Poetry

Recipe for a Regency Cozy

My guilty pleasure

“Two Strings to Her Bow” by John Pettie, 1882 (public domain)

Take one titled gent with a past,

He’s noble and handsome and smart,

With access to money, his own or a friend’s

A passion for justice resides in his heart

Add a retainer, relentlessly faithful,
And a love life with grave complications
There’s always a murder wherever he goes,
Bow Street will balk, but he always knows
He’s free to launch investigations

A sprinkle of waifs who are ever in peril
A handful of rogues to befriend
A dowager duchess to cut the red tape
A bad’ un who’s caught in the end

A healthy infusion of history’s facts
(An appearance of Prinny’s essential)
I’ve read dozens of these
I could write one I guess
But I suffer from fatal potential

So I’ll keep on indulging my cozy compulsion,
The best ones are thrilling and clever,
For it’s fun to imagine milords and myself,
Solving these mysteries together.