Thus, Sir Reginald Scott was born. The pictures and discussion below are from his debut, at the Regency Soire in Washington, D.C., in 2000. Sir Reginald was such a hit that he has made repeat performances ever since. So, I suppose the answer is that yes, a woman could have posed as a gentlemen, but not without some difficulty. My only caution--watch out that the gentleman doesn't become more popular than the lady! There are moments when I'm certain Sir Reggie has far eclipsed Regina Scott. Remind me to tell you the story about when he ran into Regina Scott's editor, in the ladies room.

And what do Regency writers do on their days off? Learn Regency dancing, of course! These pictures are from the 2000 Regency Writer's Conference in Washington D.C., a fun-filled day and evening spent learning more about Regency culture and the market for Regency-set fiction. Sponsored by the Beau Monde, the Regency Special Interest Chapter of Romance Writers of America, the gaming hell and ball held the evening of the conference was a big hit. As was a certain raven-haired "gentleman," here listening carefully to Cara "Drummond-Burrell" explain the intricacies of Regency dance.

As you can see, dear "Sir Reginald" wasn't the only one getting into the spirit of the conference by dressing up.

Indeed, many of our fine Regency writers dressed the part for the event. Here, Sir Reginald prepares to accompany Mrs. Drummond-Burrell and the sultry Miss Kristen Skold (in the stunning carmine gown) on a promenade about the room. Sir Reggie very nearly ended up engaged to Miss Skold (something about being caught helping her dress). Unfortunately, she lost her fortune in chocolate coins playing whist (or was it silverloo?), and he was forced to seek, ahem, greener pastures. Also conspicuous in their loveliness are the noted author Emily Hendrickson (to the left of Mrs. Drummond-Burrell in the royal blue as befits her station) and then President of the Beau Monde, Constance Robinson (behind Sir Reggie in the peach with black overskirt, sown by the talented Miss Skold, who every likely can recoup her fortune as a seamstress).

And there's Sir Reggie striding forth with his lovely companions. Ah, look at his manly gait, that sartorial smile, that romantic profile . . . but I wax poetic. There were far more august personages at the soire than Sir Reginald.

For instance, here is the lovely Emily Hendrickson again with two other stunning gems in the Regency writing world, authors Julia Justiss (at the left) and Margaret Evans-Porter (to the right, complete with plume). The darling woman hurrying along to the far right is Kensington author, Judith Laik. Sir Reggie challenged her to a duel at one point, but we won't go into that. She very graciously deloped, preventing Reggie from doing himself an injury.

So there you have it. A lovely time was had by all. My thanks to Cara "Drummond-Burrell" King and Kristen Skold for their kind permission to post these pictures, their willingness to share hotel space with an impoverished Sir Reggie and a woman impersonating the creator of this site, and their continued friendship to a slightly crazed romance author. Carpe diem, my dears! The Regency reigns.