The Victorian era, in British history, was the period between approximately 1820 and 1914, corresponding roughly but not exactly to the period of Queen Victoria’s reign (1837–1901) and characterized by a class-based society, a growing number of people able to vote, a growing state and economy, and Britain’s status as the most powerful empire in the world. – Wikipedia
“During the Victorian period, Britain was a powerful nation with a rich culture. It had a stable government, a growing state, and an expanding franchise. It also controlled a large empire, and it was wealthy, in part because of its degree of industrialization and its imperial holdings and in spite of the fact that three-fourths or more of its population was working-class.” – britannica.com
While in reality the people of that era seldom acknowledged that sex existed, romance novels offer a different version for our enjoyment. From relatively chaste to downright scorching, the bold, daring and enlightened men and adventurous women followed societies conventions on the outside, but behind closed doors they had an awful lot of fun!
Here are some of the Top Authors of Romances set in the Victorian Era:
Vicki Hopkins
With eastern European blood on her father’s side and English on her mother’s, Vicki blames her ancestors for the lethal combination in her genes that influence her stories. Many of her books bear the character names of her ancestors or are dedicated to their memory, as these individuals lived in the Regency and Victorian eras. The author believes this is a beautiful way to memorialize their lives in periods in which she pens her stories.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
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![]() | Lady Jane: Ladies of Disgrace | Hopkins, Vicki | Buy Now | |
![]() | Dark Persuasion | Hopkins, Vicki | Buy Now | |
![]() | Lady Charlotte: Ladies of Disgrace | Hopkins, Vicki | Buy Now |
Jo Goodman
Jo Goodman is a licensed professional counselor working with children and families in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. Always a fan of the happily ever after, Jo turned to writing romances early in her career as a child care worker when she realized the only life script she could control was the one she wrote herself. She is inspired by the resiliency and courage of the children she meets and feels privileged to be trusted with their stories, the ones that they alone have the right to tell.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | A Season To Be Sinful | Goodman, Jo | Buy Now | |
![]() | If His Kiss Is Wicked | Goodman, Jo | Buy Now | |
![]() | Scarlet Lies (Author's Cut Edition): Historical Romance | Goodman, Jo | Buy Now |
Mimi Matthews
USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning proper historical romances set in Victorian England. Her articles on nineteenth century history have been published on various academic and history sites, including the Victorian Web and the Journal of Victorian Culture, and are also syndicated at BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes an Andalusian dressage horse, two Shelties, and two Siamese cats.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter: A Victorian Romance | Matthews, Mimi | Buy Now | |
![]() | The Lost Letter: A Victorian Romance | Matthews, Mimi | Buy Now | |
![]() | The Matrimonial Advertisement (Parish Orphans of Devon Book 1) | Matthews, Mimi | Buy Now |
Lisa Kleypas
Lisa Kleypas is the award-winning author of nearly forty books of historical and contemporary romance, which have been translated into twenty-five languages. She is the recipient of two Rita awards and an RT Book Reviews Best Historical Romance award and has had several of her novels reach the New York Times bestseller list.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Chasing Cassandra: The Ravenels | Kleypas, Lisa | Buy Now | |
![]() | Cold-Hearted Rake: The Ravenels, Book 1 | Kleypas, Lisa | Buy Now | |
![]() | Marrying Winterborne: The Ravenels, Book 2 | Kleypas, Lisa | Buy Now |
Esther Hatch
Esther Hatch grew up on a cherry orchard in rural Utah. After high school, she alternated living in Russia to teach children English and attending Brigham Young University in order to get a degree in archaeology. She began writing when one of her favorite authors invited her to join a critique group. The only catch was she had to be a writer. Not one to be left out of an opportunity to socialize and try something new; she started on her first novel that week.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | A Proper Scandal: A Victorian Historical Romance | Hatch, Esther | Buy Now | |
![]() | A Note of Change (Timeless Victorian Collection Book 5) | Hatch, Esther | Buy Now | |
![]() | A Proper Charade | Hatch, Esther | Buy Now |
Beverley Oakley
Beverley Oakley is an Australian author who grew up in the African mountain kingdom of Lesotho, emigrated to South Australia when she was young, and married a Norwegian bush pilot she met while managing a safari lodge in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Under her real name Beverley Eikli, she writes Africa-set romantic suspense, and psychological historical romances.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | The Mysterious Governess (Daughters of Sin Book 3) | Oakley, Beverley | Buy Now | |
![]() | Beyond Rubies (Daughters of Sin Book 4) | Oakley, Beverley | Buy Now | |
![]() | Lady Unveiled - The Cuckold's Conspiracy (Daughters of Sin Book 5) | Oakley, Beverley | Buy Now |
Scarlett Scott
USA TODAY bestselling author Scarlett Scott writes steamy Victorian and Regency historical romances with strong, intelligent heroines and sexy alpha heroes. She lives in Pennsylvania with her Canadian husband, their adorable identical twins, and one TV-loving dog. A self-professed literary junkie and nerd, she loves reading anything but especially romance novels, poetry, and Middle English verse.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Prince of Persuasion (Sins and Scoundrels Book 2) | Scott, Scarlett | Buy Now | |
![]() | Marquess of Mayhem (Sins and Scoundrels Book 3) | Scott, Scarlett | Buy Now | |
![]() | Earl of Every Sin (Sins and Scoundrels Book 4) | Scott, Scarlett | Buy Now |
Christi Caldwell
USA TODAY Bestselling, RITA-nominated author Christi Caldwell blames Julie Garwood and Judith McNaught for luring her into the world of historical romance. While sitting in her graduate school apartment at the University of Connecticut, Christi decided to set aside her notes and pick up her laptop to try her hand at romance. She believes the most perfect heroes and heroines have imperfections, and she rather enjoys torturing them before crafting them a well deserved happily ever after!
