Things I've Learned About Cornwall, England by A.M.Westerling

My Regency Romance Her Proper Scoundrel is available from your favourite online store HERE. 

If you’ve read my first scene of Sophie, Book 1 of the Ladies of Harrington House series, you’ll know it takes place on a secluded beach somewhere on the English coast. (see my post of Aug. 8 here on the BWL Authors blog spot.) I had to come up with a reason why Lord Bryce Langdon appeared on the beach the same time as Sophie. So I thought why not have Langdon involved with local smugglers?

Therefore when I chose the setting for the book, I needed a location conducive to smugglers and Cornwall came to mind. Its rocky cliffs, secluded beaches and large stretches of uninhabited land, coupled with few revenue men to patrol it made it the ideal location for illicit deliveries. 

Smuggling became rampant during the 17^th and 18^th centuries when excise taxes and customs duties made every day goods prohibitively expensive for the ordinary citizen. These taxes were levied by a succession of governments trying to pay for wars on the continent. Items smuggled included brandy, tea, gin, rum and tobacco. At one point, the tax on tea was nearly 70% of its initial cost! Some experts believe duty had not been paid on 80% of all the tea consumed in the country. Other sources estimate that 500,00 gallons of brandy per year smuggled into Cornwall. 

Initially smuggling was done in the open but after 1800, the numbers of revenue men increased so tunnels and passages were hacked out of the rock to facilitate stealthy movement of the goods. (The following picture of smugglers on a beach is from the smuggling.co.uk website as listed later on in this blog)

Wrecking was another pastime of the citizens of Cornwall. Wreckers would light lanterns and place them on the rocks, luring ships to their doom. Then all they had to do was salvage the cargo once it floated to shore. 

Mining was the other mainstay of the local economy and tin and copper mines flourished across the region. With the advent of the steam engine, water could be pumped from the mine shafts allowing for greater recovery of the ore. Cornish pasties (rhymes with nasty, not paste-y) became popular as a tidy meal for miners. The pastry shell served as a container for the filling, usually a mixture of beef, potatoes, turnips and onions – easy to carry and no clean up required. 

It’s only recently that I’ve learned Cornwall has benefited from a surge in popularity due to the series Poldark. Interested in learning more? Here are a couple of good websites to check out:

www.smuggling.co.uk/history.html

https://www.cornwall-calling.co.uk/smugglers.htm

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Today’s excerpt from Sophie is the 3^rd scene. (The 2^nd scene is included with my blog post of Sept. 25 and as I’ve already mentioned the 1^st scene is from Aug. 8):

Bryce’s curiosity had gotten the better of him after he’d left the beach and he’d guided his gelding Quincy to a vantage point to watch unobserved. He waited for Sophie to appear and it wasn’t long before she clambered over the lip of the escarpment. Without any hesitation, she led her mare to a nearby fallen log and, hitching her skirts, climbed quite handily into the saddle. With the flash of trim ankles and shapely calves, he realized she rode a regular saddle, not a side saddle. Although not unheard of, it certainly confirmed his impression that Sophie was no silly miss. She sat her mare very well indeed and after tucking her skirts around her legs, set a brisk pace if the hair streaming behind her was any indication. Someone who sat her mount that well would be magnificent to watch during the hunt. His gaze remained fastened on her until she disappeared behind a distant copse. He turned his horse for home.

 Home. Briar Manor. He’d only been there a week and the house didn’t actually feel like a home yet, more like a series of vacant rooms. Furnishing a house wasn’t exactly his forte and he wasn’t sure how to tackle it so for now, the house sat mostly empty.

When he reached the manor, he tied up Quincy at the hitching post.

“Robert?” He shouted for his groom. It seemed like an extravagant expense to hire a man for only one animal but when it came to horseflesh, Bryce knew very little. He could ride and that was about it. He justified the expense by considering it a contribution to the local economy. Besides the man came highly recommended by the former owner of the property and soon Bryce hoped to add a matched pair and a curricle to his stable.

“Aye?” The man poked his head out the stable door. “Just mucking out Quincy’s stall.”

“See to it he gets an extra ration of oats.”

Robert nodded. “Rode ‘im hard, did ye?”

Bryce didn’t answer but lifted his hand and strode off.

Once he reached his library, he tore off his jacket and tossed it on the only chair he owned, a brocade wing back chair he’d found in the attic of his father’s house and claimed as his own. Along with two matching cushions came memories of his late mother. It had been her favourite chair and if he closed his eyes, he could imagine her fragrance and the warmth of her arms around him. He swallowed hard and shook his head. Hard to believe ten years had passed since her death.

He ambled to one of the empty shelves which he’d set up as a temporary sideboard and poured himself a cognac – courtesy of smugglers, no doubt – before returning to the chair and collapsing into it. He swirled the amber liquid in his glass, inhaling the aroma before taking a swallow. He really must find someone to help him set up his library. Crates of his books, both for work and pleasure, lined the wall behind him.

Plus he needed some sort of butler. Next time he rode into Truro he would make inquiries. With any luck he could find a local and not have to hare off to London to find a suitable man. He’d kept the housekeeper/cook who came with the house – again recommended by the previous owner – and so far, he hadn’t been disappointed. If nothing else, Mrs. Moore’s roast beef and Yorkshire puddings were enough to keep her.

