Marry in Scarlet! An Interview with Anne Gracie

Interviewed by Mary Jo

Marry in Scarlet, the long awaited final book in Anne Gracie's Marriage of Convenience Series, has arrived, and it's great.  As Publishers Weekly says in its review, "George is an admirable heroine and the chemistry between her and Hart is magnetic."

Lady Georgiana, the wild child niece of the Rutherford clan, has come to value the family she didn't know she had, but she still prefers to be called George and likes her giant wolfhound, Finn, and her magnificent stallion Sultan more than most humans.  She also has no desire to lose her independence by marrying, but the social pressure is building

Anne, you've included clever and appropriate quotes from Jane Austen as chapter headers (how do you find such perfect snippets?), and as I read Marry in Scarlet for the second time, I realized that it could easily be named Pride and Prejudice. What do you think?

AG: It hadn't occurred to me, but you're right; like Jane Austen's classic, both pride and prejudice play their role in the hero and heroine's attitudes. He doesn't trust women, she doesn't trust men. And they both have their fair share of stubborn pride. 

Not that the plot is in any way similar. Unlike Austen's heroines, Lady George has no need to marry — she will come into a handsome fortune when she turns twenty-five, so the only pressure on her to marry comes from society — and her elderly, interfering great-aunt.

As for the Austen snippets at the start of each chapter, over the years I've made a collection — pages and pages of possible quotes sorted under headings. I also have all of Austen's novels and a collection of her letters on .pdf, and so I can search them easily using keywords. It's quite a lot of fun, finding a snippet to go with the events of each chapter.

 

MJP: George is a splendid character: passionate, freed-spirited, and with an unladylike bluntness.  Can you tell us more about her? 

AG:  Thanks. I loved George. She's one of those characters who sprang from the page in the first book in the series, Marry In Haste. (French actress Audrey Tautou looks like I imagine George.)

George grew up desperately poor in a rural cottage, with just an elderly retainer to care for her. With no family and no idea that she was the legitimate daughter of an earl, she grew up unruly and untamed—a law unto herself. George has no desire to marry, because if she did, by law, the fortune she's due to inherit would belong to her husband. She trusts horses and dogs more than she trusts men, and wants to retain her independence.

She's intelligent, is haphazardly self educated (by reading all kinds of books),  animals, is a brilliant rider—with no respect for sidesaddles—and is fiercely honest, outspoken and honorable.

She comes as a bit of a shock to the duke, whose lifetime experience of women is that they lie, manipulate and deceive to get their way. 

MJP: George and Hart, the arrogant young Duke of Everingham, start out pretty much despising each other, but there is this blazing, mutually unwelcome attraction.  Hart must have been a real challenge to write because, like Darcy, he is initially stiff and not terribly likable.  Tell us more about Hart and how you transformed him into a wonderful Gracie hero.

AG: Thank you. At the start Hart is a classic, cold, arrogant, alpha hero of the kind I don't much like. I thought George and he would clash beautifully, and they do. <g>  (I think Hart looks like British model David Gandy.)

But the more I thought about Hart, the more I saw the seeds of redemption in him. Yes, he's deeply cynical — about life and especially about women — but as you learn about his early life, it becomes less surprising that he's arrogant and cold. It's partly upbringing, and partly a protective device. His mother uses any means she can to get her own way. And having inherited the title at a young age, Hart early became accustomed to being courted for his title and influence.

His default assumption is that women lie—and why not? They always have to him. So George, with her blunt honesty and fierce sense of honor and loyalty comes as a shock, and it takes him a while to recognize that in her. And when he does—he surprises himself, and George—and, I hope, the reader. 

MJP: Can you give us a sample bit of text?

AG:  Yes, of course. Here is George, dancing with the duke.

It felt as though every eye in the ballroom was on them.

She couldn’t wait for the dance to be over.

“I suppose you’re used to it, all this attention,” she commented as they came together in a movement. It was polite, after all, to make conversation. Not that he was bothering.

His shoulder moved in the barest hint of an indifferent shrug.

“So disheartening,” she said, “seeing that after all these years of civilization, and for all our so-called sophistication, most people are still no better than the ancient Romans, gawking at a spectacle, hoping for blood—or scandal.”

A dark eyebrow rose. “Lions and Christians?” he said when they came together again.

“Yes.”

His eyes glinted. “And which would you class me as — lion or Christian?”

“Oh, neither.” The dance separated them, and when the steps reunited them, his brow rose in a silent prompt.

