Renée Dahlia - The Romantic Appeal of Feisty Bluestockings

I’m a writer of contemporary romance, but my go-to subgenre as a reader is historical – go figure! I’m therefore excited today to introduce Renée Dahlia to Get Lost in a Story to talk about her latest historical, set in 1888 England, The Heart of a Bluestocking.

About Renée...

Renée Dahlia is an unabashed romance reader who loves feisty women and strong, clever men. Her books reflect this, with a side-note of dark humour. Renée has a science degree in physics. When not distracted by the characters fighting for attention in her brain, she works in the horse racing industry doing data analysis. She writes for two racing publications, churning out feature articles, interviews and advertorials. When she isn’t reading or writing, Renée wrangles a husband, four children, and volunteers on the local cricket club committee.

Connect with Renée via her website, on Facebook and Twitter 

When an uncommon lawyer meets an unusual doctor, their story must be extraordinary...

September 1888: Dr Claire Carlingford owns the bluestocking label. Her tycoon father encouraged her to study, and with the support of her two best friends, she took it further than anyone could imagine, graduating as a doctor and running her own medical practice. But it's not enough for her father. He wants her to take over the business, so he can retire. Then his sudden arrest throws the family into chaos and his business into peril.

Mr James Ravi Howick, second son of Lord Dalhinge, wants to use his position as a lawyer to improve conditions for his mother's family in India. When an opportunity arises to work for Carlingford Enterprises, one of the richest companies in the world, Ravi leaps at the chance to open his own legal practise. But his employment becomes personal as he spends more time with Claire and she learns the secret that could destroy his family.

Both Ravi and Claire are used to being outsiders and alone. But as they work together to save their respective families from disaster, it becomes clear that these two misfits might just fit together perfectly.

Read a little…

‘Dr Carlingford,’ she said. She slid the book back on the shelf, concentrating on that task so she couldn’t see the clerk’s reaction. With a nod to Higgins to remain in the foyer, she followed the clerk, who led her through an oak door and along a corridor. With each step, she hoped that she was getting closer to the biggest office. Woodleyville certainly had the seniority to deal with her father’s problem. She grinned to herself. It wasn’t every day that a tycoon was arrested. Hopefully, she could present the case as a puzzle to appeal to the elderly lawyer, enough to overcome his snobbery. The clerk opened a door and gestured for her to enter. She nodded her thanks and walked inside.

Behind a large desk with neat piles of paperwork stood a tall man of Indian descent. His dark brown eyes were framed by thick-rimmed glasses. The summer sunshine streamed in a large window and bounced off the glass on his face. Claire blinked. The room smelled of furniture polish, with a heady hint of hops about to be harvested.

‘Welcome,’ he said. His voice rumbled through the space between them, sending a shock wave inside her. She swallowed.

‘I was expecting Woodleyville Senior,’ she said. This man had to be around her age, and wasn’t at all like the senior partner she had expected to see. A tiny flutter began in her stomach and she pressed her hands softly against it.

‘Perhaps you could outline the issue to me,’ he said, calmly.

There was such music in his voice, a masculine music causing the small flutter to grow. Josephine’s note crinkled in her palm as she clasped her hands together, dragging her attention back to her task.

‘And you are?’

Buy the book HERE! 

Avril: The Heart of a Bluestocking is part of a bluestocking series – what’s the special appeal of bluestockings?

Renée: I love the contrary way the term bluestockings has evolved, and the change in society that it represents. Prior to the 1750s, the term bluestockings referred to anyone with lofty literary ideals, and many attribute it to the 15th century Italian playwrights, Compagnie della Calza, who wore blue stockings, although the term is heavily disputed. In 1750, Elizabeth Montagu created the Blue Stocking Society, and alongside Elizabeth Vesey, they invited various people to discuss intellectual ideas and literature. Montagu was unique at this time, as she inherited her coal baron husband’s property, and thus was independently wealthy. This group eventually posed a threat to those in society who disavowed the concept of intellectual women, and in 1815, a cartoon ‘Breaking Up of the Blue Stocking Club’ showed a bunch of screaming women physically fighting. Depicted as ‘dangerous rebels’, the term quickly became an insult – to be clever and above oneself, and worst of all, unmarriageable.  

My Bluestocking books are set in 1887 and 1888, at the turning point of women’s education in Europe. There were scatterings of women graduating prior to this, and by the late 1880s, the number of female medical graduates across Europe numbered in the double digits. The first female doctors had to fight to attend medical school, with Elizabeth Blackwell graduating in America in 1849, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson in England in 1862, and Aletta Jacobs in 1879 (she makes a quick appearance in To Charm a Bluestocking). My own great-grandmother, Josephine d’Ancona, graduated in Holland as one of the first twenty graduates there, and her degree has all the male titles (Mr) crossed out by hand and overwritten.

Avril: Ravi and Claire are “misfits” – can you tell us a little more about what makes them outsiders?

Renée: Claire is the daughter of an industrial revolution tycoon, thus having the resources to push for a career in medicine. This alone makes her an outsider because she wants more than society is willing to allow her. She is sassy and brave, however, she also understands the consequences of pushing against society. 

Ravi is the second son of Lord Dalhinge, who travelled to India as a young engineer and fell in love. The 1857 uprising forced them to return to England, where Ravi was born. He has grown up pulled between the privilege of his father’s position in society and the need to belong to his mother’s culture. He works as a lawyer, and meets Claire when her family needs a lawyer to resolve a problem in the family business.

Avril: Do you have favourite settings and eras, as a reader and/or writer? 

Renée: I don’t think I have a favourite. I read widely across many eras. As a writer, I adore the Victorian era because of the changes in technology. My background is in science, and the explosion of scientific discovery and technological advance at that time is also reflected in societal change (suffragettes, movement of wealth from aristocracy to industry, etc). There is plenty of scope in this era to write stories which are richly diverse and have strong heroines, because readers are more accepting of those tales in an industrial revolution world. Additionally, the world in Regency times was more diverse than we often read in romance, however, to write such worlds is a risk when readers are potentially less open to such ideas. 

I’m currently writing an Australian set contemporary series, and having fun playing with technology and how it impacts on the way we interact with society.

Avril: What are the next five books on your TBR list?

Renée: Only five? I set myself a target to read ten books by Indigenous authors for NAIDOC week [a week celebrating the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples], and I still have a few to finish, including My Place by Sally Morgan. I’m trying to read all the Dare books as I’ve written a couple of books for that line (on submission), and I currently have six of them to catch up on. I also have books by Vanessa North, Tessa Dare, Chloe Blake, Naima Simone, and Alexis Hall waiting patiently for me. I try to read plenty of Australian romance authors and support them, and recently enjoyed the Echo Springs quartet by Leisl Leighton, Daniel De Lorne, etc.

Avril: What’s your pet hate as a romance reader?

Renée: Consent is a big deal for me, and I’ve always struggled with books that push the boundaries of consent. I’m more forgiving in older romance novels, because they reflect society at the time they were written. For me, consent is one of the key differences between alphahero and alphahole. I want the blatant ‘yes’ on the page for both characters. I don’t want the assumption. I’m really glad for the discussions around the #metoo movement and how that should impact us as writers, because it will increase the number of books where I feel safe as a reader. 

We'd love to hear what your favourite type of heroine is!