We all love our glamorous beauties and our, as one actual Regency novel put it, ‘buxom hoydens’ (that’s how Mary Robinson’s Natural Daughter describes its heroine). However, shy heroines in historical romances deserve their happily-ever-after, too. Here are 6 of them.
Note: I took care to only include the books that are clean/closed door.
Lady of Conscience, by Mimi Matthews
Mimi Matthews’ new (as of 2024) release in her Somerset Stories series deals with Hannah Heywood, a quiet and earnest girl with a love of the country and a passion for animal rights. This last thing is not actually as anachronistic as it sounds – the first cases of vegetarianism were documented in 1800s, and RSPCA was set up in the 1820s! (The novel, I should add, is mid-Victorian, not Regency). Her love interest, Viscount St. Claire, is sometimes described by his numerous siblings as a ‘sentient block of ice’. However, when she meets him during her season in Bath, an unlikely fire sparks between them. Can it thaw his glacial calm?
To Charm a Lady, by Joanna Barker
Cora Atherton is a gentle young woman dreaming about true romance. Oliver Cartwell is a man she knew since childhood, and her best friend’s brother to boot. When they meet at a house party, Oliver feels sympathy for Cora, and offers to help her find a good husband. He is quite sure that, even though no man is good enough for the sweet Cora, he himself would be the worst option of them all. Can they conquer the shadows of his past?
Georgiana’s Secret, by Arlem Hawks
Crossdressing and running off to the high seas are not activities we usually associate with shy heroines, by the titular Georgiana only does that as the last resort to escape her abusive guardian.
The hero, a dedicated lieutenant on the HMS Deborah, takes the new ‘cabin boy’ under his wing to protect him from bullying. Once he realizes her secret, he promises to keep it exactly that. However, his attraction to the sweet Georgiana soon becomes hard to fight…
Seeking Persephone, by Sarah M. Eden
The heroine is called Persephone… and she ends up in an arranged marriage with a cold, scarred man. Yeah, the mythological allusions are not subtle. However, it is indeed a good example of the arranged marriage trope – and, unlike in many Hades and Persephone-inspired romances, here the reclusive duke and his gentle bride would have to grow closer without any great role given to physical desire. (No, I have nothing against ‘steam’ in romances, but I do have quite a lot against instances when physical attraction is used as a substitute for character development and emotional arcs).
The Matchmaker’s Lonely Heart, by Nancy Campbell Allen
Amelie is innocent and romantic, and thus seems entirely unsuited to be helping the police detective Michael in solving the latest mystery. However, she happens to know the possible culprit. Which also places her in danger. As the pair works together on unraveling the coil of crime, it becomes clear that they are a good team – perhaps, a better one than either could have imagined…
The Winter Companion, by Mimi Matthews
Yes, another Mimi Matthews – but she does shy heroines just so well! Besides, while the Parish Orphans of Devon series comprise her earlier works, and the cover of this one is slightly perplexing as to the heroine’s flying hair, I promise that the tale unfolding on these pages has a great historical atmosphere and a swoonworthy romance.
The heroine, Clara, is a quiet lady’s companion, and this journey to a distant corner of Devon for a Christmas celebration is promising to be a bright spot in her life. This is will be thanks to Neville, an animal-loving young man – his speech had been impacted by a childhood injury, so it takes Clara’s gentle soul to see through his impediment to the mind and heart beyond.
Then there is my own Regency romance. The heroine of An Authoress and a Viscount is a shy and anxious young woman; she finds herself a fish out of the water as she is given a place among the stern glamour of Queen Charlotte’s court.
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4 Responses
Do they come in paperback?
Indeed they do!
Thank you for these suggestions!
Each looks great and I purchased them!
I am glad you liked them, Mary!