Regency Reader Questions: Lesbians in the Regency

Regency Reader Question
Hello! I am currently researching to write a regency era lesbian romance. How scandalous would this be during the era? Would the two be able to conceal their love as being very close friends, especially if one or both ladies end up marrying men? Thank you!

Thanks for the question Kaylee!

There are a surprisingly lack of f/f Regencies, so I wish you successful! The only strictly f/f I was able to locate was Loving My Lady which I found to be gothic, problematically told in first person, and generally more stream of conscious than other true Regencies.  This blog reviewed  a couple of other f/f (http://lesbrary.com/tag/regency/) but you can see from the limited posts how few and far between lesbian Regencies are.

As a newbie to the genre, my best piece of general advice is to read broad and deep into the genre.  If you are planning on having sexual content (more than kisses) you will want to explore more contemporary/mass market or even erotic subsets of the genre.  I also think reading several of the classics (like Heyer) will also give you a good foundation to what the genre is all about.  I think the biggest mistake new Regency authors make is not reading the genre and really understanding the basic conventions.  That’s not to say you can’t bust them, or turn them on their head, but its great to understand what readers in particular like about the genre and keeps them coming back for more and more.  In other words, know the conventions and appreciate them before you attempt to invent something fresh and new.

Here is one authors slant on tropes: http://www.riskyregencies.com/2015/11/06/favorite-tropes/ (this blog is a great resource for all things Regency, too!)

I also have a page that lists books by plot that will also give you an insight to some of the common genre themes.

Here is a short and sweet post on conventions of the genre: http://eibhlin.com/regency/regency-romance-conventions-obligatory-scenes/

I also try, in most of my reviews, to talk about the ways authors successfully or unsuccessfully toy with conventions and tropes.  Start with some of the more recent Heyer reviews to see some discussion of these lovable aspects of the genre.

The array of human sexuality and gender identity certainly existed in the Regency, but was not as defined, widely understood, or accepted.  Its also important to understand that marriage, at least for the upperclass, was less about romantic love and more about property, wealth and progeny so that there were certainly cases of people marrying who were not only not in love with their spouse, but also oriented completely different than their marriage would suggest.

I have read instances of women pretending to be men to join the military, marry women, and escape the confines of their gender (https://www.geriwalton.com/husband-wives-and-gay-life-in-georgian/).  Accounts of lesbian women are more scarce, and difficult to source.

Risky Regencies (http://www.riskyregencies.com/2017/06/28/queer-in-the-regency-a-slice-of-once-hidden-lgbt-history/) has some great information about the topic and details one couple, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, who were known as the “Ladies of Llangollen” and scandalized Regency Society by setting up an establishment in Wales.  It was not an easy life, at least financially, and they depended heavily on the generosity of friends for their living.  Their home was noted as a refuge of sorts for other LBGT persons in need.

Being a lesbian wasn’t necessarily illegal, at least in the way homosexuality was (and prosecuted), but most often open lesbians lived on the fringes of society (http://georgianlondon.com/post/49247682730/the-kissing-girls-of-spitalfields-being-a-les).  Society had a hard time believing, or understanding, romantic love between two women and so more often than not these relationships were coded as friendships.

It would have been complicated for a single  woman to have a living and her own household, unless she was widowed, but there may have been circumstances where an heiress chose to have a companion and live with limited social interaction (“retired”).  Its also speculated that Queen Anne, for instance, had a long and “exclusive” friendship with her maid Abigail Masham in the 1700s (http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2012/02/great-loves-in-history-immoderate.html) so a lady’s maid and lady love affair probably happened a time or two.

Two married women would likely find it much easier to carry on a discreet affair masked as close friendship.  How that kind of circumstance or scenario results in an HEA is completely up to you!

For inspiration, I recommend you read a bit about Anne Lister (http://www.annelister.co.uk/) who  wrote extensive diaries detailing her love affairs with women.