• Finalist, second place in the
2004 Laurie Award, sponsored by Smoky
Mountain
Romance Writers
To be included in future updates.
This article appeared in Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine in Jan.
2003.
Gaelen Foley Reveals Regency England
Beyond the glittering ballroom at Almack's and the elegant drawing
rooms of polite society, Regency London following the glorious victory
of Waterloo was a cauldron of change and social unrest. For many,
it also was a world of poverty and desperation. The celebrations
marking the end of England's draining war against Napoleon had barely
died down when the social ills that had long festered began to emerge
in British society.
At Brighton Pavilion, the Prince Regent gave a feast with 36 different
entrées, but when he went to Parliament in January 1817,
a hostile crowd booed his carriage and threw stones . While I love
a wonderful, aristocratic "ballroom" scene, I find it
adds scope and substance to my stories to explore the larger historical
world my characters inhabit.
This is where the hero of LADY OF DESIRE comes in. I wanted to create
a hero highborn enough to contribute to the need for change, but
also with firsthand experience of poor people's desperation. So,
I created Billy Blade, the swashbuckling leader of a London gang.
The second son of a titled drunkard, Billy runs away from his aristocratic
home. Making his way to London, he falls in with a gang of thieves,
who soon become his new family. The only one who is educated, Billy
turns streetwise and, eventually, becomes the gang's leader—part
Robin Hood, part Don Corleone. His attitude toward the poor is one
of benevolence; to the aristocracy, however, he feels resentment.
He happily steals from the rich and gives to the poor. It's his
way of getting even with his father.
Historically, the war against Napoleon had left Britain with a huge
national debt. A few bad harvests had further strained the economy.
The population was exploding, rising 15 percent in a mere decade.
Out of the 12 million people in England in 1815, research suggests
that less than a quarter lived above the poverty line. With too
many people and too little food, the specter of starvation seemed
all too real. But the land-owning classes who controlled Parliament
sought to protect themselves rather than to ease the plight of the
lower classes.
The Corn Laws imposed a high tax on otherwise cheap foreign grains,
so that English farmers (i.e. the wealthy landowners) would not
lose business. Other important goods were highly taxed too—tea,
candles, paper, soap, sugar, beer. Yet while the cost of living
rose, jobs became harder to find.
The returning veterans of the Napoleonic wars flooded the job market,
only to discover that many businesses were closing down or bringing
in newly invented machines to replace the men. Other firms stayed
profitable by hiring children, who could be paid only a fraction
of a man's salary.
The situation was bleak. The anger and despair of the common people
terrified the government, which responded with harsh measures. The
mildest was a high tax on newspapers, to keep what they viewed as
dangerous propaganda away from the masses. Far more sinister tactics
were used as well: Anyone under suspicion could be thrown in jail
and kept there. Magistrates could imprison any person they thought
might do something to disrupt public order.
Perhaps most shocking of all was Home Secretary Lord Sidmouth's
strategy for dealing with fiery radicals. Not only did he send spies
to infiltrate these small knots, when otherwise peaceful demonstrations
were held, he sent provocateurs to disrupt them. They would give
out alcohol and try to work the crowd into a dangerous mood. Goaded
into a violent display, the demonstrators instantly alienated anyone
in Parliament who might have been sympathetic to their cause.
Billy's gang, too, runs afoul of the law. When they're arrested,
Billy realizes that to save his friends from death he must return
to his family and get his father to use his influence on their behalf.
His brother now dead, Billy is the only heir. His father agrees,
and Billy takes his rightful place as William Spencer Albright,
the Earl of Rackford.
Thanks to the elegant and always saucy Lady Jacinda Knight, Lord
Rackford realizes he is in a position to do something about the
injustice he's seen. He works for reform—in his spare time,
that is. He also tries to win Jacinda's heart. Like I said, I'm
a sucker for those glittering ballroom scenes!
To be included in future updates.
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