Elements in Lit 201: Historic Time Periods

Filed in BLI Features , Elements in Lit , The Quirky Lover Posted on November 9, 2011 @ 3:00 pm 8 comments

Welcome back class! With our Genres lessons having waned somewhat, I thought it was time to take a new approach in our bookish higher learning. So, today I introduce the new batch of lectures, looking at different elements in the books we read, from themes and literary terms to who knows what?

I thought we’d start by taking a look at the different times that appear in historical novels. These will be mostly featuring stories set in England for the moment, but as you’ll soon find out, time is truly relative to the places and subjects in the books. Grab your pencils and let’s get back to school!:

The most commonly heard time frame in historical romances is the Regency Romance. These novels are set during the British Regency and take place within the years 1811-1820. In England, this was a time when the king (George III) was deemed unable to rule and his son acted in place of him. There are also mentions of the Regency period extending from 1795-1837, when discussing literature and architecture.

For literature at this time, it seems Jane Austen was the trend setter for the elements contained in a Regency novel. Things like carriage rides, balls, seasonal activities are just a few of the common elements (a more complete list can be seen here.) I think this was a very stringent time, when the class differences and social formalities were at their highest. Other writers of  the Regency  themed novel include Georgette Heyer and Mary Balogh. In other areas of the world, the broad Regency time include the French Revolutionary  and the Napoleonic Wars.

The Victorian period is another common time in historical novels and is aptly named for Queen Victoria. It encompassed the years 1837-1901, falling in immediately after the larger of the two Regency definitions. The Victorian time was an interesting one when you think about the types of novels produced: Frankenstein, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Sherlock Holmes, to name a few. The Victorian era contained gothic novels, the wide publication of mystery, and saw the move from romanticism to aestheticism (I’ll have to do a glossary of terms lesson soon too 😉

I find it interesting that the Victorian era is equated with the Steampunk movement. In a steampunk novel, there’s always a lot of action involved, but the fashion at the time, especially for women, still didn’t allow for much freedom of movement. (For a look at Victorian fashions, check out this website: Victorian Age Clothing.)

Other popular time periods include: The Tudor era, 1485-1603 (The Other Boleyn Girl, among many others are set during this time). The Elizabethan era, 1558-1603; Elizabeth being the last in the Tudor line was also included in the Tudor era. Anything by Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Ben Jonson was written during Elizabeth’s Reign. Between 1066 and 1204, it was the Norman era and can claim works from Geoffrey of Monmouth, as well as the tale of Tristan and Iseult. Not too shabby, right?

For a more comprehensive list of the different eras, you can click here.

Did you learn anything new? What are your favourite times to read about? What are your favourite novels set within these eras?

About Jackie


Jackie is a quirky mom, living in Ontario, Canada. She's a bookkeeper by day and a book lover by night. She also blogs at The Novel Nation and writes occasionally for Heroes and Heartbreakers.

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8 Comments

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  • Sullivan McPig November 9, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    I got a soft spot for both Regency and Victorian age romances because of the costumes and weird social rules and such.

    My favorite book: Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter (come on: it has zombies!!! )

  • Stella (Ex Libris) November 9, 2011 at 4:57 pm

    Jackie, thank you, thank you so much! 😀 Loved it!!

    I love historicals set during Regency, Victorian and Edwardian times. Would like to read some set around the American Civil War or the years before that in the great pompe.

    Thank you once again, loved this week's lesson and can't wait for the next one! 🙂

  • Susan November 9, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    Great post, and I *did* learn something when I clicked on one of the links. I knew about the civil unrest in Regency times, but had never heard specifically about the Peterloo Massacre. I think I need to do some studying up!

    I started out with medievals, then Georgians, Victorians, and finally Regencies. Basically, I like historicals and romances from all different time periods/regions of the world.

    I, too, would like to read more American Civil War novels. I've read a few, but there don't seem to be as many as I would have expected. (BTW, Amanda Foreman has a new non-fiction book out about England's role in the Civil War–it's called A World on Fire. It's on my wish list.)

    Loved the genre lessons, and look forward to more literary/history lessons. Thanks!

  • Aurian November 10, 2011 at 1:58 pm

    I love all kinds of historicals, be they regency or victorian, medieval or even older. The time period is not that important to me, the characters and story are.

  • Sullivan McPig November 10, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    @Stella:
    You should try The Widow of the South
    http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71622.The_Widow_of_the_South

    A very interesting and intriguing story, although I will confess I didn't like the main character

  • Stella (Ex Libris) November 10, 2011 at 4:05 pm

    Thank you Sully, will check it out! 🙂

  • Sheree November 10, 2011 at 6:29 pm

    Thanks for the info and the links!

    Even though most of the historicals I read are Regencies, I also like Edwardians, but I blame P. G. Wodehouse for that. 😀

  • LSUReader November 10, 2011 at 10:00 pm

    I love Historical Romances. I enjoy reading books set during different time periods.

    Good post; thanks for the info.

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