Last Saturday I went into London – and it felt like I’d travelled back to 1811! The Royal Overseas Club near Green Park was adorned with ladies in silks and muslins, bonnets and spencers, gloves and reticules. Add some soldiers in dashing scarlet coats, and a few gentlemen in breeches and cravats, and you have the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Regency Readers’ Day in full flow.

We were celebrating Jane Austen, of course – the 200th anniversary of the publication of Sense & Sensibility, to be precise. And we were also paying tribute to Georgette Heyer, who wrote wonderful Regency romances like These Old Shades and Regency Buck. I had a great time catching up with Jane Odiwe and Monica Fairview, and we shared a ‘Lydia Bennet moment’ when the soldiers came into view. Can you blame us? (Photos courtesy of Regency novelist Jan Jones.)

The day kicked off with a lively panel discussion on Sense & Sensibility – Julie Cohen kept Nicola Cornick, Beth Elliott and myself in order as we talked about the novel’s structure (it’s the same story, told twice) and characters, especially the heroes.

Jennifer Kloester talked about her new book Georgette Heyer: Biography of a Bestseller – very entertaining … Dancing instructors Mr & Mrs Rogers kept us on our toes for an hour – Mr R told us that Jane Austen gave names to only two dances in all of her novels because, quite simply, people usually made up the dances as they went along, guided by a caller … My fellow Choc Lit author Christina Courtenay and Louise Allen did a ‘Sniff ‘n’ Tell’ session all about Regency scents. Fortunately, they kept to the nicer ones – I can imagine the streets of London at the time reeking of other things! Christina made her lilac dress herself – isn’t it gorgeous?

There was a panel discussion on ‘Sex and the Georgians’ – probably best to draw a veil over James Graham’s Celestial Bed. Let’s just say he was ahead of his time … You could go on a local walk and bring Regency history to life, play parlour games and learn about Regency clothing.

Which takes me back to mid-September, and the Jane Austen Festival in Bath where I launched Persuade Me. My photos are still in my new camera – one day I will find the box and read how to upload them to the PC! In the meantime, here are someone else’s.

Aren’t the costumes beautiful? They inspired me to celebrate Jane Austen at next year’s Festival attired in my own muslin gown and bonnet!