Regency Rakes Meet Victorian Scandal

Regency Rakes Meet Victorian Scandal

Regency romance — the kind with rakes, wallflowers, and ballroom intrigue — hit its publishing stride in the 1990s and 2000s, anchored by authors like Julie Anne Long, Caroline Linden, and Suzanne Enoch. These aren't Austen adaptations; they're original historical romances set roughly 1811–1820 (the Prince Regent's tenure), though some authors blur into early Victorian territory (1837 onward). The formula: sharp dialogue, slow-burn tension, and protagonists navigating scandal, inheritance crises, and the marriage market. This round-up pulls from Patina's current preloved stock — mass-market paperbacks and trade editions that pair well with winter nights and a glass of red.
  • The Regency period in Britain spanned 1811–1820, when George III's illness left his son ruling as Prince Regent.
  • Julie Anne Long's Pennyroyal Green series, which includes Between the Devil and Ian Eversea (2012), follows the feuding Eversea and Redmond families across eight novels.
  • Caroline Linden published Love in the Time of Scandal in 2015 as part of her Scandal series, which explores reputation, blackmail, and second chances.
  • Suzanne Enoch's An Invitation to Sin (2007) and The Handbook to Handling His Lordship (2015) both feature heroines using scandal as a tool rather than a disaster.
  • Vivienne Lorret's Misadventures in Matchmaking series, starting with How to Forget a Duke (2017), centres on women wielding unconventional skills — indelible memory, cartography, forensic observation — in the marriage market.
  • Nicola Cornick's One Wicked Sin (2010) examines fallen women and male privilege in Regency London, leaning darker than the genre average.

Between the Devil and Ian Eversea — Julie Anne Long

Ian Eversea is the Pennyroyal Green sibling most likely to wreck his life on purpose, and this time he's outdone himself. A scandal threatens to sink him, so he strikes a desperate bargain with the one woman immune to his charm: a pragmatic widow who needs a husband in name only. Long writes rakes with actual vulnerability — Ian's recklessness masks something more complicated — and the verbal sparring here is sharper than most. The mass-market format means you can toss it in a bag without worrying about spine creases. Explore our current copy of Between the Devil and Ian Eversea or browse more Romance books at Patina.

The Wallflower's Mistletoe Wedding — Amanda McCabe

A wallflower, a Christmas house party, and one very strategic sprig of mistletoe — McCabe gives you exactly what you came for. The heroine isn't waiting for rescue; she's orchestrating her own happily-ever-after with precision and a decent sense of humour. McCabe's historical details feel lived-in rather than Wikipedia'd — the Regency Christmas traditions, the country house dynamics, the way women navigated limited choices with creativity. This is comfort reading that doesn't insult your intelligence. Explore our current copy of The Wallflower's Mistletoe Wedding or browse more Romance books at Patina.

Love in the Time of Scandal — Caroline Linden

Penelope Weston's problem isn't just scandal — it's a compromising letter in the wrong hands and a shrinking list of allies. Enter Benedict Frost, the last man she should trust and the only one positioned to help. Linden's strength is making the stakes legible: reputation in Regency England wasn't abstract, it determined your access to money, marriage, and survival. The romance unfolds as both characters reassess what they thought they knew about each other, and the pacing doesn't drag. Mass-market paperback means this one's built for re-reading. Explore our current copy of Love in the Time of Scandal or browse more Romance books at Patina.

An Invitation to Sin — Suzanne Enoch

Caroline Witfeld just inherited a fortune, making her the Season's most dangerous woman — not because she's looking for a husband, but because she's not. She wants revenge, and Enoch writes her as competent, calculating, and refreshingly uninterested in redemption arcs. The male lead has to work for it, which is rarer in the genre than it should be. Enoch's dialogue crackles, and the ballroom intrigue feels like actual strategy rather than set dressing. This is the second book in a series, but it stands alone fine. Explore our current copy of An Invitation to Sin or browse more Romance books at Patina.

The Handbook to Handling His Lordship — Suzanne Enoch

Lady Emily Portsman has one season to save her family estate by marrying well, which is unfortunate because she's terrible at playing the demure debutante. Enter Nathaniel Stokes, a newly minted lord who earned his title through merit rather than birthright — a rarity in Regency fiction and a dynamic Enoch exploits well. Their banter has bite, and the class tension is more than window dressing. Emily's pragmatism about the marriage market makes her a more compelling heroine than the usual "spirited" types who act shocked that money matters. Explore our current copy of The Handbook to Handling His Lordship or browse more Romance books at Patina.

