In case you were wondering, the ailment that Ferdy is suffering from is multiple sclerosis. The diagnosis itself did not exist until 1868, but the diaries of Augustus d’Este, dating from 1822 until his death, are the first known detailed descriptions of the condition by a person living with it.
MS is a condition that I’ve known about my whole life, with a godparent, a teacher, and some gaming buddies all having been diagnosed with it. For some reason, the condition is increasingly common across Canada, and yet it is still not fully understood. I hope to see a cure for it in my lifetime.
The Duchess, on the other hand, is suffering with rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that has impacted various members of my own family. I was surprised to learn that it is considered a fairly new disease, having only been named in 1838, and first fully described in Western literature in 1800 (although it was assumed to be a form of gout), but it did appear in non-European literature from the late 1500s. This means people certainly had the condition, but due to a range of factors it was not as prevalent as it is now.
In the case of Emily, I realised that any physician of the time would have classed her illness as arthritic in nature, even though they would not have known the exact type, and recommended both bathing in and drinking the waters at Bath as a remedy.
As someone who has ongoing health issues, I can’t say that convinced this advice did anyone much good at all, but it was probably better than leeches, bleeding and opium.
Researching illnesses led me to research doctors, and the character of Lacey was born. The medical profession was largely unregulated in the Regency period, and to be honest half the sources I read have given me nightmares when I realised what treatments would be recommended for someone like me. I confess that Lacey is progressive for his time simply because Regency practice was so barbaric, so his attitudes are similar to those found in the 1850s rather than 1815.
It was fun to discover that being a doctor wasn’t considered a genteel profession by our ancestors. However, unlike apothecaries and surgeons, doctors never actually operated or treated patients, they just diagnosed, so they were not considered menial workers, but rather members of the middle class.
Seriously, though, don’t look up Regency surgical practices. I shudder just to think about them.
Before I sign off, I need to give a shout out to my neighbours, Joe and Izzy, for their help with some of the French used I this book. As an immigrant to Canada who was taught to speak French while in England, the differences between Canadian French and France French are distinctive and unique. (It also makes helping my son with his French homework incredibly difficult, but I digress). I’m lucky that my Quebec friends didn’t mind me checking in with random requests for translations, or oddly specific questions about Montreal in 1814. Oh, and also a shout out to the Reader-In-Chief for catching that Monsieur Gautereau originally shared a name with a Canadian serial killer, allowing me to change it in time! Research, it seems, absolutely needs to include character names.
And please don’t worry – I didn’t include all that Canadian history for no reason at all; you’ll be meeting Monsieur Gautereau again soon, and you will find out what happens when the truth of his birth is uncovered.
As always, please feel free to drop me an email at [email protected] if you spot any inaccuracies or just want to geek out over the Regency. I’ve got at least two more books planned for this year, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about my writing process, it’s that naming it will guarantee that I end up writing something else entirely. So other than promising that the secondary characters you met in this book will indeed turn up again in future novels, I’m going to make it a lovely surprise.
Love and best wishes,
Beth xx
The Devilish Duke: Book eight in the Regency Romps Series Page 19