We’re delighted to be joined by Mills & Boon Historical author, Lauri Robinson, who chats with us about the inspiration behind her Southern Belles in London trilogy.
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Thank you for the opportunity to share background information about the Southern Belles in London trilogy! The idea for these stories came about over twenty years ago when I took a vacation with my mother and two of my nieces to Georgia. That was long before I’d written my first Mills & Boon story, but historical romance novels have always been my favorite genre and I was committed to seeing as many historical sites as possible.
Of all the places we saw, one small detail had become imbedded in my mind. We had visited an original homestead, and learned that when the Civil War broke out, the homeowners had sent their two teenage daughters to England, to keep them safe during the fighting. That wasn’t uncommon, and though their daughters returned to America after the war, unwed, when it came time for me to write a Victorian story, I used that tidbit of history for the base of the trilogy. Three friends, all sent England during the Civil War, for their own safety.
I have no idea if the landowner’s teenage daughters went to England willingly or not, but Annabelle Smith, the heroine of the first book in the trilogy, The Return of his Promised Duchess, did not. She fought her father’s attempt to send her away, but lost. During her travels across the ocean, she discovered a hidden family secret. Her mother had escaped England and a forced marriage years before, and Annabelle’s true father had been a duke. Then, upon arrival, she discovers that she had been betrothed to marry a duke upon her birth. She vehemently refuses to allow that to happen, and is relieved to learn that Andrew Barkly, the Duke of Mansfield, is not interested in fulfilling the betrothal, either, until they plot a way for both of them to get out of it.
Clara Walton, the heroine in book two, The Making of His Marchioness, didn’t travel to England willingly, either. Having become a widow shortly upon the war breaking out, Clara didn’t want to leave the farm where she and her husband had lived their lives together, and where her daughter Abigail had been born. Upon being told that Annabelle had sent the ship captain to save them, she goes to England, with the hope of returning to America as soon as the war ends. However, in England, she meets the man who owned the ship that had brought her England, Roger Hardgroves, the Marquess of Clairmount. Clara finds her own war, one inside of her letting go of the past and finding a future for her and her daughter.
The only heroine who was more than willing to go to England, was Suzanne Bishop in Falling for His Pretend Countess. With a somewhat tainted family history, Suzanne never truly belonged anywhere, and looked at going to England as an adventure. Her adventurous spirit continued to drive her actions after she’d arrived in England. She was not interested in finding the love of her life as both of her friends, Annabelle and Clara had done, but she was overly curious about her next-door neighbor, Henry Vogal, the Earl of Beaufort, who was deeply entangled in a murder mystery. Her snooping embeds her in the mystery as well, but it also brings forth her own jaded past. Never one to give up, she keeps her past hidden and convinces Henry to let her help prove his innocence, even if it means she may lose her heart in the process.
I hope readers will enjoy reading about these three Southern Belles in London as much I did writing about them.
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Falling for His Pretend Countess by Lauri Robinson
Henry, Earl of Beaufort, was London’s most eligible bachelor. Only now someone is trying to frame him for murder! He finds an unexpected ally in his enchanting neighbour Suzanne who, after fleeing the American Civil War, also finds herself on the fringes of Society. She agrees to help prove his innocence, and a fake engagement provides the perfect cover. Until his real feelings threaten their charade…
Read here.
