This Rec Leagues comes from Lara!
I’m launching a little project to find really excellent regency and Victorian romances that are self or indie pubbed.
It’s a favourite subgenre of mine but it feels like fewer and fewer are being published. So I’m looking for other sources.
All suggestions welcome!
Sarah: Christi Caldwell writes some lush and sometimes over the top historicals. Mimi Matthews and Alice Coldbreath for sure. According to readers on Reddit, Alice Coldbreath is superb at pining.
Kiki: Alice Coldbreath does have Victorian romances! Her Prizefighter series is Victorian and is often recommended for folks who want non-nobility histrom!
Sarah: Erica Ridley for sure.
Amanda: Erica has a LONG backlist of indie/self pub releases.
There’s Meara Platt, though I want to say her romances are closed door? And Mia Vincy. She was super popular a few years ago and I think won a RITA. Not sure what she’s up to now.
What authors would you recommend? Let us know in the comments!
You’d have to go through her back catalogue book-by-book because I believe some are self published and others are done with various traditional publishers, but Grace Callaway. Steamy/spicy historicals the earliest of which begin in the late Georgian/early regency and subsequently march through time. I believe that her current running series, The Blackwood Legacy, is set mid-Victorian. Because she’s covered such a large swath of time, some series are generational; the main characters will be the children of characters from a series or two before, so you get to occasionally see what the HEA of past couples looks like down the road. They’re fun! I recommend her books whenever possible.
Rose Lerner writes well-researched regency and Victorian historicals, and I think switched to self/indie publishing a few years ago. She is a beautiful and intelligent writer. I love that her historicals often feature working class couples instead of the titled or landed gentry.
Alissa Johnson also comes to mind. I loved her Thief-Takers trilogy a few years back.
And of course, Courtney Milan is self-published and one of my favorite authors of any genre (lit fic and classics included).
I hope you’ll share the list and resources when you’re done, Lara!
Annick Trent has The Old Bridge Series (m/m and f/f novels and short stories). I’ve only read Six Penny Octavo but that was a lovely f/f story about working women.
Love Rose Lerner and Annick Trent and of course Courtney Milan. I don’t pay much attention to how a book is published so I didn’t think I would know any, but definitely seconding those!
And since I am here, I *think* KJ Charles has self published some, and possibly also EH Lupton or AJ Demas, although they both write alt-history.
I second the Annick Trent recommendation. The Old Bridge Series is set in the Georgian era. Her new series, Marsh and Moor, is set during the Regency era – the first book came out recently.
I also don’t pay much attention to how a book is published, but here authors that I’m pretty sure are indie authors, or at least have some self-pubbed books
Joanna Chambers – m/m Regency
Tammara Allen – m/m, American set
Aster Glenn Gray – m/m – I love her historicals, but most are not set in the eras requested. I think The Three Fold Tie is set in the Victorian era, although it is in the US.
I haven’t yet read A Bloomy Head by J Winifred Butterworth but I’ve heard good things about it – queer m/f Regency romance. I enjoyed her goblin cozy fantasies under a different pen name (Juniper Butterworth).
There’s also Paullett Golden. She writes closed door regencies with a high degree of historical research. Some of them look to be classified as Christian, but that might be because of the “sweet romance” moniker and not necessarily because they are inspies . The two of her books I’ve read were part of The Enchantresses series and I don’t remember any religious overtones.
Actually I just took a look at my kindle copies and the digital and print editions are closed door, but it says the audio is steamy!
I’ve only read one Alice Coldbreath book, A BRIDE FOR THE PRIZEFIGHTER, but I liked it a lot and definitely plan to read more! Seconding Mimi Matthews as well — one of my favorites! There’s also the superb Stella Riley, who’s written Georgian and Regency novels (I adore her Rockliffe series!) as well as a series set during the English Civil War.
Another good indie author is E.E. Ottoman – they’ve written quite a few American set queer historical romances, although it looks like their upcoming book is more fantasy /horror in an historical setting.
I want to add that it seems to be easier to find queer historical romances right now, rather than straight historicals. I don’t know if the queer historicals will dry up also – it does seem like there are fewer – but right now at least, I still see traditionally published queer historicals, including an upcoming Regency romance by KJ Charles called How to Fake It in Society.
One good source of queer indie authors is Sky Kilean’s monthly newsletter – https://skyewritesromance.com/category/new-queer-books/
She doesn’t organize them by category but if you search each month for “historical” it will turn up some options.
I have really enjoyed Mia Vincy’s Longhope Abbey books. The books have a bit of humor in them I find appealing.
I believe Gail Carriger has published both traditionally and !independently But I have no idea which are which. Much of her work is steampunk/gaslamp fantasy in an alt ictorian setting.
Madeleine Robins has a four book mystery series in an alt regency setting that I believe are independently published. She also has some older standalone regency romances available as well. It’s been awhile since I read the latter. I may have to revisit them.