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Schooling the Duke (The Heart of a Scandal Book 1) | Caldwell, Christi | Buy Now | |
![]() | A Matchmaker for a Marquess (The Heart of a Scandal Book 3) | Caldwell, Christi | Buy Now | |
![]() | Five Days With A Duke (The Heart of a Scandal Book 5) | Caldwell, Christi | Buy Now |
Jillian Eaton
Jillian Eaton grew up in Maine and now resides in Pennsylvania. When she isn’t writing, Jillian is doing her best to keep up with her toddler and twins – all boys. She loves horses, coffee, getting email from readers, ducks, and staying up late finishing a good book. She isn’t very fond of doing laundry.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | A Dangerous Proposal (Bow Street Brides Book 2) | Eaton, Jillian | Buy Now | |
![]() | A Dangerous Affair (Bow Street Brides Book 3) | Eaton, Jillian | Buy Now | |
![]() | The Duke of St. Giles | Eaton, Jillian | Buy Now |
Sarah M. Eden
Sarah M. Eden is a USA Today bestselling author of multiple historical romances. Combining her obsession with history and affinity for tender love stories, Sarah loves crafting witty characters and heartfelt romances set against rich historical backdrops. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in research and happily spends hours perusing the reference shelves of her local library. Sarah lives with her husband, kids, and mischievous dog in the shadow of a snow-capped mountain she has never attempted to ski.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Ashes on the Moor (Proper Romance) | Eden, Sarah M. | Buy Now | |
![]() | The Lady and the Highwayman [Proper Romance] | Eden, Sarah M. | Buy Now | |
![]() | The Gentleman and the Thief (Proper Romance Victorian) | Eden, Sarah M. | Buy Now |
Julia Quinn
#1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn loves to dispel the myth that smart women don’t read (or write) romance, and in 2001 she did so in grand fashion, appearing on the game show The Weakest Link and walking away with the $79,000 jackpot. She displayed a decided lack of knowledge about baseball, country music, and plush toys, but she is proud to say that she aced all things British and literary, answered all of her history and geography questions correctly, and knew that there was a Da Vinci long before there was a code. Ms. Quinn is one of only sixteen members of Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame, her books have been translated into 29 languages, and she currently lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Just Like Heaven (Smythe-Smith Quartet Book 1) | Quinn, Julia | Buy Now | |
![]() | A Night Like This | Quinn, Julia | Buy Now | |
![]() | The Sum of All Kisses | Quinn, Julia | Buy Now |
Tessa Dare
Tessa Dare is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty historical romances. Her books have received numerous accolades, including Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® award (twice) and multiple RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Awards. Booklist magazine named her one of the “new stars of historical romance,” and her books have been contracted for translation in a dozen languages. A librarian by training and a booklover at heart, Tessa makes her home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband, their two children, and a trio of cosmic kitties.
Top selling Victorian Romance books:
Image | Title | Author | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Not Like a Lady (Lords and Undefeated Ladies) | Lynne, Judith | Buy Now | |
![]() | Surrender of a Siren (Wanton Dairymaid Trilogy Book 2) | Dare, Tessa | Buy Now | |
![]() | A Lady of Persuasion (Wanton Dairymaid Trilogy Book 3) | Dare, Tessa | Buy Now |