Top 10 “A” Words To Make Your Regency Romance Novel Realistic

When you are writing for any genre, language is vital. Each book genre has its own set of verbatim that differs from the current culture or what you might write in a Facebook post. It can be challenging to know what lingo to put into a regency romance novel because it is different a different era from yours. In fact, automatic word processors, like Grammarly, will flag the words as “archaic.” That is one way to know you are on the right track.

There are ten unique words to weave into your regency romance novel to make it more realistic, and they all start with the letter A. 

1. Abbess

An abbess is a brawd, which is a mistress of a brothel. Brothels were popular places in the seedier areas of London. It is especially true in historical romance novels. Typically a brothel, in the arms of an abbess, is where you can find your most dastardly romance novel villains. 

2. Abigail

An abigail is a lady’s maid. It is not super common vocabulary in regency romance novels because it is unknown and can be easily confused as a random girl living in the household named Abigail if a reader is not up to date on their vocabulary. 

However, if you write your words right, this term can give your novel a historical and educated twist. 

3. Accounts

Accounts are best described as vomit, throw up, or puke. However, in a romance novel about high society, who wants to read these words? Instead, try using “to cast up one’s accounts” or a variation thereof.

4. Ace Of Spades

An Ace of Spades is a widow. However, it is very fashionable in romance novels to be a widow, unlike in real life. As a result, many regency authors forgo the term Ace of Spades and simply use the word widow. 

5. Adventuress

An adventuress is a wild woman or even another word for a prostitute. In the regency romance genre, especially in older books, it was popular to feature such a woman. It can make an excellent rags-to-riches plotline. 

If you are looking for an example of an adventuress or abbess story fashioned in a rags-to-riches model, you would like the books Always a Courtesan and Always the Mistress by Emily EK Murdock. They are in the series Never The Bride. 

6. Amen Curler

An Amen Curler is a parish clerk. It sounds more like something a fine lady would have used on her hair, though. Using this term would be most fitting in a regency romance novel centered around a marriage of convenience plotline or a man being drug to the partisans mousetrap, so to speak. If you need an example of a unique historical romance novel where such a storyline plays out with a perfect wist, you should read Always the Widow by Emily EK Murdock. It is another one from the Never The Bride series of historical romance novels. 

7. Amiable

Amiable means having a friendly disposition or manner. Someone in a romance novel who is always kind, friendly, and even meek is often described this way. Lady Juliet Beaumont’s main character in Once upon an Achingly Beautiful Kiss can be described as amiable throughout the Wickertons In Love Series. It is a fantastic family affair series by Bree Wolf.

8. Ankle

Ankle in regency romance terms is the equivalent of “knocking a girl up” today. If a man “sprained her ankle,” it means he got her pregnant. While not all romance authors who specialize in the regency era use this terminology, some do. Now you are probably thinking of the many books where the main character has had a sprained ankle sometime before the wedding. You are probably wondering if there was a double meaning behind it. I did, too, when I found out this little tidbit. 

Leave a comment of an interesting book title below where this might be the case.

Do You Need A Cheaper Way To Read Books?

As an author and member of the amazon associates program, the Lyrica Lovell website offers a massive discount on Kindle Unlimited membership plans:

• 5% off a six month pre-paid Kindle Unlimited plan
• 10% off a 12 month pre-paid Kindle Unlimited plan
• 20% off a 24 month pre-paid Kindle Unlimted plan

With a Kindle Unlimited subscription, you can read over two million books. Tons of them are by Regency romance authors. As a new author, one of the most important things you can do is read other books in the genre you want to write in. You can have unlimited access to those books for a small monthly or annual fee.

9. Ape Leader 

An ape-leader is a term used for a spinster or old unmarried woman. The term spinster carries a distasteful connotation in Regency-era books. Historical romance novels about spinsters can even be scandals. However, referring to one as an ape-leader takes on an even more disapproving or derogatory nature with the novel. Many authors steer clear of this term unless they incorporate it in their villain’s vocabulary.

10. Apoplexy

These are all over regency romance books. It seems like the predominant cause of death for older men. Apoplexy is the term used for becoming unconscious or incapacitated because of a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke. Some romance writers also use the word to describe a heart attack too. One novel where apoplexy plays a significant role in the lives of its characters is Destiny With A Duke, in the Dukes Done Wrong series by Alexa Aston. This novel is heart-wrenching but excellently written. 

10 “A” Words To Spice Up Your Next Regency Romance Novel

There you have it, the ten words that start with the letter A to spice up your next romance novel. 

1. Abbess
2. Abigail
3. Accounts
4. Ace of Spades
5. Adventuress 
6. Amen Curler
7. Amiable
8. Ankle
9. Ape Leader
10. Apoplexy

Pin it!