Tag Archives: Black Sheep

Inspiration, from the present and the past

Sarah remembers inspiration

woman sitting in open window

bigstock/103948520

Commenting on her recent post about good news for romance, Sophie said that in dark times, the smallest patch of sunshine is something to be grateful for.

It reminded me of a little TV gem  I found recently that brought me face to face with something that provided inspiration for one of my books, over twenty years ago!

Every writer needs inspiration

key held towards lock, light coming through

bigstock/49484480

I find inspiration all over the place. In travel and the landscape, reading real-life stories, and even just from seeing a painting or photograph. Recently I stumbled upon a tv series which I find not only vastly entertaining but also inspiring. In all sorts of ways.

Sometimes one finds a TV series that exceeds all expectations and for me, Saving Country Houses is proving to be just the tonic I need at the moment. Continue reading →

Georgette Heyer: the problem of brothers (for sisters)

False Colours by Georgette Heyer Cover by BarbosaBrothers, in Georgette Heyer’s Georgian and Regency novels, can be a sad trial for their sisters. Not always, but often.

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about children in Heyer’s novels. That produced some interesting feedback and a really fascinating related blog by Elizabeth Hawksley about children in the nursery.

Elizabeth’s blog made me think about the problem of brothers. Not children, but grown-up brothers. So in this blog, I’m exploring those relationships (with quotations in blue which, sorry, make this blog pretty long).

Male children, primogeniture, the law and more

Back in the Regency, males definitely had it over females. Upper class males could, and did, do a lot of what they liked, even if it was reckless or dangerous. Females were hidebound by rules about what they could and couldn’t do. Mostly couldn’t. Continue reading →