How is it possible we've never done a governess episode? And how is it possible Louisa Darling hasn't been a guest on the pod yet? We're rectifying both of these injustices this week on the pod. We talk about Jane Eyre, The Sound of Music and other primordial governesses, and discuss exactly what kind of buttons these books installed--almost entirely thanks to old school historicals. We also talk about how governess books are some of the only books in which we will suffer a child, and yes, we shout out the nannies, too!

Louisa Darling is the pen name of Louisa Edwards and Lily Everett, and the author of Don’t Let Your Dukes Grow Up to be Scoundrels, Where Have All the Scoundrels Gone, and Scoundrel, Take Me Away.

Our next read along is Gorilla Twins, AKA Lorraine Heath's The Earl Takes All. Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.

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(Apologies for the subpar audio quality.)

• Learn more about The States Project and donate to the Fated States Giving Circle to keep Virginia blue this November.
• Welcome historical author Louisa Darling. She’s written contemporary romance as Louisa Edwards and women’s fiction as Lily Everett. She imprinted on Jayne Eyre and worked as an editorial assistant for Leslie Gelbman at Berkley, who edited Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz.
• Maybe all those early governess books were really about The Sound of Music.
• We talked about the Molly O’Keefe series that included Wait For It in season 7, and about Vanessa Riley and wet nurses when we had Kennedy Ryan on in season 2.
• Finally, our next deep dive will be Gorilla Twins. The actual title, of course, is The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath.

• Don’t Let Your Dukes Grow Up to be...