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Today I have Amy Sandas over for a post about the London Underworld. You can also win a copy of her previous book at the end :)
Welcome!
My latest release,
Lord of Lies, has several scenes that take place in the seedy and
dangerous underworld of London. The great city’s slums and
rookeries in the time of the Regency were a fascinating and
vice-filled setting. Fascinating, mainly in its juxtaposition to the
glittering world of the ton. Regency high society was about
decadence and extreme expressions of wealth and luxury. On the other
side of the coin, London’s East End was filled with cutthroat
criminals, gangs, prostitution, addiction, and a general sense of
desperation as the inhabitants of the rookeries and slums survived by
whatever means necessary.
As soldiers returned
home after the war with France, jobs became harder to come by and
poverty levels increased. It is noted that the Regency period saw a
significant rise in children being perpetrators of crimes, mainly
thefts. Boys and girls as young as six were often used for tasks and
jobs that adults either couldn’t do as easily or simply didn’t
wish to do. It was thought that if a child was caught, the
authorities might be lenient in their sentencing. While this was
occasionally true, children could still find themselves shipped off
to the penal colonies in Australia, sent to the city prisons, or
sentenced to the gallows.
Children were taught
the tricks of the trade by various means. While many of the children
were orphans, some still lived with one or both of their parents. A
child might fall into thievery by becoming associated with the wrong
crowd while their parents were busy making end meet, but others were
taught to steel by their parents who sent them out each day to
acquire valuables with a threat of dire consequences should they
return home empty-handed.
Children without
homes or family often became members of gangs that worked together in
housebreaking missions or scams designed to fleece the unsuspecting.
Along with teaching the skills of thievery, gangs provided
much-needed protection. Whether due to affection, a code of honor, or
threats of violence, members of gangs often remained loyal to each
other and to their leader, to the point of refusing to give each
other up if questioned by authorities. Some gangs could be made up
exclusively of children with a leader as young as thirteen. Girls and
boys worked and lived together. In some cases, young boys were
reported as having a ‘kept girl’ or ‘flash girl’ in an
imitation of relationships displayed by their adult counterparts.
Children of the
slums clearly had to grow up fast—frighteningly fast. We get a
glimpse of this in Lord of Lies when the hero and heroine work
together to save children at risk of being exploited and abused by a
crime boss. Gratefully, as an author I am able to make sure the
children are rescued from their intended fate. So many real-life
children of the London’s Regency underworld were not so fortunate.
ABOUT THE BOOK
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GIVEAWAY
A copy of The untouchable earl
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ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Lord of Lies
Author: Amy Sandas
Series: Fallen Ladies, #3
ISBN: 9781492618782
Pub Date: July 4, 2017
Genre: Historical Romance
“You do strange things to me, Dell Turner. Tell me I am not alone in what I feel.”
His voice was low and rough. His eyes burned. “You are not alone,” he said.
Portia Chadwick longs for a life of adventure. When a dangerous moneylender kidnaps her sister, she dares to seek help from a man known only as Nightshade. Soon she finds herself charging headfirst into his world of intrigue and danger—and unexpected passion.
Dell Turner grew up in London’s back alleys and gin lanes. Vowing to escape his low beginnings, he hires himself out to society’s elite. When he accepts a job from a beautiful debutante, he doesn’t anticipate her relentless determination to join his mad occupation…or her unnerving ability to inspire emotions he thought long buried. She’s as dangerous to him as his world is to her, and yet Dell can’t bring himself to turn Portia away—even if it means risking her life.
Thank you!
A copy of The untouchable earl
US only
Ends July 22nd
Comment and you are in
Remember to leave your info if that can't be found in your profile
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today Bestselling author Amy
Sandas’s love of romance began one summer when she stumbled
across one of her mother’s Barbara Cartland books. Her affinity for
writing began with sappy preteen poems and led to a liberal arts
degree from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She lives with
her husband and children near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Find Amy Online:
Website: http://www.amysandas.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmySandas
Twitter: @AmySandas
