Lady Alexandra's Lover (25 page)

D
earest Amelia
,

You won’t believe the adventures I’ve had this week. Let me begin…

T
he Vagrancy Act
of 1824 was an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. The wide definition of vagrancy included prostitution. In 1838, the act was amended to include the exposure for sale of obscene books and prints. The publication of obscene material was a
common law
misdemeanor at that time. Crusading groups against such material did exist, and although Mr. Ryland is a fictional character, perhaps some were as zealous as he.

Lady Alexandra’s Lover
takes place in 1853. Four years later, The Obscene Publications Act of 1857 was enacted, making the sale of obscene material a statutory offense and giving the courts power to seize and destroy offending material.

Despite the new law, erotica continued to thrive during Victorian times. Underground magazines surfaced, most notably
The Pearl
, after which I modeled the fictional
Ruby
.

The Pearl
was issued from July 1879 to December 1880, when it was shut down by the authorities. Its publisher, William Lazenby, followed with several other erotic papers.

The Pearl
pushed boundaries far beyond where I was willing to go with
The Ruby
. Still, it’s a worthy relic of an era thought to be ruled by uptight morals and tight corsets. That these papers continued to flourish despite being repeatedly shut down speaks to the demand for them.

D
ear Reader
,

Thank you for reading
Lady Alexandra’s Lover
. If you want to find out about my current backlist and future releases, please like my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/helenhardtauthor
. I often do giveaways, as well.

If you enjoyed the story, please take the time to leave a review on a site like Amazon or Goodreads. I welcome all feedback.

I wish you all the best!

Helen

S
ex and the Season
:

Lily and the Duke

Rose in Bloom

Lady Alexandra’s Lover

Sophie’s Voice
(coming soon)

Bakersville Saga:

Cowboy Heat

Cowboy Lust

Cowboy Passion

Daughters of the Prairie:

The Outlaw’s Angel

Lessons of the Heart

Song of the Raven

Snow Creek Series (coming soon):

Craving

Obsession

Possession

1
. The theme
of a story is its central idea or ideas. To put it simply, it’s what the story
means
. How would you characterize the theme of
Lady Alexandra’s Lover?

2. It’s clear from the first two books that Alexandra is more like Lily than like Rose. Compare and contrast Ally and Lily. How are they alike, and how are they different?

3. Alexandra and Evan are both children of an earl, yet they had vastly different childhoods. Do you think any of their characteristics stem from their respective childhoods? How so?

4. How might Alexandra’s life have been different if her father hadn’t died? Do you think she and Evan would have still found each other? Why or why not?

5. Discuss Alexandra’s strength. Why do you think she preferred to take her father’s beatings rather than witness him beat Sophie? Does this make Sophie a weak person? Why or why not?

6. Evan takes his responsibility toward the girls very seriously, yet they both end up in precarious situations. Did Evan fail to protect them? Why or why not?

7. Nigel Ryland is an interesting character. He feels he has the right to dole out punishment to those who publish what he considers to be obscene, yet he is against men abusing women. Are these two views contradictory? Why or why not? How did you feel about his demise?

8. Did you enjoy Ally’s stories that she wrote for
The Ruby
? Why do you think Victorian women enjoyed erotica?

9. What do you think will become of Mr. Landon? Will he eventually marry? What type of woman do you suppose he’ll end up with?

10. What do you think of groups that take the law into their own hands? Today, this can lead to terrorism, and it can be deadly. What motivates people to do these things?

11. Did Ally use poor judgment in selling her stories to
The Ruby
? Why or why not?

12. What might the future hold for Ally and Evan? Will their marriage be successful? Why or why not?

13. Why do you suppose Ally’s father was so abusive? How might the abuse have affected Ally, Sophie, and Iris in the longterm? Are they capable of having happy relationships? Why or why not?

14. This book is full of colorful supporting characters: Mr. Nathan Landon, the Earl of St. Clair, Viscount John Brooks, and Nigel Ryland, to name a few. Discuss the roles of these characters. What is their purpose in the story?

15. Who do you think Sophie’s hero will be? Or have we yet to meet him?

W
hile
Lily
and
Rose
were both written in 2007,
Alexandra
is brand new. I had a lot of fun going back into their world, and I’m already hard at work on ideas for Sophie’s story. My wonderful publisher, Waterhouse Press, wants a fifth story too. I have an idea of whose story it should be, but I’d love to entertain ideas from my readers, as well. Keep your eyes posted on Facebook to cast your vote for your favorite characters!

As always, thank you to my brilliant editor, Michele Hamner Moore, my proofreader, Lauren Dawes, and to all the great people at Waterhouse—David, Kurt, Shayla, and Jon. You guys work marketing magic. And thank you to Meredith Wild for your continued support and encouragement.

Thank you to the members of Hardt and Soul, my new street team! HS members got the first look at
Alexandra
, and I appreciate all your support, reviews, and general good vibes. You ladies rock!

And thanks to all of you who read
Lily
and
Rose
and looked forward to Ally’s story. I hope you enjoyed it. Sophie is up next. Look for our timid little heroine to heat up the pages!

H
elen Hardt’s
passion for the written word began with the books her mother read to her at bedtime. She wrote her first story at age six and hasn’t stopped since. In addition to being an award winning author of contemporary and historical romance and erotica, she’s a mother, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an appreciator of fine red wine, and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. She writes from her home in Colorado, where she lives with her family. Helen loves to hear from readers.