The Game of Hearts: True Stories of Regency Romance

(Paperback)

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'Endlessly captivating' - Tracy Borman
'Tantalising' - Gill Hornby
'More scandal than Bridgerton's Lady Whistledown' - Helena Kelly

The carriages have rolled back into town, cards of invitation are propped up on chimney-pieces, and match-making mamas are plotting their campaigns; Regency London's Bon Ton are all set for another season . . .

Using diaries, letters and stories of scandal from the newspapers, author Felicity Day reveals the real women of the Regency world: their loves, their lives, their opinions and adventures. She takes us behind drawing room doors and into high society ballrooms, following six leading ladies and their family, friends, and contemporaries as they move from matchmaking to matrimony and beyond. Forget fiction, this is real-life Regency romance and it's even more enticing . . .

The Game of Hearts is a candid, hitherto unseen insight into the competitive world of the Regency marriage mart; revealing real stories of rakish husbands and rich heiresses; and true tales of lost and long-lasting love.

Reviews

''If Georgette Heyer had written non-fiction it might have looked like this. In The Game of Hearts, Felicity Day uncovers the real lives and loves of the Regency super-rich, ushering us into a world filled with heiresses, parties, grand estates, and more scandal than Bridgerton's Lady Whistledown. Moving from ballrooms to courtrooms and on to the battlefields of Waterloo, Day marries fine historical sense with romantic sensibility, proving that Regency fact is even more fascinating than Regency fiction'' - Helena Kelly - author of Jane Austen, The Secret Radical

''The real world of Jane Austen is brought vividly to life in this beautifully written, endlessly captivating and often surprising account of Regency women. Not to be missed'' - Tracy Borman

''It rackets along - a thoroughly researched, often tantalising, account of the occasional ups and horrifying downs of the Georgian marriage market'' - Gill Hornby

Author Bio

Felicity Day qualified as a solicitor before deciding to pursue a writing career. She has since written about British history and heritage - including her favourite period, the Regency - for a wide range of publications, from The Telegraph, The Mail on Sunday's YOU Magazine and Country Life, to specialist history titles such as the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are and History Revealed. The Game of Hearts is her first book.