Susan Leona Fisher, author of historical & contemporary romance - Blog

May 2020

5/11/2020

Contraception in the early 1800's

If it were understood that it was not disreputable for married persons to avail themselves of such precautionary means as would prevent conception, a sufficient check might be given to the increase of population beyond the means of subsistence.

This was written 200 years go in ‘Illustrations and Proofs of the Principle of Population’ published in 1822 by Francis Place, ‘the tailor of Charing Cross’ who was also a champion of workers’ rights.

Whatever our ethical/religious beliefs about birth control, these days it is a given, as is publicity on menstrual products in the media. Two hundred years ago such subject matter would have been deemed obscene, as would descriptions of how to prevent conception. In the UK, the established Church of England (and other denominations) disapproved of birth control as anti-biblical and those who disseminated such information were liable to be prosecuted.

This may sound a little serious as an inspiration for my latest Regency story, but I hope you will find it entertaining. The heroine, a baronet’s daughter, works amongst the poor in London and has a secret mission to help women prevent unwanted pregnancies to restrict the number of children they have. Naturally she gets into trouble when it’s found out, at the behest of a jealous lady.

‘His Philanthropic Lady’ is the 3rd book in the Regency Lady series (following His Haughty Lady and His Capricious Lady) and is due out on Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and print next month, a light, romantic diversion in the current stressful situation.

April 2020

3/28/2020

Weaving a tale
I know quite a few people who are using this period of enforced isolation to be creative in whatever way they can, writing or sharing poetry, composing music, cooking… In my case I unearthed a miniature weaving frame (my daughter’s as a child) and have begun a colourful piece which will end up as a small mat (hopefully). I’m not as clever as might first appear, since the wool itself is a variegated dye!
The task got me thinking of metaphor and exploring the parallels between weaving and writing novels.
At the simplest level, you’re creating something new and unique, although there will inevitably be similarities with something that’s been done before.
Before I could begin, I had to learn the language of weaving, the frame, the heddle, the shuttle, the warp and the waft and the function of each part. Then I had to set up the warp threads correctly. At last I began to slide the shuttle back and forth, alternately raising and then pressing down the heddle, ensuring I didn’t pull the yarn too tight or leave it too loose, a repetitive task which felt quite boring until the piece began to grow and the patterns emerged.
Not to labour the point, writing a novel has similar creative elements in the terminology and ‘rules’ of writing, in planning plot and characters, the hard grind of keeping on writing, and satisfaction as it takes shape. We also know how important it is to edit, edit and edit again. In the case of weaving that is rather a drastic task as it means undoing the whole thing and starting again, like the Winchester Cathedral Broiderers in Tracy Chevalier’s ‘A Single Thread’, or Penelope as she waited for Odysseus/Ulysses’ return. That legend inspired one of my novels, in which the heroine’s shawl features in various ways, including at one point being unravelled and reworked. It’s called ‘In for a Penny’ (yes, the heroine is of course Penelope), a somewhat racy and down-to-earth Victorian comedy about the development of the flushing toilet (in those early days when you went in for a 1d)!
Keep safe, keep smiling.

March 2020

3/17/2020

In the past month or so, I’ve been travelling all over the country for various family gatherings. Now, suddenly, being in that age group, my husband and I are being advised to stay at home in isolation. Our usual local activities have mostly ceased. More time for research and writing, yes, but also for thought.
How strangely apt that my research lately has been on population growth and attitudes to birth control in early nineteenth century Britain. No doubt you may have heard of Reverend Thomas Malthus, who published ‘An Essay on the Principle of Population’ in 1798. He argued that population expands in times of plenty until it becomes too big for the resources available for feeding it. He defined checks on population as ‘positive’ ones which raise death rate, such as hunger, disease and war, and ‘preventive’ ones which lower birth rate, such as abortion, birth control, prostitution, postponement of marriage and celibacy. Interestingly, however, he did not advocate birth control by artificial means (though others of the time did).
How apt is the following quote from this work for today:
‘Population must always be kept down to the level of the means of subsistence. Evil exists in the world not to create despair but activity. We are not patiently to submit to it, but to exert ourselves to avoid it. It is the duty of every individual to use his utmost efforts to remove evil from himself and from as large a circle as he can influence.
This research is background for my next Regency romance, ‘His Philanthropic Lady’, due to be published in the summer. In the present circumstances, it might well be sooner! Watch this space.
Good wishes to all readers and that you keep well and safe.

