Writers are readers, first and foremost, and I know a lot of my romance-writing pals read romance for pleasure. I used to read romance for pleasure, but when you write romance all day, it can be sort of a stretch to try and relax with one. That’s not to say I never read it—of course I do—but I don’t read it like I used to.
For BOOK OF SCANDAL, my latest release (in stores now), I read a couple of riveting biographies. You would think it really dry reading, but if you are into the regency period like I am, sometimes those books can read like the People Magazine of its time. There was some down and dirty goings-on!
The first book I read, The Princesses, by Flora Fraser, was about the six daughters of King George III. I didn’t even know he had six daughters. They were strictly monitored and kept close to the king and queen so as not to gain reputations—while their seven brothers were out gallivanting around and being accused of all sorts of things: adultery, secret marriages, incest, and even murder. Moreover, the king and queen were pretty picky about who they would marry their girls to, and as a result, none of them married until they were in their thirties, and two of them never married at all. I thought about writing a book to include them, but finding the romance in that was too hard.
Then I read The Unruly Queen by Flora Fraser, about Princess Caroline, who came from Brunswick (Germany) to marry the Prince of Wales, the future George IV. That is where I found the genesis for the idea behind BOOK OF SCANDAL. George agreed to marry Caroline so that Parliament would pay his debts. He lived the life of a profligate, complete with a “secret” wife, numerous mistresses, and some really bad debts from his extravagance. Caroline of Brunswick was not particularly handsome, nor was she very genteel. There were concerns about her hygiene habits and her own family seemed to be glad she was gone.
Whatever the truth, the two did not suit at all. They managed to consummate the marriage and produce an heir in one or two tries, but after that, they were permanently estranged. They were both awful—they both were rumored to have adulterous liaisons, they both participated in bawdy games, and they both continued to sling mud at each other, principally through an aging and ailing king. But did that stop them? Hardly!
Here’s another one you might enjoy: Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman. Now here was a chick who was dragged through the proverbial wringer. It’s another book that reads like pulp fiction, and I gobbled Reading for Pleasure: History
Writers are readers, first and foremost, and I know a lot of my romance-writing pals read romance for pleasure. I used to read romance for pleasure, but when you write romance all day, it can be sort of a stretch to try and relax with one. That’s not to say I never read it—of course I do—but I don’t read it like I used to.
I hope you will pick up a copy of BOOK OF SCANDAL, released just this week! Please stop by www.julialondon.com/ for excerpts, message boards and monthly giveaways. This month, we’re having a fabulous giveaway to celebrate the release of the book. it up. But if you don’t think reading Georgiana is your bag, by all means, wait for the movie. It comes out this fall.
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