Welcome
to the Best of the Regency! It’s Regan here and my guest today is Kristi Ann
Hunter. Kristi is the RITA award-winning
author of sweet Regency romances with elements of faith. When she is not
writing or interacting with her readers, Kristi spends time with her family and
her church. A born lover of stories she is also an avid reader. From her youth,
she dreamed of sharing her own stories with others and she can't quite believe
that dream actually came true.
Today she is sharing with us How England’s Parliament Worked in the
Regency Era. Kristi is also giving away a copy of her book. A US winner can choose
between paper and ebook; an international winner will get the ebook.
One of the fascinating things about
any culture is looking at how they govern themselves and what process goes in
to making their laws. When I wrote An
Inconvenient Beauty, I knew I wanted my duke doing more than going to balls
and clubs, so I spent some time researching how Parliament worked.
When a law-making body is centuries
old, with roots dating back to the Roman senate, things can be very complicated
and very interesting. The voting traditions of Parliament were founded before
electronic buttons, before notebooks could be had for a pittance, even before the
creation of the ink pen. Without these tools of easy record keeping, they
developed another way to vote on major issues.
No, they don't raise their hands or
cast some sort of secret ballot.
Instead, when it came time to vote,
those men in favor of the bill in question would actually get up and leave the
room. They would be counted in the lobby outside the meeting room while those
who remained seated inside were considered votes against the bill.
This meant that the default vote was
no. If a member of parliament didn't care about a bill enough to be bothered
with rising from his bench and joining the others voting for a bill, it was
assumed he agreed with the status quo.
The vote by body count was called a
division and was used for the votes that were too close to call by verbal
assent or were highly controversial.
Today, they still vote by the
movement of bodies but now everyone has to move. When the building was rebuilt
after the devastating fire of 1834, two lobbies were built on either side of the
House of Lords meeting room. The lobbies are labeled as content and not content
though they align with voting for or against a bill instead of for or against
the status quo.
The House of Commons has lobbies as
well, though they are labeled Aye and Nay.
Before a division occurs, a bell is
rung so that people not currently in the meeting room know to come participate.
They have eight minutes from the time the bell is rung to be in the meeting
room or they will be locked out. The lobbies are cleared of people -
particularly of any aides or other visitors who don't have a vote - and then
the division occurs.
If this sounds complicated, it's
nothing compared to the back and forth motions a bill can go through trying to
be approved by both houses. In An Inconvenient
Beauty one such bill, fraught with changes and debate, causes a great deal
of problems for the heroine's uncle, and by extension the heroine herself. But
since women weren't allowed to sit on the esteemed red benches of the House of
Lords (or even the less pedigreed green benches of the House of Commons) it is
up to the Duke of Riverton to do what is necessary to make the division go the
way they need it to. And to win the heart of the fair maiden in the process.
Over the years, the procedure of
Parliamentary voting has evolved to include a roster of names instead of
notches on the side of a reed, but the heritage is still represented in a way
that full modernization to something such as electronic or roll call voting
wouldn't maintain. It is a testament to the depth of history the United Kingdom
possesses. And it’s a history that lures readers back again and again, no
matter how complicated it may sometimes seem.
An Inconvenient Beauty:
Griffith, Duke of Riverton, likes
order, logic, and control, and he naturally applies this rational approach to
his search for a bride. He's certain Miss Frederica St. Claire is the perfect
wife for him, but while Frederica is strangely elusive, he can't seem to stop
running into her stunningly beautiful cousin, Miss Isabella Breckenridge.
Isabella should be enjoying her
society debut, but with her family in difficult circumstances, her uncle will
only help them if she'll use her beauty to assist him in his political aims.
Already uncomfortable with this agreement, the more she comes to know Griffith,
the more she wishes to be free of her unfortunate obligation.
Will Griffith and Isabella be able
to set aside their pride and face their fears in time to find their own
happily-ever-after?
To see the book, check out Kristi's Website. And keep up with her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
