Readers have asked me, "Why do you write about widows, especially in a romance?"
I chose to focus my Regency novella series, The Merry Widows, on young widows for several reasons. As opposed to a young miss who is seemingly (or
truly) innocent and ignorant about love and sex, a widow has
probably experienced these aspects of love and
marriage. Notice I wrote "probably". There were many arranged marriages
in those days, but putting marriage and sexual
relations aside for a moment, a widow offers the writer an opportunity to explore a nuanced life
-- multiple layers of experience, whether happy or sad or tragic, a
more complex character who knows her own mind more at 30+ years of age
than when she was a mere girl of 18 years or so. This opens up a vast field to play in, from the
writer's perspective, especially in terms of the growing relationship
with the hero.
Now the play of seduction
can go both ways. One of the most lusty widows in literary history is
Chaucer's Wife of Bath. She was not shy; she was bawdy and full of life. She had
survived some hard knocks, only to come back fighting. And she grew
powerful and rich through taking over her first husband's position in the
merchant's guild, a growing phenomenon for merchant women in the Middle Ages. The other two examples of the expansion of power for women at that time was the lady of the manor, who usually ran the castle in her husband's absence in the Holy Wars. Not all, but certainly quite a few. Author Maureen Ash creates a medieval mystery series, which features a strong Lady of the Manor and a retired Knight Templar. The third example would be women in the religious field. In a convent or abbey, women could learn to read, write, transcribe and illuminate manuscripts, as well as learn medicinal practices and such. A wonderful series of medieval mysteries was penned by Margaret Frazer in the 1990s and early 2000s. Sadly she died a few years ago, but her Dame Frevisse series lives on.
Which leads to my next reason to work with widows as
heroines. Sometimes a
widow retained power and wealth if her husband died and had left all or part of
his estate and holdings to her and his heirs. But if there were no heirs
and no male relations to step in and take control -- well, the good
woman could benefit and thrive. As in the case of two of my characters,
this was their experience. With land and money, there is little
pressure to marry again -- except for love and children, perhaps. Society on both sides of the
Channel was much more open to passion and a lust for life at this time. as the Regency years of England occurred within the larger framework of the
Romantic Era, a time that encouraged a much more emotional reaction to life and
nature -- Beethoven, Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, Lady Caro Lamb and
Lord Byron, J. M. W Turner, are just a few of the most emblematic of the
Romantics.
And
finally, a series based around young widows seemed natural in light of
the period -- England had been embedded in wars for many years -- the War
of 1812; the Napoleonic Wars and the subsequent Hundred Days War when
Napoleon escaped Elba and marched on Paris. During the Battle of
Waterloo, over15,000 British soldiers died or were maimed. So between the Army and the Navy, how many women lost their
husbands? One would think there would
have been a significant increase in the number of widows during those
years.
Nuance, texture, scope.
Widows as heroines make a fine mixture for a romance novel. They seek
affection, companionship, sexual relations and marriage just as single women do; if childless,
they hope for babes of their own. And maybe readers who are a bit tired of the
20-something virgins might find that the experienced widow adds
more depth to the novel, as well as a more satisfying HEA -- at least, that is my hope.
Stay tuned for an excerpt from the upcoming third novella of the series, due to release mid-November! Why not sign up for my newsletter here?
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