February 2020

2/20/2020

Have recently read ‘The Children Act’ by Ian McEwan and found it very absorbing as it took us into the work of a high court judge in the family division. It provided a behind the scenes view of how a legal decision is reached in the face of challenging moral dilemmas. The main focus of the story is the case of a seventeen-year-old boy from a family with strong religious beliefs, which the boy shares and which lead him, along with them, to refuse the blood transfusion that might save him.
It took me right back to the early 1960s when a film called ‘Life for Ruth’ went on general release (if you're under 60 I doubt you've heard of it, as apparently it was a box office flop, but with some good actors like Patrick McGoohan and Michael Craig). It was about a very similar issue and I went with a bunch of friends from secondary school to see it. The subject matter stayed with us for weeks and stimulated long discussions about the ethics of the situation. We were 12 going on 13.
It was to be over 25 years before the ‘Children Act 1989’ set in place safeguards to ensure the needs and welfare of the child were legally protected and separately represented. In ‘Life for Ruth’, the parents’ wishes took priority and the child’s right to survive was effectively ignored. At that time, if the parents disagreed, the father’s wishes took priority.

January 2020

1/2/2020

What does the reader expect?

I had occasion to consider readers’ expectations of an author’s work, following a conversation with a friend who’s read a number of my novels and was quite shocked when she came across a fairly explicit sex scene.

As a relatively new writer, I’ve challenged myself to try different types of writing, from light-hearted comedy (so hard!) to a serious, many-years-researched historical biography. I know some authors who choose to use different pen names for different types of writing and each name becomes a brand for a style and content in tune with readers’ expectations.

I haven’t done that, so I apologise to those readers who come across something they’d rather not read. Conversely I’ve also had feedback that a book wasn’t racy enough! Except for A Master of Speculation and A Master of Industry, my regency romances are what would be labelled “sweet” and there’s another on the way.

Watch out for the second Regency Lady novel, which should be available next month. As with my other regency books there is a link to a previous story. If you read Her Secret Ambassador you may remember Charlotte and Robert Fielding, two children on the same merchant vessel as Lady Penelope Derwent, heading for Gibraltar and the Mediterranean in 1817. Charlotte carries a book all about pirates, which Lady Penelope offers to read to them both. Fast forward ten years and we meet Charlotte again about to turn nineteen and setting out on an adventure that will change her life—and a few other people’s along the way, including the Duke of Abbeywell. It’s called His Capricious Lady.

Wishing you all an interesting and stimulating New Year of reading.

December 2019

12/5/2019

I haven’t published a novel with Christmas in the title but here’s a Christmas extract from my first regency novel A Master of Speculation:

Jack was not one for Christmas festivities. He had vague recollections from his early years of the traditions of the village in which he was raised until sent to stay with his first tutor at the age of seven. Having been at sea for most of his adult life, he did not miss what he did not know. But the staff here felt differently and under Mrs Thornhill’s authority, all was done in the fine traditions of the past. ’Tis only one hundred and fifty years since that despot Mr Cromwell took away our rights to a merry time at Christmastide, she had pronounced that first December. Now we have them back, we are duty bound to enjoy them.
So again, this year, the Yuletide log had been dragged to the house on Christmas Eve and placed in the large fireplace in the vestibule, along with some seasonal greenery. The log now gave a welcoming blaze of light and warmth, while two arrangements of laurel and holly sat beneath the two naval masterpieces by Birch. He had beautifully precise brushwork. Visitors did not recognise the artist, but how fitting to have portrayals of that huge sea battle of 1812 by an English émigré turned American citizen. He caught a whiff of rosemary as he passed through to the library to collect his two important letters and take them to the rider who would be waiting at the stables.
Later in the morning, Jack rode Clem over the hill to be present at the Christmas morning worship at the church in Wrighton. He went not out of a strict sense of faith but for appearances’ sake, and the rector’s living was in his gift, after all. More than half his staff was there, as well as most of the village. No doubt the rumours about Miss Fitzgerald were already spreading. Older villagers might well remember the scandal of the Wrighton daughter who bore a child and not be aware of the secret marriage. He wondered if the wet nurse was one of the villagers here today and whether the person who wrote that letter was still alive, almost 20 years on.

