Book Tour, Guest Post & Giveaway: #TheViscountsLadyNovelist #AlissaBaxter #HFVBT

The Viscount's Lady Novelist by Alissa Baxter

Publication Date: April 26, 2022

Vinspire Publishing

Genre: Historical Romance

Series: The Linfield Ladies, Book 2

Harriet Linfield is a lady novelist who has been disillusioned by love. She sets out to write more realistic tales about the emotion when she returns home to Linfield Court for the summer. Vowing to avoid any romantic entanglements along the way, she focuses instead on her writing and her plan to turn the estate she inherited from her uncle into a refuge for orphans.

Oliver, Viscount Wentford, is determined to restore his family fortunes. But his plans for the estate he inherited are in direct opposition to the wishes of Harriet, his new neighbour. Upon meeting her, Oliver is amused when, in response to his provocative comments, she informs him that she intends to make him the villain of her next book. But his amusement swiftly turns to dismay when circumstances align to show him in that exact light.

When an enemy comes back into Harriet’s life, she sees that love isn’t as clear-cut as the romantic tales she pens. But will the viscount manage to discard his villainous mantle to become Harriet’s real-life hero?

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Guest Post from author Alissa Baxter

The Minerva Press

The Minerva Press was a publishing house that created a lucrative market in sentimental and Gothic fiction in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was established by William Lane (1745–1814) at No 33 Leadenhall Street, London.

Among his regular writers were many female authors, including Regina Maria Roche (The Maid of Hamlet, 1793; Clermont, 1798); Mrs Eliza Parsons (The Castle of Wolfenbach, 1793; The Mysterious Warning, 1796); and Eleanor Sleath (The Orphan of the Rhine, 1798) whose Gothic fiction is included in the list of the seven Northanger Horrid Novels, recommended by the character Isabella Thorpe in Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey.

Literary critics at the time perceived the Minerva Press novels as lowbrow literature. However, the books were extremely popular, and when Lane formed circulating libraries, where he could lend out his books on subscription to those who couldn’t afford to buy them, he reached a large number of readers. His target market was women, and women, many of them writing under a pseudonym to avoid scandal or notoriety, predominantly wrote the books.

Between 1790 and 1820, Minerva Press was the largest fiction publisher, mainly publishing Gothic fiction. It was taken over by Lane’s business partner, Anthony King Newman, who dropped the “Minerva” brand name in the 1820s.

William Lane’s circulating libraries contributed to widespread literacy across the social classes. However, the market for Minerva Press’s books became negligible after the death of its charismatic founder and authors such as Emma Parker (“Emma de Lisle”) and Amelia de Beauclerc, who wrote for Minerva Press in the 1800s, are unknown today.

In recent years, Valancourt Books, an independent American publishing house, has revived and reprinted some of the lost Gothics of Minerva Press which faded into obscurity.

In my latest Regency romance, The Viscount’s Lady Novelist, my heroine, Harriet Linfield, shies away from the sentimental and Gothic fiction she devoured as a young girl after a romantic mishap and focuses instead on reading and writing more realistic stories. However, as Harriet examines the effect of novel-reading on her sensibilities, she discovers that life can turn an accepted idea entirely on its head.

It was interesting as I researched this book to learn about the perception of romance novels written by women over two hundred years ago. However, it was also sad to discover that sometimes the more things change within the romantic fiction genre, the more they actually stay the same.

Sources:
https://www.valancourtbooks.com/minerva-press.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva_Press
https://www.thegothiclibrary.com/the-underestimated-importance-of-minerva-press/

 

 

 

Praise

 

"A charming love story set in the English countryside that's grounded in impeccable research." ~ Kirkus Reviews

"Alissa Baxter's writing is period perfect." ~ Mimi Matthews, USA Today bestselling author of The Matrimonial Advertisement

"This book is gorgeous!" ~ Rachel Burton, author of The Tearoom on the Bay

"A truly traditional Regency romance, with lots of witty banter, very reminiscent of Georgette Heyer. Recommended for anyone who likes a completely clean traditional Regency, with strongly authentic writing, historical accuracy and a satisfying romance. Baxter's writing is excellent, and her dialogue, manners and settings are true to the era." ~ Mary Kingswood, author of traditional Regency romances

"While immersing the reader in the mores and life of the Regency era, Alissa Baxter manages to write strong, independent heroines whom modern-day women will cheer and root for. Plus the addition of little details that wrap around the plot and the characters make reading her books all the more special because you never know when you might land on a little Easter egg morsel in the beautiful and engaging prose. Historicals with heart and engaging characters that read real—that's what you get in Ms Baxter's books." ~ Zee Monodee, USA Today bestselling author

About the Author

 

 

Alissa Baxter was born in a small town in South Africa and grew up with her nose in a book on a poultry and cattle farm. At the age of eleven, she discovered her mother’s collection of Georgette Heyer novels. The first Heyer novel she ever read was Sylvester and she was hooked on Georgette Heyer after that. She read and reread her novels, and fell totally in love with the Regency period and Heyer’s grey-eyed heroes!

After university, where she majored in Political Science and French, she began writing her first Regency novel, before moving to England, which gave her further inspiration for her historical romances.

Alissa has lived in Durban and Cape Town but she eventually settled in Johannesburg where she lives with her husband and two sons. Alissa is the author of two chick-lit novels, Send and Receive and The Blog Affair, which have been re-released as The Truth About Series: The Truth about Clicking Send and Receive and The Truth About Cats and Bees.

Alissa's Linfield Ladies Series features women in trend-setting roles in the Regency period who fall in love with men who embrace their trailblazing ways... at least eventually. The Viscount's Lady Novelist is the second book in this series, following on from The Earl's Lady Geologist.

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Blog Tour Schedule

 

Tuesday, April 26
Guest Post at Novels Alive
Excerpt at The Caffeinated Bibliophile
Wednesday, April 27
Review at MTM Reads
Excerpt at Aubrey Wynne: Timeless Romance
Thursday, April 28
Excerpt at The Lit Bitch
Review at Michelle the PA Loves to Read
Friday, April 29
Review at Anna’s Book Blog
Saturday, April 30
Excerpt at Reading is My Remedy
Sunday, May 1
Excerpt at The Cozy Book Blog
Monday, May 2
Review at Bookish Rantings
Tuesday, May 3
Review at Bookworlder
Wednesday, May 4
Review & Excerpt at Elodie’s Reading Corner
Thursday, May 5
Review at Novels Alive
Friday, May 6
Review at Gwendalyn's Books
Review at View from the Birdhouse
Saturday, May 7
Excerpt at Lisa Everyday Reads
Monday, May 9
Guest Post at Heidi Reads...
Wednesday, May 11
Review at Ms. Darcy Reads
Thursday, May 12
Review at Reading Is My SuperPower
Friday, May 13
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit
Monday, May 16
Review at One Book More
Tuesday, May 17
Review at Robin Loves Reading
Wednesday, May 18
Guest Post at The Tea Queen

Giveaway

Enter to win a $30 Amazon Gift Card!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on May 18th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Viscount's Lady Novelist