A Modern Fairy Tale

   I've just had this wonderful idea for a story. The hero will be a handsome prince named William, and the heroine a commoner named, hmmm--let's see-- Kate will do. They meet at university and are attracted to each other. She is beautiful and he's down to earth, for a prince.

   Life hasn't been easy for our prince. His parents divorced when he was an adolescent. It was scandalous for a prince and princess of the realm to part. The newspapers were filled the story, and the paparazzi followed his mother everywhere. William hated it for her and himself. He was a private person. A few years later his mother was killed in a tragic car accident. His scars were many and kept deep inside. After all he was a prince. He must carry on.
 
   The beautiful Kate was born into a family far removed from the spotlight. Her parents both worked for an airline when they met, but later started their own business which soon grew to multi-million dollar status. Life had been simple until  university and William. It was flattering and exciting to be wooed by a prince and there was no doubt she deeply cared for him. They developed a close friendship, but did she want to live in the glare of  all things royal? For several years their romance was on again, off again. Would she give in to her love for William or pursue her career in her family's business?

   At last love won out and the two were wed in the pomp and circumstance of Westminster Abbey with all of England and half of the United States watching that sweet kiss of the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge from the balcony of Windsor Castle.

   Aaah -- sweet romance --

   OOPS! I think the story has already been told.

The Regency Gentleman

The rules of the Regency were a myriad of does and don'ts. Even the men did not escape, though they had far more freedom. Remember when you were told the man always walks on the side of the lady closest to the street? In the late 18th and 19th centuries there was a very good reason for that.
 
Whether dirt or cobbled, the gutters of the streets were filled with refuse of the most disgusting kinds. Rain puddles and horse droppings also pervaded the avenues. Thus the man walked next to the street to protect the lady from splashes of mud and garbage or heaven forbid, a runaway horse-drawn vehicle.
 
When alone in a carriage with a lady, he must take the seat facing backwards across from her. They may not sit side by side unless they are related.
 
He must never introduce himself to a female he does not know but must be introduced by a mutual friend or relative. The gentleman is always introduced to the lady, never the other way around.

   Education was not compulsory, but most upper class boys attended boarding schools or universities, ie Eton, Cambridge or Oxford. Their studies consisted of the classics, mathematics, history law and philosophy.
Here many made life-long friends.

Away from their homes and the discipline of parents and the guiding hand of a governess or tutor many fell into gambling, drinking and wenching. Thankfully, they matured and went on to become the handsome, debonair heroes of our modern day writers. Unless, of course, you like your hero a bit more mysterious and unpredictable.

Publishing Date

I have a probable publishing date for my Regency Sweet Romance. February 2012. At this point they couldn't give me a definite time. But I'm excited to know that it's really going to happen, even if it is almost a year away.

Young Women of the Regency

     The well-bred girls of the nobility and gentry were considered school children until they were seventeen. They dressed simply and were not to speak in public unless spoken to first. Then at eighteen all that would change with their first season in London. There would be new gowns of all descriptions including ball gowns,  walking dresses and morning gowns.

     The season began with her debut at St. James Palace. Then an  endless round of parties and balls. The desire of every young lady was a voucher to the exclusive Almack's club where she would be seen by the cream of eligible Regency bachelors. To be betrothed at the end of her first season was every girl's dream, although it sometimes took a second and third. It was during this time that families hoped for suitable alliances amongst others of the same class. Wealth might be important, but rank was supreme and a title most desirable. All this was to be accomplished in the five months time.

     For most women, her greatest aim was to be married. Spinsterhood was frowned upon and a single woman's life was bound by many restrictions. She could be 'auntie' to her nieces and nephews or live with her parents. Life had to be lived carefully so that scandal was not brought upon the family. But you can be sure there was some rebels who lived their lives as they saw fit.