I love a good Regency romance story! When I set out to write A MISMATCH MADE IN LONDON I knew I wanted it to be fun, sweet, and true to the time period. And consciously or unconsciously, I was influenced by my favorite Regency romances. So here is a list of my Top 5 favorite Regencies. (Okay, yes, they are all Jane Austen novels, but I love them!)
Number One has to be PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. I will never forget the first time I read this story. I was in my teens, and I had already read Emma by Jane Austen, which I loved, but PRIDE AND PREJUDICE was just so incredibly PERFECT. I remember reading the book with such excitement, especially the part where Lizzie was discovering that Mr. Darcy had saved Lydia and their entire family from ruin. I couldn’t sit still. I literally read while pacing. Seeing the two of them go from intense dislike to falling in love and believing that they could only be happy if they ended up getting married was just the most exciting story progression I’d ever read. It became my favorite novel ever.
My story, A MISMATCH MADE IN LONDON, uses that same enemies-to-lovers trope, with my two main characters, Amelia Moore and Jeremy Beaumont, disliking each other in the beginning. He has been burned before by less than wealthy young ladies who befriended his sister to get to him, and she has been treated as less than worthy by young gentlemen who noted her lack of fortune and country manners. So their background and past experiences make them enemies from the beginning. But as they spend more time together, my hero begins to realize he made a mistake. Too bad for him, Amelia isn’t so quick to forgive and trust him.
Two is SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, that wonderful story of sisters falling in love with gentlemen who cannot marry them, for one reason or another. I love the contrast of Marianne and Eleanor, of the two sisters’ differing natures and personalities, but how they love and support one another. And that kind of sibling love is evident in A MISMATCH MADE IN LONDON, with Amelia Moore, who is the oldest girl in a family of twelve children. I love showing how much she loves her siblings and the bond she has with one of the youngest. You see what a nurturing person she is and why she longs to have children of her own. Sibling love is also evident between the hero and his younger sister, who becomes Amelia’s best friend, and it was fun to show the lengths to which they would go to help and protect each other.
Three is PERSUASION, with the deliciously awkward premise of a hero who returns to the small community where the heroine rejected him some eight years before and where she still resides, and where she has learned to regret her decision. In this story, Captain Wentworth appears to be flirting with and have intentions of marriages toward one of two sisters of a family closely connected to the heroine Anne’s. In A MISMATCH MADE IN LONDON, Amelia sees the hero being targeted by young ladies and him paying one lady a bit more attention than the others. She knows this young lady is wealthy and wonders if the hero will marry her. It’s her first inkling that she might have feelings for him herself.
Four is EMMA, which is not only a great study in comedic characterization, with some of the most memorable characters ever created, but it is also a great inside look at what life in a country village in Regency England was like. And it is that village life that my heroine in A Mismatch Made in London is so familiar with, the only life she has ever known, until her aunt invites her to London for the social season. I love showing a glimpse of Amelia in her normal, slower way of life with her brothers and sisters in the country first before she goes to London.
Five is a tie between NORTHANGER ABBEY and MANSFIELD PARK. (Yes, I know that that includes every novel Jane Austen wrote, but I just couldn’t leave one out!) NORTHANGER ABBEY’s heroine is Catherine who, like my heroine in A MISMATCH MADE IN LONDON, is one of many siblings and has never lived anywhere except her small village, when an older family friend invites her to London, a very similar premise.
And in MANSFIELD PARK, Fanny is the somewhat maligned and overlooked cousin living with her aunt and uncle, the charity ward, as it were. Amelia is no charity ward, but she is certainly often overlooked in London because she has no great fortune. She has to show her worth through her character, not her wealth.
And that is my assessment of how I was consciously and unconsciously inspired by Jane Austen’s novels while I was writing A MISMATCH MADE IN LONDON. I hope you will read it and my other Regency romances, including THE GOOD FORTUNE OF MISS ROBBINS.
A MISMATCH MADE IN LONDON by Melanie Dickerson
A He-Falls-First Enemies-to-Lovers Historical Romance Set in Regency London England Reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice
Of all London’s eligible suitors, why did the most impossible gentleman have to be the most unforgettable?
When Amelia Moore is invited to London for the social Season, she hopes for a chance at love–but certainly not with Jeremy Beaumont, the Season’s most sought-after bachelor. Upon making the acquaintance of his sister Juliet at her first ball, Amelia becomes fast friends with her, but Jeremy’s protective nature leads him to question her motives, and he accuses Amelia of using his sister to capture his attention and fortune. Outraged at his arrogance, Amelia vows never to speak to him again, which proves a more difficult feat than she anticipated.
As Amelia attracts the attention of other wealthy gentlemen, Jeremy feels compelled to warn her away from certain suitors, a goodwill gesture that she does not appreciate. When an unexpected circumstance threatens Juliet’s reputation, Amelia and Jeremy are forced to confront their undeniable attraction–and discover whether their battle of wills has actually been a dance toward love.
From New York Times bestselling author Melanie Dickerson comes a sweeping Regency romance with the best friend’s brother trope, enemies to lovers, and swoon-worthy tension that will delight readers of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey.
Christian Historical | Christian Romance [ Bethany House Publishers, On Sale: August 4, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780764245237 / eISBN: 9781493454167 ]
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About Melanie Dickerson
Melanie Dickerson is an award-winning author who earned her bachelor’s degree in special education from The University of Alabama. She has taught in Georgia, Tennessee, Germany and the Eastern European country of Ukraine. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA), she now spends her time writing and taking care of her husband and two daughters near Huntsville, Alabama.
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