Five Fun Facts

Research is always a fun part of writing a Regency-set historical romance. In To Sin With a Scoundrel, my heroine is the object of nasty gossip because she dares to be smart so I had a fascinating time visiting London and exploring the lives of real-life scandalous women. Here are a few of the interesting things that I learned:

1. Over 20,000 satirical prints were published in London between 1770 and 1830, and the famous artists were even more ruthless than our modern paparazzi at showing the celebrities of the day at their worst!

2. Lord Byron’s daughter, Augusta Ada Byron King, the Countess of Lovelace, was a mathematical genius—in fact, the U.S. Defense department has named one of its computer programs “ADA” in her honor.

3. You can find amazing original miniatures of Regency beauties and buck of the ton at antique markets on Portobello Road  . . . but they don’t come cheap!

4. You can tell what regiment a Guardsman belongs to by the arrangement of the buttons on his red tunic.

5. If I could choose a dream house in London, I would love to live in Apsley House, the Duke of Wellington’s private residence, and throw a tea party using all the incredible silver and china that was given to him by a grateful Europe for winning the Battle of Waterloo.