Daily Archives: June 28, 2022

In Praise of Dead Authors

The Regency Romances of M.C. Beaton

Welcome to my June 2022 Quarter Days’ blog.

A couple of months ago I discovered a new-to-me Regency romance author, M.C. Beaton, in a roundabout way.

My sister and I were discussing what we liked and disliked about the cozy mystery series Agatha Raisin set in the modern-day Cotswolds, and, since the books are almost always better, I bought the first book in the series, The Quiche of Death. Surprisingly, the film version followed the plot almost to a tee.

It must have been karma or those pesky algorithms when shortly after, my daily Bookkbub deal included a Regency romance by M.C. Beaton.

If you’re a long-time Regency reader you might know of her books written under her maiden name, Marion Chesney. She was incredibly prolific. In addition to her ninety-nine Regency-set romances and romantic suspense stories, and the Agatha Raisin mysteries, she’s the author of the Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series, and the Edwardian Murder Mysteries featuring Lady Rose Summer.

Did I say she was amazingly prolific? Some scoff at self-publishing authors “churning out” books, but plenty of pulp fiction authors in the golden age of traditional publishing were writing and publishing lots and lots of stories and books. 

How many ways can you tell a Regency romance?

I’ve read and enjoyed several of her Regencies because I love her voice, her cheeky sense of humor, and her daringly outlandish plots. Characters of all ages find love in her stories.

In The School for Manners series, a pair of eccentric middle-aged spinsters, poor, but “high ton,” take in unruly young ladies and launch them into society in madcap fashion. In the series A House for the Season, an odd set of servants blackmailed into servitude by a corrupt property manager, deal with even odder tenants every season.

In The Regency Intrigue Series, heroines take on mystery and murder. One of Beaton’s most daring heroes in this series is the ghost of a Georgian duke who is able to materialize every night.

Immortality in the Pages

It’s pretty wonderful that even after an author passes on, the stories are there to entertain future generations.

Do you have a favorite author who’s no longer with us? Please share in the comments!