How to Forget a Duke — Vivienne Lorret

Jacinda Bourne has an indelible memory — she recalls every moment of her life in perfect detail, including the one night she needs to forget. The duke in question also needs to move on, which sets up a slow-burn romance complicated by the fact that neither can quite let go. Lorret's premise is clever — giving a heroine a superpower-adjacent skill in a genre that usually defaults to "spirited but conventional" — and she doesn't waste it. This is the first in the Misadventures in Matchmaking series, which pairs unconventional women with men who underestimate them. Explore our current copy of How to Forget a Duke or browse more Romance books at Patina.

What a Woman Needs — Caroline Linden

Sophie Campbell's engagement imploded, her estate is crumbling, and she's done tolerating incompetent men — which makes James Lindeville's arrival both a solution and a problem. Linden writes Sophie as a woman who's already exhausted her patience for charm, so James has to prove himself through actual competence. The romance builds on mutual respect rather than misunderstanding, which feels refreshingly adult. The estate-management subplot isn't just filler — it's the lens through which both characters reveal who they actually are. Explore our current copy of What a Woman Needs or browse more Romance books at Patina.

One Wicked Sin — Nicola Cornick

Lottie Palliser was a lady until scandal stripped her of title, fortune, and respectability — now she's a courtesan who needs a favour from the one man she can't afford to want. Cornick leans darker than most Regency romance, tackling fallen women, male privilege, and the mechanics of survival with less gloss than genre conventions usually allow. Lottie isn't redeemed by love; she's navigating a society that punished women for the same behaviour it rewarded in men. The romance is there, but it's threaded through a sharper critique of Regency morality. Explore our current copy of One Wicked Sin or browse more Romance books at Patina. These are the Regency romances worth holding onto — preloved mass-market paperbacks with creased spines and dog-eared pages, the kind you read curled up when the Sydney winter nights stretch long. As of May 2026, Patina's romance collection rotates through dozens of historical titles, but these eight offer the sharpest dialogue, the most competent heroines, and the least patience for feckless rakes who don't do the work. Shop all Romance books at Patina Paperbacks →

Where can I buy secondhand Regency romance novels in Sydney?

Patina Paperbacks stocks rotating preloved historical romance titles — Regency, Victorian, and Georgian-era — online, with free shipping Australia-wide over $29. As of May 2026, the collection includes authors like Julie Anne Long, Caroline Linden, and Suzanne Enoch. You can browse the full Romance collection on the site.

What's the difference between Regency and Victorian romance novels?

Regency romances are set during the British Regency period (1811–1820), when George III's son ruled as Prince Regent. They lean into ballroom intrigue, strict social codes, and the marriage market. Victorian romance spans Queen Victoria's reign (1837–1901) and tends toward industrialisation, empire, and slightly looser social mobility. Many authors blur the boundaries — Suzanne Enoch and Caroline Linden both write across eras — so "Regency-era" in modern publishing often means "vaguely early 19th century with empire-waist gowns."

Are Julie Anne Long's Pennyroyal Green books connected?

Yes, but they're designed to stand alone. The series follows two feuding families — the Everseas and the Redmonds — across multiple generations in a small English town. Between the Devil and Ian Eversea is book 5 of 8, but each novel centres a different sibling or relative, so you won't be lost jumping in mid-series. Long writes recurring characters and running jokes, so reading in order adds layers, but it's not required.

Who should I read if I like Georgette Heyer but want more heat?

Try Caroline Linden, Suzanne Enoch, or Nicola Cornick. Heyer pioneered the Regency romance in the 1920s–1970s with witty, chaste novels focused on manners and dialogue. Linden and Enoch carry that sharp banter forward but add explicit sex scenes and deeper emotional arcs. Cornick's One Wicked Sin goes darker, tackling fallen women and moral double standards Heyer rarely addressed. All three write historically grounded worlds without sacrificing the romance.

What makes a "wallflower" heroine different in Regency romance?

In Regency terms, a wallflower is a woman the marriage market overlooked — too shy, too plain, too poor, or too old (past 25 was "on the shelf"). Modern Regency romance flips the trope: wallflowers are often the smartest women in the ballroom, observing rather than performing. Amanda McCabe's The Wallflower's Mistletoe Wedding and Vivienne Lorret's How to Forget a Duke both feature heroines who weaponise being underestimated. The appeal is watching them outmanoeuvre the rakes who thought charm alone would win.

Back to blog