“alt-Victorian” Sorry, fat fingers. Sigh.
I’m hoping “all suggestions” is an umbrella that covers self-recs, but I’ll see myself out if not.
I’m an indie author by the name of Elizabeth Briars. Book one of my Regency Romance series, The Lady and The List is currently available and book two of The Steer Queer Series is coming soon (I’m eyeing November?).
The Steer Queer Series is, as the name suggests, a regency series centering LGBTQIA+ people as they would (and did) exist in 1800’s England.The Lady and The List follows a genderfluid MC as he navigates London season he doesn’t want. Meanwhile, his best friend from childhood is ghost writing the revival of Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies to cover the gambling debts of his late father.
Elizabeth Cole writes wonderful Regency romance and has quite a back catalogue with multiple series and is still writing (full disclosure: I’m her editor, but I’m also a picky reader and I love her books).
I’m currently rereading Erica Ridley’s Wild Wynchesters which I adore for the whole romp of it all. I second Rose Lerner and Mimi Matthews as well.
Oh, and Martha Keyes for sweet romances that are totally readable – a line that I find hard to walk. They aren’t Christian and it doesn’t feel like sex is being avoided.
I second Grace Callaway. Elisa Braden also writes great historicals set during the Regency, which are fairly spicy. I prefer her older Rescued from Ruin series, and her latest series is set in Scotland. Minerva Spencer writes under that name and also as S.M. LaViolette, and the LaViolette books are much spicier, including some that are straight up erotica.
On the closed door side, I’ve enjoyed many books by Mary Lancaster. There are tons to choose from, some of my favorites are her Crime & Passion series, which is romantic suspense/mystery, and her Imperial Season series, which is more lighthearted Georgette Heyerish romcom. She also has a few books with more on-page sex, you’ll be able to tell by the covers. And speaking of Heyerish, I’ve recommended Joyce Harmon’s Regency Charades series more than once here. They really are good, and deserve more love. Extremely funny and clever. She also has written a mystery series featuring Mary Bennet(from P&P) as the sleuth, which I have not tried yet.
Also worth checking out: Jessie Clever, Nichole Van, Bliss Bennet, Lucinda Brant(a bit earlier Georgian romance), Liana De la Rosa and Constance Hussey.
Yeah, as you can tell I read a lot of historicals.
I would recommend Aydra Richards, especially if you like a good grovel.
@SusanK: I’m interested! Is there a book or series you’d recommend starting with?
@Amanda: Exit, Pursued by a Baron was the first one I read and I ended up binge reading the rest of her books. Exit is the first book on The Beaumonts series and I would recommend that one or the Unconventional Ladies.
Mary Kingswood – closed door, often with a mystery to solve, characters are from a variety of classes
Jude Knight – can be a bit intense/angsty so I won’t read more than 1 or two in a row, but very interesting variety of scenarios (like nursing your husbands dying mistress)
Kathleen Buckley – very strong on mystery, later books are more like historical mysteries with a secondary romance, often working/middle class
Also: Felicity Niven, Jayne Davis, Stella Riley
Emily Windsor.
Jess Michaels was the first one that came to mind for me. She’s had plenty of series and I’ve enjoyed them.
Grace Burrowes, I believe self-publishes, with the exception of the Windham series. She’s regency and has written a LOT. New books are constantly coming out. I love her mysteries especially, they’re great.
Wow!!! I am blown away by the responses! Thank you so much! I love historicals but have been intimidated by the sheer volume of indie/self pubbed books and just never know where to even begin. This is an awesome start! Thank you! I’ll definitely be putting together a little something to be published on Smart Bitches. Maybe a few somethings with the sheer volume of options I have! Watch this space!
I just thought of another one: Anna Campbell’s old books were traditionally published, but her newer stuff is all self-published. I especially like her Christmas themed novellas, and there are lots of them!
Seconding the Gail Carriger books. The Parasol Protectorate starts with Soulless.
Also, Joy Demorra has written Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites. There are ‘spicy’ and ‘non-spicy versions. She also has content tags on her website:
http://Www.Joydemorra.com .
Strongly recommend books by Celia Lake, which range from post-WWII to the Victorian era. Her world of Albion (which overlays UK) is steeped in subtle magic; many of the stories are mysteries as well as romances between queer and MF characters. https://www.celialake.com
I’d highly recommend Emily Larkin who writes both magical and non-magical Regencies. Her magical series (the Baleful Godmother series) has the premise that an ancestor helped a Fae, and as result, every female direct descendent is granted the ability to ask for a magical power on her 25th birthday. In the first book, Unmasking Miss Appleby, for example, the FMC gains the ability to take on the shape of any living creature. As a disregarded poor relation, all she wants is to be able to make her own way in the world, so she promptly transforms into a young man and secures a job as a personal secretary to an Earl. It’s Regency cross dressing with a magical twist. All of her books feature remarkably likable characters acting like adults and solving problems usually with plenty of kindness.