and Carol McD. Wallace)

"And they were often breathtakingly beautiful. Unlike an English heiress who might have a gown or two designed by Charles Worth, the American heiress might have as many as two hundred. Money was in abundance, and the Americans spent it.

"When an American heiress snagged herself an English lord, her father put an announcement in The New York Times. This action allowed her mother to flaunt her daughter's elevated status at the Knickerbockers who'd considered them not quite good enough.

"And lest you think these Americans really didn’t have much influence, note that one of Princess Di’s great grandmothers was American. And American Jenny Jerome, fell madly in love with Lord Randolph Churchill, the “brilliant, unruly second son of the 7th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough.” Their firstborn son, “that half-breed American” would become Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1940 and be known as one of the country’s greatest orators: Sir Winston Churchill. And the first woman to take a seat in the House of Commons? Nancy Langhorne of Virginia who married William Waldorf Astor, later 2nd Viscount Astor.

"I’ve recently begun delving into the early Victorian time period—1840’s and 1850’s—which were a much darker time, but equally fascinating. My next novel, In Bed With the Devil, is actually a twist on Oliver Twist. No American heiresses are in this novel, but I still had a wonderful time researching and writing it."

Thank you, Lorraine.

Here's the cover of In Bed With the Devil.

Setting a time: an interview with Laura Parker Castoro

A few months ago, reading Dear Author, I was clued into the 1980's novels of author Laura Parker by a review of one of her Australian-set ones. I have a weakness for historical Australian romances, so I went in search. Alas, my pursuit for that particular series was fruitless, but I brought home Emerald and Sapphire set in 1754 England. It had the typical alpha male, the young heroine, a not-so-secret baby, a dastardly rich guy, and a scathing female rival for the hero's attention. He was, of course, too in love with the heroine to fall for the old flame's trickery, wiles, and easy bed again. There was the old woman, the semi-hooker with a heart of gold, and lots of mud, rain, and perilous weather. It was great and it reminded me of why I fell in love with the romance genre in the first place.

Had I read this in 1983 I would have merely moved on to the next book. I wasn't writing at the time and the questions I have in mind now are different than then. (If I had had any at all.) But now, thanks to the Internet, I can find the author's website and the fact that her career is still going strong. And--drum roll, please--I can find the answers to my question.

Laura Parker Castoro graciously agreed to answer my question about time and setting. Over the coming weeks, I plan to ask other historical authors the same question: Why did you set your novel when you did?

For Ms. Castoro's Emerald and Sapphire, it went like this:

Why 1754 and not half a century one way or the other?

Her answer: ""Emerald and Sapphire" came to be set in the mid 18th century because of the hero, Merlyn. He had a unique physical attribute: one blue eye and one green eye. Now that's eye-catching, all puns intended. But once seen, he wasn't likely to be forgotten. So, I had the character but didn't know how to make his unique appearance part of a story until I decided that he used his eye color to advantage, as a disguise. So far, so good. But there were still a problem.

Meryln was going to become a common jewel thief who wooed and pilfered from aristocratic women! Yet nothing as simple as an eye patch worn in pubic was likely to make him disappear into whichever disguise he'd chosen for the moment. So I thought, 18th century! People wore wigs!

I began researching costumes. I always do a lot of research to make certain my historials are as accurate as possible in their settings and social mores. I own a dozen books on period dress. I discovered that after 1760, many men wore their own hair dressed and powdered to look like a wig. And furthermore, powdering and rouging the face was going out of fashion. Well those were the things that made for a better disguise. I needed my hero, Merlyn, to wear a real wig and powder and rouge his face as an aristocrat would before 1760. So, story had to be before 1760.

A little social history research gave me the other elements I needed to make the story believable.

-- Before the French Revolution, a commoner couldn't even dare look into the face of an aristocrat, let alone speak to one without being addressed directly by the aristocrat first. So no commoner friend of Merlyn's was ever likely to recognize him in his aristocratic disguise. And no aristocrat would ever waste his/her time staring at a commoner, no matter how attractive. So, Merlyn's relatively safe from crossover connections.

-- When playing an aristocrat, Merlyn wore a gray powdered wig and a black silk (expensive) eye patch over his green eye, making him a blue-eyed man. As himself, he wore his own black hair unpowdered and a rough brown leather eye patch over his blue eye, making him a green-eyed commoner.

-- One problem remained. How could he, a commoner, learn to talk and act like an aristocrat? Easy peasy! He was an actor by trade. He was trained to speak as an aristocrat, move and act as and aristocrat, and could study them before, during and after performances.

So now my hero is free to slip in and out of both worlds without worry...until he makes love to a young aristocratic woman, and first to ever get close to him as both Merlyn the actor, and Merlyn the aristocrat. Does she see through his disguise? You bet! And thereby hangs a tale!

I have most often written my historicals in what I call the Napoleonic Era, which ranged from the early 1790s to 1815. It includes the Regency Era but is broader. I like this era because it is a time of great change in Europe, both in terms of government and social norms. Unlike the 18th century, where strictures of class kept people from making eye contact, the barriers between wealthy and poor, aristocrat and commoner were beginning to crumble. Makes for lots of intrigue and conflict and scandal.

But I always put the story first and find the place where it can best be told. In "The Gamble" I once again chose the mid 18th century because the rigid class distinction worked best for my characters."

Thank you, Laura.