“You’d be the emperor, above it all, looking down your long nose at the struggles of the mere mortals, untouched. Uncaring. Indifferent.”

His eyes narrowed.

 There are other short excerpts here and here. 

MJP:  Can you tell us something about what you're working on now?

AG: I'm working on the first book in a "matchmaker" series. The first book is about a reluctant matchmaker, and in this story there will be a double romance — a young couple and a slightly older couple. I can't say much more than that.

MJP: Marry in Scarlet is available in paperback, e-book, and audio. (Audiobook cover is to the right.) Will there be a book giveaway?

AG: Definitely.  Thank you, Mary Jo, for taking the time to read Marry In Scarlet and for interviewing me.

MJP: Anne, this was entirely my pleasure!  Now lead me to the comfy seat behind the palms. <G>

AG: I'll give a copy of Marry In Scarlet (or if the winner prefers the first book in the series instead of the last, Marry In Haste) to someone who leaves a comment or answers one or more of these questions by midnight Thursday:

Do you like to dance?

Have you ever danced Regency-style dances?

Which would you prefer,  a dance, or a comfy seat behind the potted palm where you could watch?

Happy reading!

Mary Jo

 

Comments

[Kathy Roslasky]

I would definitely prefer a comfy seat behind the potted palm and just watch everybody else. Not a dancer!

[Patricia Franzino]

I am a competitive ballroom dancer - International Standard. I joined a meetup to experience Scottish Country Dancing from the Regency. It was fun but each dance was too similar, so it was difficult to distinguish one from another and to know what the next movement was going to be.

I danced English Country as well at the Morgan Library during the time they had an exhibit of Jane Austen's letters and other items. It was fascinating to see a cross-written letter. I could actually read both lines clearly.

After all the dancing, I would like to grab a seat behind a potted palm to watch other dancers to see who I'd like to dance with next.

[Vicki L]

Yes but I've never done much dancing because my friends don't dance! For a while I was involved with a church group that was really into Carolina shag dancing and that was when I danced. Such fun! I actually got pretty good at it. But then I got married to a non-dancer. Moved. New group of friends...not dancers. Oh well.

If it was a fun dance I'd love to do it. If it was a complicated, boring one, I'd be perfectly happy sitting behind the palms and watching people because I also LOVE people watching! But I'd need someone to talk with while sitting back there.

[Karlene]

I'd prefer a lively dance rather than sitting behind a potted palm!

[Betsy S]

I’d like to dance but the spirit is willing and the knees no longer are 😉

[Helen]

Ladies

What a fabulous interview :)

I loved this book George was my favourite from the start of the series and her story ended the series just so beautifully, I loved her strength and character and Hart he was hard in the start but mellowed to a gorgeous hero and him and George are so good together, I loved it from start to finish and the epilogue is the best.

I am really looking forward to a new series it sounds awesome can't wait

Have Fun

Helen

[Mary M.]

Not a dancer, no desire to sit behind anything, but a stroll around the dance floor with a witty (or challenging) gentleman would suit me fine. If he needed taking down a peg, well, that could be fun. If he took me down a peg, and I found I'd needed that, so much the better. Game On!

[Mike]

Not an answer to your questions but I just want to point out that the second of the two "here" links to extracts does not work. It appears that a string of extraneous text has been added before the correct part of the link address.

[Anne Gracie]

That's exactly what those seats and potted palms are for, Kathy — and waiters circulating, bringing refreshments.

[Anne Gracie]

Patricia, how wonderful. I don't think you'll get a chance to sit behind the potted palm — the gentlemen will be lining up to dance with you!

[Anne Gracie]

Oh you'd definitely need someone to talk to, Vicki. But I think you might enjoy the country dances — some of them are not too hard, and everyone helps everyone else keep up, and if you mess it up, it's no drama, just a laugh. Back in the day I took "bush dancing" at lunchtime with schoolgirls, and many of those "bush" dances were much the same as Regency-era country dances.

[Anne Gracie]

Excellent, Karlene — join the fun-lovers on the dance floor, and may all your partners be charming.

[Janice Layton dunlap]

I love to dance, I have danced the waltz many times,when I was young there were many night clubs, bars and ball rooms where you could go to dance and meet new people, it has been years since they were common, I think,disco killed them. I would not want to sit behind a palm tree would want to,dance. I hated high school,dances, I rarely got asked dance, I was too tall,shy and athletic, did not permit the boys to beat me in tennis or baseball, I came into,my own in college, there were still,some guys who objected to a girl besting them in tennis but that was their problem not mine. My husband was routinely beaten in tennis and cards but he had enough self assurance to accept that it didn't diminish him.

