Wickedness existed, but was seldom presented in a disturbing way. Still, the bedroom door always closed with the reader on the outside, only able to imagine what went on within. Recently, the genre has been expanded by talented writers who brought explicit sexual scenes, violence, the ills of society, paranormal and fantasy elements, and so forth, into their plot lines. This has had the paradoxical effect, in my humble opinion, of both enriching the genre and fragmenting the Regency audience. Fans who prefer the older type of Regency may avoid the newer ones.
New readers discover the genre.
In this situation, I feel it is only fair to the reader to tell how I have approached the Regency thus far. The Baron and the Bookseller and The Duke's Desire , to the decidedly darker Miss Henderson's Secret , with its particularly nasty villain. As befits the personality of the hero and heroine, and as required by the plot-line, Isabella's Rake has much more sexual content than the others. My Lady Ghost , too, has some more sensual scenes. In none of my Regencies is there consummated sex before marriage.