Read more, maybe treat yourself to the Kindle edition for Christmas. All good wishes for the festive season.

A Master of Speculation

November 2019

10/20/2019

Creating believable personalities in fiction.

One of my favourite love stories is Paul Gallico’s Love of Seven Dolls (pub 1954, so we’re going back somewhat). His two main characters are Mouche, a young innocent who’s lost all belief in life and thinks herself worthless, and Michel, a cynical survivor and user of women, who can only express his feelings through the 7 puppets he has created and operates. Their lives cross and she gradually develops inner strength and helps him to own his vulnerability and need.

So how does a writer create such characters to engage the reader and make them care about their fate? Lots of ways, I’m sure, including having them face challenges and giving them (hopefully redeemable) faults. I draw on a personality type theory called the Enneagram, which defines nine basic types, each of which has positive and negative aspects and suggests ways in which they might develop balanced, healthier traits.

Do you like male leads in male/female historical romances to be forceful, alpha male types? I guess I do because half my male leads are based on Enneagram number 8. This is defined as a forceful, confrontational, intimidating character who sees life as a power struggle and avoids displaying weakness. The theory suggests type 8 needs to discover a gentler side and commitment to helping others. What better way to do so than through encountering the right kind of woman? Examples include George Kemble in Rose Glace, James Forsyth in The Baronet’s Daughter and Matthew Harcourt in Her Secret Commission.

Interestingly, three of my female leads have also been based on type 8—Lady Olivia Charlton in Heiress to a Duke, Charlotte Milford in The Regiment’s Forgotten Daughter, and Lady Georgiana Fox in His Haughty Lady.

Search Enneagram for more information on the theory.

October 2019

9/26/2019

If you’ve been watching the dramatisation of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel Sanditon you will have seen the portrayal of a ‘gentry vs workers’ cricket match on the beach, in which a young woman takes the place of one of the gentry at the crease. This would have been unlikely, but all-women matches did take place at the time.

The earliest I’ve come across was held at Bosham (pronounced ‘Bozam’) in Sussex. Bosham was where Danish King Canute sat on a chair surrounded by his courtiers and commanded the waves to go back, but got his feet wet. It was also the port from which Harold set forth in 1064 to negotiate with William of Normandy, failing to prevent the Conqueror’s visit in 1066. Bosham also features in the Bayeaux tapestry and in the Doomsday book.

But there’s another claim to fame. In the summer of 1787 it hosted a female cricket match, a description of which was sent in to the Hampshire Chronicle. The editor declined to publish it on the grounds it was ‘by no means fit for publication’. However, 8 years later the same paper did publish an account of an all-female cricket match played by 11 young women of Marchwood against a visiting 11. They were all dressed in white with green or blue ribbons (quite decent, then).

Thereafter other similar events are mentioned with increasingly frequency into the 19th Century. They were often arranged between a team of local married ladies against one of single girls. In those days bowling was generally underarm and it has been suggested that overarm bowling became popular because of women players having difficulty delivering underarm bowls with their voluminous skirts getting in the way.

(thanks to the British Newspaper Archive for the above)

September 2019

8/25/2019

New! Regency Lady Series

If you liked HER SECRET BENEFACTOR, you’ll love the first in this new series. It’s the story of Tom, who you met briefly before. He was the stable boy at Wrighton House in A MASTER OF SPECULATION (first book in my Regency Master Series)

Fast forward ten years and Thomas Robertson has become a successful race horse trainer, much sought after by the nobility who make up the bulk of the racing fraternity. But his new boss, the Duke of Exford, has a supercilious daughter intent on making life difficult for him.
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HIS HAUGHTY LADY, first of the Regency Lady Series, out now for Kindle, KDP Select and paperback (see Home page for link)

August 2019

7/28/2019

Last month I joined about 250 others at the Romantic Novelists’ Association annual conference, a chance to network with other authors and hear from the publishing industry professionals who spoke on panels and in workshops. What did I learn? There was much to absorb, some of which is on the RNA blog (see link on Home page). With regard to trends in romantic fiction topics, it was said World War Two was much in vogue at present. So here are three of my recent reads which I recommend:
·         Cressida Connolly’s ‘After the Party’
·         L P Fergusson’s ‘A Dangerous Act of Kindness’
·         Michael Ondaatje’s ‘Warlight’
All very different but in all cases quite gripping with extremely well researched historical background.