[Anne Gracie]

Oh dear, Betsy, those knees . . . There might be a few dances you can practically walk, and won't need to skip, hop or bounce (heaven forbid-- bouncing on the dance floor? Shock, horror!) But there will be champagne and crab patties and delicious little cakes.

[Anne Gracie]

Thank you so much, Helen — and thank you for your lovely review. I was a bit worried readers would dislike Hart at the start —he was a tough nut to crack — but by the end, he really redeemed himself by the end, I think. Or at least I hope so.
Thank you for visiting the Word Wenches.

[Anne Gracie]

Thank you Mike. I'll see if Mary Jo can fix it when she wakes up. It should be https://www.annegracie.com/a-snippet-of-marry-in-scarlet-for-mothers-day/

[Mary Preston]

I am a terrible dancer, but it can still be fun.

[Sharon Seymour]

I like to dance but I’m not a very good dancer. I’ve never danced a Regency dance. I would be happy with a comfy seat behind the potted palm and watch the dancing.

[Enisa Haines]

Gorgeous interview, Anne. Am looking forward to reading Marry in Scarlet. Next on my TBR pile (jumped the queue 😁). Re dancing, not very good at it, I will admit, though I am good at Bosnian folklore dancing. Can't not be, having danced this since toddler age.

[Pamela DG]

I do like to dance, but I prefer the 1860s style dances. Reels, Spanish Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Polkas, etc. My husband and I were reenactors and loved grabbing the modern wall-flowers and leading them into the fun. But now as a seven year survivor of heart surgery, I'll take a seat with the chaperones and enjoy the scenes that unfold.

[Maryellen Webber]

I would love to learn the waltz, however both my husband and I have 2 left feet! An enjoyable interview, I will definitely put this series on my list. Your new matchmaking series sounds really good!!

[Anne Gracie]

Ooh, Mary -- banter, witty conversation and a bit of verbal fencing with a charming gentleman or three! What fun.

[Anne Gracie]

Janice, I think you're right. I loved to watch my parents and their generation dancing. They moved together with such grace and style, developed over years of dancing with each other at least once a week, if not more often.

I have a couple of friends who had that tall, shy and athletic problem — they ended up playing "the man" at school dances when there were no boys to supply dance partners. And two of them have now joined dance clubs — and there's a shortage of men, so they still end up dancing the man's role.
And yes, it's the sign of a real man who doesn't feel diminished by a talented woman.

[Anne Gracie]

You're right, Mary — I think the key is to forget about being perfectly correct, and just have a go, and have fun.

[Anne Gracie]

Sharon, I suspect you might enjoy Regency dancing. It's not as hard as many people think. But the potted palm has its charms as well, I agree.

[Anne Gracie]

Enisa, I'm sure you'd take to Regency dancing like a duck to water. I remember when I was a young thing and travelled to Macedonia with a school friend, the women of her village taught me to dance, but it took me a while to catch the beat, which was quite different from the music I was used to. I'm sure some of them thought I was mentally deficient, as I stumbled around trying to get the hang of it, because after all, even the three and four year olds could do it better. LOL

Thanks so much for buying my book.

[Anne Gracie]

Pamela the reels were around in the Regency, so I'm sure you'd be right at home. And perhaps instead of being overly energetic, you could call the dances, and only retire to the chaperones' seats for a cool drink and a breather. And perhaps a little gossip.

[Anne Gracie]

Maryellen, a couple of friends of mine have the same problem — two left feet — but they joined a dance club on their own, and discovered they didn't have the foot problem, it was their menfolk. LOL

[Christina Courtenay]

I tried Regency dancing at an RNA conference in the UK once and it was surprisingly difficult! A lot of bumping into each other and getting the steps wrong but it was huge fun. I love dancing, always have, and if I got whisked back to Regency times for any reason, I think I'd stick to the waltz or the lively country dances. So looking forward to reading George's story!

[Glenda M]

I'm not big on dancing, however the closest to Regency dance I've done is the modern waltz. I so think I'd be most comfortable behind a potted palm - or any large plant for that matter.

[Britney]

I LOVE to dance, but fell in love with someone who doesn't. Oh well, he is handsome, charming, and funny so I still love him❤

Excited to read George's story! Love your books Anne Gracie!

