If someone’s only point of reference for historical romance was Jane Austen as the ur-text and maybe Bridgerton as the legacy, they might be surprised by just how replete the genre is with crime. The same things that make true crime compelling, like the salacious voyeurism on both victims and enactors of violence and the added drama of the threat of legal consequences, provide for interesting plot devices, even in a story that centers on romance. Criminality is used to make a love forbidden, or to signal who the villain is, or to give the couple something to overcome together, like a false accusation or a stint in prison, or at least the threat of one. Based on my personal reading, I would guess about a third of all the historical romance novels I have read deal with some level of criminal procedure--ranging from a false accusation of stealing a necklace at a house party to a hero controlling the black market in London to actual murder.
I am looking forward to the rest of this series - and the at length discussions of Foucault.
Wow, TIL about the etymology of Bedlam. (Also, this was great, can’t wait to read the rest!)