A
Conversation with Historical
Romance
author, Jenny Hambly.
Hello. I am Jenny Hambly, I have always loved
reading and writing and finally released my first Regency Romance at the end of
November 2018 and have enjoyed every moment of the experience! I still have
most of my hair and my sanity after all! Any well-written book that would
transport me to another world has always been my escape and I have tried to
achieve this with my own novel.
Hi Jenny, it is so good to meet you. Let’s
talk about your book — what inspired you to write Rosalind?
Georgette
Heyer, the undoubted queen of Regency, has played a huge part in my life,
becoming an old friend I could always turn to for comfort and entertainment, I
was finding it more and more difficult to find an authentic Regency so decided
to stop moaning and write my own!
I think Toni Morrison was right when
she said “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written
yet, then you must write it.” What were the challenges you faced in researching
this period of history?
One of the biggest challenges in
researching this era was the amount of information that is out there, some of
it, incorrect! Often a search for a very specific thing could become
frustrating as lots of information would come up, just not the particular thing
I was looking for! This often led me to spend hours being distracted by other
interesting items but sometimes this paid off as it would throw up ideas I had
not thought of that would fit nicely into my plot. For example I had not
previously considered the role of the canals at this time yet they made it into
my book!
I can be very distracting when there
are so much to read about, but at the same time very rewarding. There are many
books about Regency England. Can you tell us three things that set your novel apart?
1: The market is flooded with sexy
regencies that go into far more detail than Heyer, Austen or the Brontes. I
have nothing against them, there is clearly a market for them, but I wanted to
write a clean Regency that would still hold the attention.
2: I wanted to introduce an
interesting, fun set of characters that would add both drama and comedy as well
as throwing extra light onto the motivations, character, and development of my
hero and heroine.
3: I have endeavoured to be
historically accurate and I hope I have mainly achieved it!
Your book sounds amazing. One more quick
question — Can you tell us what are you currently working on?
My next
novel, Sophie, second in my Bachelor Bride series, will feature Sir Philip, (who appears in my first
novel, Rosalind), travelling to Italy to find and retrieve his old friend, Harry
Treleven, who has just re-emerged, after being missing for five years.
Sophie,
Lady Lewisham, has just completed her year of mourning. Her husband had been
old enough to be her grandfather, but they had shared a love of ancient
antiquity and she is determined to avoid the demands of both her family and the
gossip-ridden ton, and escape to the continent to further her studies. She is,
after all, an independent widow of means and sense. What could possibly go
wrong?
I hope
to release this novel by April.
It has been so nice to talk with you, Jenny.
Scroll down to find out more about Jenny’s fabulous book — Rosalind.
Rosalind
He is determined to avoid marriage, she to
despise men…
London 1818: Destitute, disillusioned and desperate,
Lady Rosalind Marlowe sets the tongues of Regency London wagging when she
becomes the Mayfair Thief. Targeting only those she knows won large sums of
money from her father, bleeding him dry and causing him to take his own life,
she decides to teach them a lesson. She takes something valuable from
each, leaving her calling card with a bible quote behind her. On her last
outing, she is caught red-handed. Her surprise that the old Earl had died and
been succeeded by his handsome, much sought-after son, is only equalled by his
amazement that the thief should be a young, beautiful lady of quality.
Bored, restless and guilt-ridden over the death
of his own father and with his accusations of him being a selfish whelp still
ringing in his ears, Lord Atherton heads off a bow street runner who is
pursuing Rosalind and in an altruistic act he engages her to be a companion to
his mother, leading her to believe he is making amends for his father’s
actions. Unaware that he has become the target of enmity from a desperate
gambler from whom he has won a large sum of money, they are thrown into a
series of increasingly dangerous situations.
Even as they are drawn closer together a secret
emerges which drives them apart. Will they manage to overcome both pride and
prejudice to finally find happiness or will an unexpected letter from a
solicitor drive a final wedge between them?
Jenny
Hambly
I grew up in Rutland, the smallest country in
England. I always had my head in a book, mainly Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen or
the Brontes. I graduated as a primary
teacher and then gained a first-class honours degree in literature whilst
bringing up two children. I still teach part-time and now live in Plymouth with
Dave. I love reading, travelling and sailing; not necessarily in that order!
I love a Regency novel, Jenny, and look forward to reading these!
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