I am a huge fan of both Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. I have read Jane Austen's six books multiple times (so much so that my copy of Pride & Prejudice is literally falling apart). When I discovered Georgette Heyer a few years ago, I began rapidly devouring her books.
Turns out Regency romances is one of my all-time favorite genres.
When I recently picked up An Accomplished Woman by Jude Morgan, I found so many similarities to Austen and Heyer that I found the book boring to begin with. And that got me thinking - are all Regency romances basically the same?
Turns out Regency romances is one of my all-time favorite genres.
When I recently picked up An Accomplished Woman by Jude Morgan, I found so many similarities to Austen and Heyer that I found the book boring to begin with. And that got me thinking - are all Regency romances basically the same?
1. The main female character has a mind of her own. Doesn't matter what age she is, but she is sure to make her opinion known.
2. The main male character is either an upstanding man who has never thought of marriage, or a rake in desperate need of being reformed.
3. At least one person elopes or tries to.
4. There's a ball of some sort. Probably more than one.
5. The main characters protest that they will never fall in love - until they do, usually on the last page.
An Accomplished Woman had all of these aspects, which is probably why I discounted it right off the bat. It's just a rip-off of Austen or Heyer.
2. The main male character is either an upstanding man who has never thought of marriage, or a rake in desperate need of being reformed.
3. At least one person elopes or tries to.
4. There's a ball of some sort. Probably more than one.
5. The main characters protest that they will never fall in love - until they do, usually on the last page.
An Accomplished Woman had all of these aspects, which is probably why I discounted it right off the bat. It's just a rip-off of Austen or Heyer.
But then it turned out to be more. Each of these authors has a slightly different approach to the Regency romance. Jane Austen's is an authentic approach - she lived during Regency times and was simply writing about life as she knew it. Georgette Heyer's is an accurate approach - she includes so much period detail and slang that sometimes I can't even understand what the characters are saying (took me a long time to realize that "making a leg" meant bowing). Jude Morgan's is a nearly satirical approach - he is simultaneously writing and laughing at the genre of Regency romance.
And that's what finally set An Accomplished Woman apart from any Austen or Heyer book I had read. He walks right on that line of making the story believable, yet helping you realize how ridiculous these characters and events are. It's how Jane Austen would have written a Regency romance if she lived in 2015. Once I realized this, I settled in to thoroughly enjoy An Accomplished Woman. And enjoy it I did!
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