The Victorian era was filled with invention, innovation and industrial marvels, and it was also a period in history where women had very clearly defined social constraints in terms of what was expected of them, and the associated customs and conventions of those expectations.
These constraints did depend on what ‘class’ of society a woman belonged to. Those in the higher class (generally women belonging to nobility) often enjoyed a life of luxuries, spending most of their time attending balls and social events, and having several attendants waiting upon them. These women were expected to be well educated and very accomplished (singing, pianoforte, painting, the smooth running of events) etc. Their main role was to ensure the smooth running of their household/s, making certain the servants were instructed to attend to the members of the family with efficiency and competency. However, towards the later half of the century those preconceived notions gradually started to change, and women began to have far more freedom than they had had at the start of the era. In the mid 1860s a woman’s college for doctors was established, that actually was teaching women to become doctors. Also, in the middle class, woman started to get jobs outside of domestic servitude such as office work, and they were able to bicycle ride to work. Some women even started to wear trousers and top hats (though this was a rarity – it’s still started to occur). So the Victorian era really was the start of change in the preconceived ideas of what a woman was and what she could do.
When I wrote THE BACHELOR BETRAYAL, I really wanted to explore these concepts and turn them on their head. Hence how my heroine, Kaitlyn Montrose, was born, as she does that in spades, lol. Kat is one of my most favorite heroines – not only is she brave, loyal, and determined, she’s also completely unconventional, having been trained by her uncle since she was a girl, in all manner of fighting techniques, weapons and subterfuge. Kat throws daggers, not dinner parties!
Now, that might seem contrary to the normal expectations of a woman in Victorian England and what she could and couldn’t do, but Kat is unlike other women, mainly because of her completely unconventional upbringing. You see, after Kat’s parents were murdered when she was only three, her uncle (who was a spy for the queen) became her guardian. He was absolutely determined to ensure Kat could defend and protect herself as her parents hadn’t been able to. So, he trained her from a child to do so – regardless of the constraints imposed on women by Society. Kat essentially became a weapon, one who can navigate a dagger with ease, though has difficulties traversing the rigid dictates of the Society she was born into.
But boy does she keep the hero, Marcus, on his toes! Marcus Black, the Earl of Westwood, has been raised as a gentleman, through and through. He is honorable, respectful and believes in justice. He is also determined to avenge his brother’s murder. Which would be much easier if the viciously-skilled Lady Kaitlyn Montrose wouldn’t swoop in, knee him in the bollocks, and then run off with his only lead… He also has a hard time coming to terms with the fact that a woman can protect herself and doesn’t need him to do it for her… So Marcus really is on a journey, learning to accept that a woman can have other skills aside from running a household.
I truly had such fun writing their story, watching as they both desperately fight themselves and each other (quite literally in the beginning), refusing to succumb to love… But we all know what happens when desire and passion collides with logic…lots of fireworks, but ultimately a love to last a lifetime! I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I enjoyed writing it!