[Charlotte Smith]

I would sit behind the potted palms and watch. I have two left feet and very little rhythm so I would crush my partners toes. Needless to say I have never danced a regency dance.

[Annette N]

There was a time, when I was younger, when I went dancing every weekend. I danced with a guy who went to high school at the same time and place as I did. In school we did not really know one another. When friends introduced us, we found we both liked to dance.

He was a very good dancer and the things I did not know, he taught me. We had a wonderful time dancing together.

The Lerner and Loewe song, "I Could Have Danced All Night" was my theme song. Then, my partner talked about wedlock and I realized, I loved to dance with him, but not for the rest of my life.

Alas, that was the end of my dancing adventure. Mr Wonderful thought he was a good dancer. He was not.

But, at this point in my life, I would be behind the palms, in the shadows and in a corner. Probably facing the wall, with tears in my eyes, because I wish I could still do what I formerly did.

[Andrea Penrose]

WONDERFUL interview and excerpt, Anne and Mary Jo. I've been waiting (impatiently) for George's story!

[wendy]

I would take the comfy seat behind the potted palm. with refreshments please.

[Robin]

I don't have two left feet. However, my brain flips back and forth between here and a parallel mirror universe where right is left and left is right . . . I do love to dance, as long as I have a tolerant partner.
I did Renaissance dancing in college and would love a chance at some of the slower Regency dances and a waltz or two. I have lined up some patterns and fabric to make a gown just in case!

I used to peak between the balusters at my grandmother's parties and so felt an immediate kinship to George. Love your books and really looking forward to George's story

[Kareni]

Thanks for a wonderful post! I think I'd prefer a seat near the palms; it appears that there would be a lively crowd there with whom to converse while nibbling on crab patties.

[Beverly Abney]

I loved to dance when I was younger and a chance to do it Regency style would have been lovely, but now-a-days the comfy corner would suit.
My copy of Marry in Scarlet came yesterday and I will probably read it tomorrow.
I am looking forward to it.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Lobster patties and champagne, yes!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Mike, thanks for spotting this! I put the final blog blog together rather late last night, and I didn't check that link. It's fixed now.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Christina, you will NOT be disappointed in George and Hart's story!!!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Glenda M, many interesting things can transpire behind the potted palms.... *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Britney, no mate has EVERYTHING. It sounds like you have the most important parts. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Charlotte, give the dancing a try! Regency slippers are very lightweight, so you won't do much damage.. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Annette, it's hard to lose something something we love. But I think better to have danced before than never to have danced at all.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Wendy, you will have a lot of very fine company--and refreshments!--behind the palms!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Robin, you join many Regency little girls in peeking through the balusters! And I've read that a majority of women have trouble with right and left. I am one of them. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Kareni, behind-the-palms is going to be so much fun that many of the best men will be joining you there!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Beverly, you will have a GREAT day tomorrow!

[Virginia Campbell]

George is my kind of heroine! Due to health reasons, I am now just a "spirit dancer". One last actual dance would be lovely.

[Sue McCormick]

I believe I am among the majority in choosing the comfy corner; I danced (not well, but with enjoyment) in my teens, but neither of my husbands danced, so I've forgotten how. Anyway, observering is all i have energy for these days.

[Pat Dupuy]

In my younger days I was very self conscious so wouldn't get out there and dance much. Now I'm older and wiser and enjoy making a fool of myself on the dance floor. I figure I can't possibly be a worse dancer than my husband whose sense of rhythm is peculiar to be polite about it.

[Margaret]

Ha! I love to dance, but the best stories in romance almost always revolve around the on-the-shelf wallflowers who hover by the plants. I've never experienced Regency-style dance, but it's always fun to read about. I can't wait to read your newest, Anne!

[Janet Murdoch]

Thank you Anne for all your previous books but I think this one is the one I am looking forward to the most!!! I would sit behind the potted plant but I wouldn't be watching I would be reading! I just want to say how much I enjoy your incredible ability to mix humour and poignancy in your stories - I have laughed and cried in each and every one trusting you to make it alright in the end. Will be buying this one to add to my Anne Gracie collection!

