The Regency period in England is technically the years 1811-1820, when the Prince of Wales ruled England because his father, King George III, was mad. It was a time of great change--the Industrial Revolution was well underway; the Napoleonic Wars were ending. (Waterloo was fought in June 1815.) Coleridge, Keats, Wordsworth, Byron, and Shelley all lived and wrote during this time.
Many Regency authors point to Jane Austen as their inspiration--Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813--but I was hooked on the period by Georgette Heyer, an Englishwoman who lived in the early 20th century. She wrote wonderful romances with articulate, witty characters set during this time.
There are many resources on the web to learn more about the Regency, but a good place to start is with the Beau Monde, the Romance Writers of America's Regency special interest chapter. Here you'll find links to many interesting research sites as well as the many authors who write Regency romances, both “traditionals” and “historicals.” Two authors who have particularly informative sites are Candice Hern and my fellow Zebra Deb, Kristina Cook.
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