Читать книгу The Discerning Gentleman's Guide - Virginia Heath - Страница 4

Author Note

It’s funny how inspiration strikes…

The historian in me is always learning. I saw a documentary about the Peterloo Massacre, which prompted me to read up on the turbulent political situation during the Regency. At that time there was a genuine fear of revolution in England. The aristocracy were terrified that the masses would rise up against them, so parliament did everything in its power to suppress them. It was a time of public demonstrations, clandestine meetings and riots well before Peterloo.

Then, by chance, I came across a nineteenth-century book on etiquette, written by a vicar’s daughter. Not only was it an interesting window on a different side to that time period but, when read with modern eyes, some of the instructions within the book were hilarious. I decided it might be fun to write one of my own—which is exactly what I have done in this book.

My hero, Bennett Montague, sixteenth Duke of Aveley, has written a book entitled The Discerning Gentleman’s Guide to Selecting the Perfect Bride. Obviously what Bennett thinks his perfect bride might be like and what my heroine Amelia Mansfield is actually like are completely opposite ends of the spectrum. When you have a pompous duke, it stands to reason that the very last person he would ever consider marrying is an outspoken political radical—and yet it was tremendously entertaining to throw them together and see what happened…