[Margot]

Thanks for the interview Anne and Mary Jo.
My book is on the way to me as I preordered it and I look forward to reading it. I look forward to read how George progresses in socializing - she has stuck to her ways and I am happy she did. Now to meet her suitor. I just got waylaid looking at photos of David Gandy who you suggest resembles her man. It will be nice to visualize him when I read it.
I loved to dance folk dances when I was younger, my love has gone before me so not being able to share a dance with him I would rather watch.
(I have all your books so no need to be picked)

[Anne Gracie]

Christina, I can imagine it would be pretty tricky with a whole group of people learning a dance at once. A recipe for chaos, but also lots of fun. A friend of mine, who's a bit of a fitness freak, did some regency dancing at a conference and said she came away from it exhausted. She said each dance lasted almost half an hour. So that's how Regency ladies stayed fit _ not just walks and horse rides, but dances that were as good as an aerobics workout.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Genda. I believe the modern waltz isn't quite the same as the Regency-era version, but potted palms and large glossy plants remain very similar. Regency-era camouflage, set up for Regency-era gossip

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks so much, Britney. I hie you enjoy George and the duke. Several friends of mine have lovely husbands who won't dance. It's a shame, I think. My parents' generation all danced — it was how you met girls — and watching them dance when they were old, so attuned to each others movements, was such a lovely sight.

[Anne Gracie]

Annette, I'm with Mary Jo -- sounds like you had a wonderful period of brilliant dancing and the memories will remain. And you'll be dancing in your heart still.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks so much Andrea.

[Anne Gracie]

Champagne and your choice of crab patties or cream cakes coming right up, ma'am.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks so much, Robin. And I think dancing with a man who knows his stuff can make a graceful dancer out of all of us. I remember as a young girl, attending weddings in the country, where they always did a barn dance (a progressive circular dance where the ladies were passed on to a new man every few minutes) — a great way of getting to know people. I remember the first time, I stumbled along, not knowing what I was doing, and then, suddenly I was swirling and swooping in perfect time, and Oh! I could dance. It was glorious. And then I moved to my next partner, a young boy my own age, and it was back to stumbling around. LOL

[Anne Gracie]

Kareni, I suspect there's going to be quite a crowd there — and lots to talk about.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks so much, Beverly. I hope you find a comfy corner and enjoy George and Hart's story.

[Anne Gracie]

Virginia, what a lovely way to put it — spirit dancer. I hope you do get to dance one last time — it need not be frenetic, just slow and lovely.

[Anne Gracie]

Sue, I think there's going to be a veritable crowd in the comfy corner, and possibly all the best talk is going to happen there, not to mention the refreshments being diverted there — the waiters are going to be flat out. It is a shame when ladies love to dance and husbands don't. I think in a lot of cases the men never learned properly and so don't like to feel out of their comfort zone.

[Anne Gracie]

That's the spirit, Pat. I used to be very self-conscious of dancing, too, not feeling confident and sure I'd make mistakes. I'm from a generation that was never taught to dance, and rarely had the opportunity to learn -- it was all free form. But now I don't care, and the fun far outweighs the mistakes.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Margaret. For me, one of the signs of a hero in a book — though not necessarily THE hero — is a man who invites a wall flower to dance. It shows he has a heart.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks so much for that lovely comment, Janet, and thank you for buying my books. I hope you enjoy George and her duke, and I hope you enjoy the little scene at the end, which is not the usual sort of epilogue.

[Mary T]

I'm just a so-so dancer. I do love watching dancing (professional dancers) though.

So looking forward to this book. Great series!

[Anne Gracie]

Thank you Margot. And yes, George remains herself, but she also grows. I hope you enjoy her story.

Those photos of David Gandy are quite something, aren't they? When I saw that one that we linked to in the interview, I just knew he was my duke in his riding gear.

One of the fun things about folk dances is that you get to dance with all kinds of different partners. A nice way to socialize.

[Anne Gracie]

Thank you, Mary. Professional dancing is fabulous to watch, but I think dancing, so-so or not is more fun. And that's coming from someone who never did learn to dance properly, but has had years of enormous fun doing "bush dancing" which is a lot like some of the Regency dances.

[Karin]

I can't wait to read "Marry in Scarlet". I've never been any good at partner dances, although I enjoy just getting up and moving my body! I also did a lot of folk dancing(Greek, Israeli, etc.) when I was younger, I enjoy those circle dances.

[Janice]

No and yes, more or less.

When I was growing up, the ballroom dances were still learned (not taught in my school, we wee expected to figure them out somehow), and I didn't like that. I did not like being in close body contact with some boy I didn't even know. By the time new dance styles that didn't involve pasting one's self against a stranger's body came in, dancing wasn't coming much in my way. So I never learned properly.