But enough of the banalities of setting up a new home in a new town. He raised the glass to his lips and sucked in a long draught. Finding an attractive young woman on the beach below Briar Manor had been a pleasant surprise.

But also an unwelcome one.

He’d chosen his new home for its proximity to the sea. Cornwall was famous for its hidden coves, ideal for hiding from unwanted attention. The beach below Briar Manor must remain deserted if he had any hope of landing boats there undetected. Prying eyes would ruin everything although perhaps he could overlook a certain pair of clear green eyes.

What was he thinking? He shook his head. He knew very well what he was thinking - when Sophie had taken out her hair pins, he ached to run his fingers through her glorious chestnut curls. The breath caught in his throat when he glimpsed her trim ankles and perfect toes and he had to stop himself from racing across the beach to scoop her in his arms. As if that wasn’t enough, when they’d conversed, he realized she had a head on her shoulders to match her pretty face. He admired her wit and lack of artifice. So much so, he looked forward to seeing her again.

Very much.

Janet Lane Walters Talks Her Romance Love of Regency - Rosemary Morris #BWLPublishing #Regency #Romance

A Love of Regency with Rosemary Morris

I’m a big reader of Regency Romances and I’ve found Rosemary Morris’s stories great to read. I’ve read everything she’s written but I’ve been reading and reading her days of the week series. When I’m rough drafting a new story, I enjoy rereading stories I’ve read before. Meeting old friends gives me a break from the deep thought that goes into the start of a new story.  Reading these books has kept me on track since they are very different from what I’m writing.

I once thought I’d like to write Regencies and I have one Regency historical written. There were three more books planned but after finishing the one, I knew I didn’t have the stamina for the research for the other ones. I’ve decided to leave that for my favorite Regency writers. Rosemary is one of those. I’m enjoying reading the days of the week stories and those are the ones I’ll speak about here.

Thursday’s Child is the last one of the series I read. In this book, we read about a young woman who is outspoken and naïve. Her charm lies in her innocence and her real caring for others. For her journey, love brings lessons and an understanding of herself and others. The writing allowed me to enter her world and to care about her and the other characters in the book. Indeed, she has far to go.

Here’s the blurb:

On their way to a ball, eighteen-year-old Lady Margaret is reminded by her affectionate brother, the Earl of Saunton, to consider her choice of words before she speaks. Despite his warning, she voices her controversial opinion to Lady Sefton, one of Almack’s lady patronesses, who can advance or ruin a debutante’s reputation. Horrified by her thoughtless indiscretion, Margaret runs from the ballroom into the reception hall where she nearly slips onto the marble floor.

Baron Rochedale, a notorious rake catches her in his arms to prevent her fall. Margaret, whose family expect her to make a splendid marriage, and enigmatic Rochedale, who never reveals his secrets, are immediately attracted to each other, but 
Rochedale never makes advances to unmarried females. 

When Margaret runs out into the street, out of chivalry it seems he must follow the runaway instead of joining his mistress in the ballroom, where anxious mothers would warn their daughters to avoid him. Rochedale’s quixotic impulse leads to complications which force him to question his selfish way of life. Entangled by him in more ways than one, stifled by polite society’s unwritten rules and regulations Margaret is forced to question what is most important to her. 

Sunday’s Child began the series.

Blurb:

Georgianne Whitley’s beloved father and brothers died in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte. While she is grieving for them, she must deal with her unpredictable mother’s sorrow, and her younger sisters’ situation caused by it. Georgianne’s problems increase when the arrogant, wealthy but elderly Earl of Pennington, proposes marriage to her for the sole purpose of being provided with an heir. At first she is tempted by his proposal, but something is not quite right about him. She rejects him not suspecting it will lead to unwelcome repercussions.

Once, Georgianne had wanted to marry an army officer. Now, she decides never to marry ‘a military man’ for fear he will be killed on the battlefield. However, Georgianne still dreams of a happy marriage before unexpected violence forces her to relinquish the chance to participate in a London Season sponsored by her aunt.

Shocked and in pain, Georgianne goes to the inn where her cousin Sarah’s step-brother, Major Tarrant, is staying, while waiting for the blacksmith to return to the village and shoe his horse. Recently, she has been reacquainted with Tarrant—whom she knew when in the nursery—at the vicarage where Sarah lives with her husband Reverend Stanton.

The war in the Iberian Peninsula is nearly at an end so, after his older brother’s death, Tarrant, who was wounded, returned to England where his father asked him to marry and produce an heir. To please his father, Tarrant agreed to marry, but due to a personal tragedy he has decided never to father a child. When Georgianne, arrives at the inn, quixotic Tarrant sympathises with her unhappy situation. Moreover, he is shocked by the unforgivable, brutal treatment she has suffered.

Full of admiration for her beauty and courage Tarrant decides to help Georgianne.

The other books in the series so far are Monday’s Child, Tuesday’s Child and Wednesday’s Child. If you love Regencies, you’ll find every one of these books a great read. I’ll also be rereading them in the months to come.