The most recommended Regency books

Oh yes. It’s another romance novel set in the Regency period. The Regency, only nine years in length, has spawned more romance novels than any other time in England’s history. So what’s so special about this one? Well, neither the girl nor the guy wants to get married but circumstances conspire to throw them together. I found their conversations to be spirited, meaning original and adversarial. It is delightful how they begin to genuinely like each other and lose their disdain for the institution of marriage. There are some lessons here for our modern days. 

A trio of tall, dark, broodingly handsome werewolves await, in this action-packed, high-passion, angsty trilogy indulging the fantasy of ‘the beast within’. A terrifying transformation befalls the men of the Wulf dynasty, and the curse can only be avoided by never falling in love. The perfect premise for romance!

How did governments spy on their own citizens in the age of quill pens and candlelight? Although Londoners lustily sang “Britons never, never, never shall be slaves,” the reality was that few men could vote, and some were in danger of being dragged off the street and impressed into the Navy. The struggle for democratic reform, however, was met with suspicion by government leaders who feared a revolution like the one in France that toppled the monarchy. Regency Spies uncovers the hidden world of espionage and agents provocateurs who kept an eye on populist reformers like Henry ‘Orator’ Hunt and deluded fanatics like Arthur Thistlewood. While learning about the Peterloo Massacre and the Cato Street Conspiracy, I was also intrigued by the parallels to our own times.

Having gotten a taste of the sights of London, delve deeper with this exhibition guide packed with illustrations, paintings, and photographs of the things people owned and used during the Regency period and beyond. My favorite part of this book is the many essays contributed by leading historians who really know their stuff—everything you need to know about Regency art, architecture, science, and culture is right here.

I discovered this in my early teens, which perhaps explains why I didn’t bat an eyelid that the heroine is only fifteen years old when she marries our hero. It’s based on the true story of Harry and Juana Smith during the Peninsular war and is a very appealing novel, brilliantly researched and written in Georgette Heyer’s inimitable, light-hearted style. Harry shines as the brave and lovable young officer. Both main characters, their friends, and Wellington himself, leap off the pages fully formed. I’d probably blackball a book written now about a 25 year old man marrying a fifteen year old, yet I can still easily buy into this one, accepting the different customs of their time and simply enjoying their story. 

This novel brings England's moors to life with a Regency romance that is sometimes haunting. It features a courageous heroine who doesn't know her own strength until she must flip social norms upside down by proposing marriage to a man she doesn't know or love—but needs. A couple determined to sacrifice everything for the love of a child makes this story memorable, and the romance is beautiful. 

Described as Bridgerton meets Poldark, what more do you need, honestly? Everything about it was perfect.

I loved Joss Doomsday as the capable but vulnerable hero carrying his entire family on his back, and Gareth, the unexpected noble with a lifetime of daddy issues, was his perfect counter-balance. The story was delightful and mysterious, heartfelt and engaging, but most of all, the writing hooked me—the words. I can only describe it as delicious.

The dialogue was so on point I couldn’t help reading the whole thing aloud to myself. I was transfixed and never wanted it to end. It’s rare for me to auto-buy anything, but I clicked pre-order on book 2 minutes after finishing book 1, and my goodness, I hope we get a book 3. 

A book about a group of London intellectuals – sometimes friends, sometimes frenemies – who expressed their influential ideas with an elegant style that I find irresistible. (Dr. Johnson strongly influenced Jane Austen, so if you like Austen, you’ll like Johnson.) This book is filled with anecdotes of friendships, rivalries, partying, and bickering, with a fair amount of Georgian bawdy humor sprinkled throughout. You’ll meet writers, poets, playwrights, legislators, and bluestockings. The Club gives you multiple biographies plus a portrait of London in the late Georgian period. Spending time with this book is like spending a few hours with Dr. Johnson and his witty friends at a London coffeehouse.

Almost A Lady is filled with love, passion, and adventure for the restless soul. It has a fiery heroine who isn’t afraid to fight for her life, and the most ideal roguish pirate scoundrel one longs for in a Historical Romance. The perfect enemies-to-lovers tale that will have you staying up late for more. I loved this book because it revealed far more than what a traditional HR setting could be. It gave me love and peril and a hot slow-burn of fervor and intensity one needs in a great Historical Romance.

I’m a sucker for a book that pulls at my heartstrings. A woman finds herself pregnant during an unforgiving time. She’s sent to a home so it can all be kept a secret, here she meets other women in similar situations. This book made the plight of these women real as they struggle to make peace with what’s happened, as they give birth and say goodbye or get creative and find ways to stay in their children’s lives. 

As a mother to both biological children and foster children, I am often drawn to the stories of mothers and this one stuck with me for a long time. I ached for and cheered for the characters in this book and in the end tears were flowing and my heart was full.