Some years ago the LA members of the Georgette Heyer online group would get together annually for tea at some Brit style place, and once we met at some hall somewhere to try out some regency dances. It was interesting, more like square dancing than anything personal. I saw that regency dancing was done as much to be watched by others as for personal enjoyment. It then made sense to me that there would be so many onlookers in regency ballrooms; they weren't just chaperoning, they were enjoying the show.

My copy of Marry in Scarlet arrives tomorrow (in theory). Can't wait to settle down with it.

[Christina Courtenay]

It was definitely exhausting, especially for a couch potato like me! :-) Those young Regency ladies must have been very fit to dance for a whole evening.

[Karen M]

I used to like to dance, but I never danced Regency-style. I'd like to try. I'd prefer a comfy seat behind a potted palm where I could watch.

[Quantum]

It sounds as though I could meet a lot of very interesting people behind that potted palm! I once had some ball room dancing lessons but never really took to it. I could probably manage a waltz if pressed but would be looking more for engaging conversation. Delighted that the series is available in audio.

[Shelley Nolan]

Dancing is fun, but I usually do it at home and terrify the kids and cats. I have never tried regency style, but hiding behind a potted plant to people watch sounds like more fun than having to subject myself to the eyes of the Ton.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Karin. I've never done any Israeli dances, but I've certainly danced my fair share of Greek ones. Lots of fun.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Janice — I hope you enjoy it. I remember your Georgette Heyer group — they took me to afternoon tea in a lovely hotel when I was on my way to my first RWA conference and my first book had just been published. I remember meeting you. It was such a lovely thing, meeting such a nice group of like-minded Heyer fans.

[Anne Gracie]

Karen, some Regency dances are complicated and some are relatively easy, so maybe dividing your time between the dance floor and the potted palms would be perfect.

[Anne Gracie]

Shelley, if you're sitting behind the potted palm, you ARE the eyes of the ton. Dancing at home is fun too. Thanks for visiting.

[Anne Gracie]

Quantum, I'm thinking we're going to need a veritable forest of potted palms to accommodate everyone. Perhaps we should set up the conservatory with little tables and chairs so people who want intelligent conversation can have it. Along with their choice of drinks and refreshments.
I'm very pleased the book is available in audio as well. Audio seems to be booming in popularity, which is fab.

[Glenda M]

I'm thinking it could be more fun than dancing behind some of those large plants. ;-)

[Glenda M]

Annie, from what I've read and seen, the Regency waltz was more complicated than the modern waltz. And I agree that the plant camouflage remains the same!

[Mary Jo Putney]

There's an American country western song whose title I love: "Dance like nobody's watching." So freeing!

[Janice]

Ah yes, the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, It was a lovely tea. I had so much admiration for you, coming all the way from Australia having only done one book, and that for a (horrors) commercial publisher. I believe you had a copy of Gallant Waif with you. Like Heyer, and like your heroines, you were brave enough to try to make it on your own.

[LilMissMolly]

I love this series, and thankfully all books are out in audio!!! 🥳
My husband and I took ballroom dancing lessons for a few years and I loved it! There were a few classes where they tried Regency style dances that everyone enjoyed. It’s more complicated than you’d think it should be. Jane Austen movies makes it seem so easy! 🙄

[theo]

I'm so sorry I'm late to this, Anne. Hubs is home this week from work and there's no time for me :( But he goes back to work Monday morning, 4:30am and I'll finally be able to curl up with Marry in Scarlet! The Kindle copy dropped a few days ago and the paperback came yesterday so, decisions, decisions... ;)

So, though I don't need a copy, I'll answer anyway, for fun!
I love, love, love to dance though hubs doesn't. At all :(
I've danced just about everything out there including a couple tries at Regency at a conference once. Very fun.
Dance floor or potted palm...hmmm...depends on the circumstances ;)

Can't wait for Monday.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, LilMissMolly, and yes, the audio versions are good, aren't they? Alison Larkin is a very good reader.
What a nice idea to take ballroom dancing classes with your husband. Another friend of mine did that —her husband wasn't too keen at first, but he got into it and they have a lovely time.

[Anne Gracie]

Theo, please don't apologize. Busy is busy, and we all take time when we can. Thanks for dropping by. What is it with all these husbands who don't like to dance? I suspect it's because they were never taught when they were young, so feel uncomfortable doing something they know they're not that good at. If only they knew how wonderful it feels to dance with a man who's a good dancer . . .