Laura In Her Own Words
Following the release of 'Envelope of a Letter' in September of 2005, Laura was kind enough to provide us with a personal insight into her early writing experiences, inspirations and creative aspirations. Read on to discover who Laura's favourite authors are, how she reacts to being described by her publisher as 'the most exciting Regency novelist who has ever written' and where her future ambitions lie.
Creative Beginnings - Restoring The Regency - Beyond Books
Restoring The Regency
What do you think inspired your fascination with the Regency period?
Probably all that time spent reading the classics! I don't really know what or when the fascination caught me, but it did, in a big way! There's something about it that just captures my imagination. Obviously I associate it with Jane Austen and the joy I get from her novels, that's probably a big part of it.
What is it about this particular period that you find so attractive, intriguing or otherwise?
I love all history, not just the Regency period, and hope to write novels set in the Tudor, Victorian and Roman eras in the future. The best thing about the Regency, I think, is that it was on the borderline of two very major periods and combined the best elements of both. There was so much elegance of manner, dress and language but also a wild frivolity and raciness radiating from the roguish Prince Regent himself. It was much less chintzy and severe than the Victorian era and it did not have the ridiculously huge wigs of the earlier Georgian period! The architecture, music, poetry and art of the period is all so beautiful - it was like a cultural explosion. Obviously, it wasn't quite as lovely for the poorer classes... but even their lives fascinate me!
Writing a novel set in a convincing historical context is an extremely challenging task! Did you engage in specific research for 'Envelope of a Letter' or were you already sufficiently knowledgeable about the Regency period?
I engaged in lots and lots of research! I read novels from the period, with much highlighting of specific conventions and manners. The Internet is a fabulous resource to find out about the minute - I wanted to get as much just right as I could. I have books on Georgian costume, decor, architecture and period music. I also visited Bath and Stamford, which helped me to feel the mood of the era. They had lots of information there which really assisted me.
I also spent an awful lot of time hunting around in bookshops and libraries - I wanted to make sure my characters were even drinking from the right glasses! You have to be very careful that you don't get too bogged down with all these details and detract from the story. I'm sure even after all this research there could be details in my novel a historian might quibble with. In the end, you just have to get the atmosphere right, and that's what makes the novel.
Your publisher's website describes you as 'the most exciting Regency novelist who has ever written!'. Would you agree?!
Oh dear, I think that might be a very partial opinion! It is extremely hard to judge your own work, you can't really distance yourself from it enough. There haven't really been that many contemporary Regency novelists, outside of the Mills and Boon type stories, so I guess it depends on how you define exciting! I do hope my work is interesting and relevant to today, and that it has a bit more of a point to it than say, Georgette Heyer - whose books I enjoy very much but are more like comic romps with an inevitable happy-ever-after ending. But really, that's a question every reader has to answer for themselves.
Creative Beginnings - Restoring The Regency - Beyond Books
