Looking for meaning in historic romances
When I studied history in high school and college, the emphasis was on what happened more than why it happened. In my historical romance novels, I try to look at history from the characters’ perspectives and show the impact on them.
Writers need to begin with researching the information, but many history books provide summaries and don’t always provide details that explain how people felt in the past. During the antebellum, people either supported slavery, wanted to abolish it, or wanted to send slaves back to Africa.
In my novel “Impending Love and War” set in 1860, the heroine is Cory Beecher, who comes from a long line of abolitionists.The characters reveal what side they take on the issue of slavery and then act on it. Cory has to decide whether she will help a runaway slave hiding in her barn. But a deeper problem is exposed about the Fugitive Slave Law.
The South was abusing the Fugitive Slave Law by claiming free men were their runaway slaves. They needed no proof but the identification by the owner. Young males were sought because they could be sold for as much as $2,000 to $3,000. This was in a time when most people were lucky to make $1 a day. Abolitionists were outraged by this practice and pushed for the end of slavery. But Cory faced six months in jail and $1,000 fine if caught helping a runaway, making her decision more difficult.
During a dinner the characters discuss “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” to bring up the topic of slavery and civil disobedience. This leads to the Fugitive Slave Law and a local story. A black man John Price answered an ad and was captured by chasers in 1858 claiming he was a runaway slave. A group of abolitionists stormed the hotel where U.S. marshals were holding him and rescued him. Something similar occurred in the novel and movie “Twelve Years a Slave” where a free black man was sold into slavery.
“Impending Love and War” is a historical romance novel available in print and ebook at Amazon http://goo.gl/B7lKMs and other distributors.
Cory Beecher didn’t mean to shoot handsome Tyler Montgomery and only kisses him so he doesn’t find the runaway slave in the barn. Abolitionists never considered marrying slave owners, but her world explodes with newfound desire when her lips touch his. Can she go through with her carefully crafted plans to marry math instructor Douglas Raymond when her heart longs for another?
Tyler Montgomery needs to find the runaway slaves before his rival Edward Vandal captures them. Although he doesn’t want to involve the fiery and beautiful Miss Beecher, once she kisses him, all his plans unravel. As his rival closes in on the quarry, he hesitates to leave, knowing she’s marrying the wrong man. But what does an unemployed lawyer with questionable parentage have to offer the woman he loves?
#romance #historical #Antebellum #fugitiveslave #slavery
