Russo: Heyer, via Austen, virtually created the image of the Regency which is now the setting for so much historical romance. However, she also wrote eighteenth century novels (long 18thc = 1660-1838). #IASPR18
Russo: the close association of Heyer and the Regency might suggest that there's something about that period that suited her style more than the 18th century. Perhaps Regency nostalgia was part of post-war domestic homefront culture. #IASPR18
Russo: the "unruliness" of the eighteenth century may be one of the reasons that the period didn't work quite so well for Heyer. #IASPR18
Next up: Jennifer Wallace, discussing the fabricated historical chronotopes in romance fiction. #IASPR18
Wallace: mainstream bestsellers are overwhelmingly British and populated with nobles (esp. Regency), which can be harmful to an understanding of a more diverse historical landscape. #IASPR18
Now with 35% dukes! #IASPR18 
Wallace: perhaps the appeal of dukes is the financial security he appears to offer (similar to the billionaire trope in contemporary romance). #IASPR18
Wallace: the fabricated historical chronotope allows us to ignore elements of the real Regency - eg. syphilis - in service of the happily ever after. #IASPR18
Wallace: bestselling historical romances are often mirror texts for dominant culture, and window texts for readers of colour, when more of the inverse is required. #IASPR18
Wallace: there is damage done to history when the fabricated chronotope is understood as history. #IASPR18
Wallace: reading is an inclusive activity. Diversifying narratives should be a matter of industrial survival. #IASPR18
Wallace: some inclusive historical romance reading lists on Goodreads! #IASPR18
Next up: Francesca Pierini, speaking on Italian timelessness and romantic love. #IASPR18
Pierini: Italy is textually constructed as a place with a privileged relationship with the past, giving it a quality of timelessness and immobility. #IASPR18
Pierini: the idea of a timeless genome is common in popular literature on Italy (hence local heroes who seem like they've stepped straight out of a painting). #IASPR18
