From a purely historical perspective, England's "Regency" refers to a very specific time period, from January 1811 to January 1820. Those are the dates marking the rule of George, Prince of Wales, the Prince Regent who became King George IV upon his father's death in 1820.

His father, King George III, suffered most of his adult life with strange periods of debilitating illness, marked by bizarre and irrational behavior. Some historians now believe his symptoms were caused by acute, intermittent attacks of porphyria, a hereditary blood disease. He had been the victim of several bouts of "insanity" before the Regency period, most notably in 1788 (the subject of the movie The Madness of King George) and also in 1801 and 1804.

But when the old King fell ill again in the fall of 1810, he didn't recover. He wasn't dead, so his son could not succeed him as King. Yet, in the grip of apparent madness, George III wasn't competent to reign, either. So in January of 1811 Parliament passed the Regency Bill, allowing the Prince of Wales to rule as Prince Regent in his father's stead.

That's the chronological "Regency period." Regency romances, however, can span anywhere from the first Regency crisis in 1788 to the end of King George IV's reign in 1830.

Usually set in England, particularly London, these stories can also encompass French or American settings. It's the flavor of this tempestuous era that makes it such a compelling backdrop for romance stories.

An Age of Elegance and Turmoil

This is the era of the Napoleonic Wars, of the Battle of Waterloo and the Battle of Trafalgar, and the Duke of Wellington and Admiral Nelson. The waltz was a scandalous new dance craze, and stylish women cropped their hair and wore clinging gowns with daring cleavage. Men gambled incessantly, winning and losing vast fortunes and family estates on a single hand of cards. Dueling, though outlawed, was still practiced. Beethoven was writing his symphonies, Byron was a celebrated poet, and dandies such as Beau Brummell dictated fashion.

It was an age of contrasts, and of political and economic turmoil. England was at war with France during most of this period. "Society" consisted of a few thousand privileged people, the upper classes and the nobility, also referred as the ton or the beau monde. While these wealthy few hunted on their estates and danced at glittering balls and routs, the rest of England was in the grip of change brought about by the industrial revolution. Desperate working class "Luddites" rioted and smashed the machines that threatened their jobs.

However, in a Regency, as in all romances, it's the developing love relationship between the hero and the heroine that takes center stage. The setting, though, is an integral part of the story. Many traditional Regencies are essentially elegant comedies of manners, told with a great deal of wit and precision of language.

The Regency era has captured the imagination of the public and has been the subject of a spate of current movies and television miniseries. Several of Jane Austen's novels have been made into major motion pictures, including Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Mansfield Park. Her most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice, has been made into more than one movie and television miniseries.

The popular A&E miniseries Horatio Hornblower and PBS's Sharpe's Rifles cover military life during this period, while the recent A&E presentation of Vanity Fair spotlights social climbing during the Regency. Besides chronicling the social ambitions of the scheming Becky Sharp, Vanity Fair also contains a thrilling depiction of the Battle of Waterloo.

In a sense, the original Regency writer was Jane Austen, who actually penned her novels during this period and even dedicated her book Emma to the Prince Regent, a fan of hers. More recently, the books of Georgette Heyer (1902-1974) have immortalized the Regency period. Her stories, told with grace and style, are still much read and loved.

There are many skilled Regency writers continuing the tradition today. Two general types of Regency romances are being written currently. There are the "traditional" regencies, shorter books in which great attention is paid to historical accuracy, and even the nuances of Regency slang and expressions. There are also longer historical romances with Regency settings, where the focus is often more on romance than historical detail.

Whichever suits your taste, pick up a Regency romance and escape into another world. You won't be disappointed.

Priestley, J.B., The Prince of Pleasure and His Regency 1811-1820, Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., Great Britain, copyright 1969.

Guiley, Rosemary, Love Lines, The Romance Reader's Guide to Printed Pleasures, Facts on File, Inc., New York, copyright 1983.