On the Wings of Love: Georgian Elopement Stories

I was delighted to be asked by Naomi Clifford to contribute three essays to her collation of stories about elopement. These include such differing accounts as the tale of a Regency-era elopement to Hull in Yorkshire, and the love affair between Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Elizabeth Linley which ignited the gossip columns in the early 1770s.

Why was runaway marriage such a phenomenon in the Georgian era? Should some elopements more accurately be described as abductions? Newspapers, plays and paintings portrayed the romance of elopement — but what was the reality? Naomi Clifford delves into the archives to bring to light a fascinating selection of long-forgotten stories of desperation, greed, obsession and, occasionally, true love.

‘The eldest son of a great family, a youth of eighteen, has, we hear, lately eloped to Scotland, with his mother's maid.’ Leeds Intelligencer, 7 May 1765

‘A young lady eloped with a French dancing-master. She is said to have no less than £70,000 in her own possession.’ Derby Mercury, 14 February 1777

‘The young lady rose from the bed and escaped out of a window. An officer is supposed to have been waiting for her in a single horse chaise, which he had previously hired...’ Leeds Intelligencer, 21 October 1805

On The Wings of Love: Georgian Elopement Stories is available on Kindle and in paperback from Amazon.

Naomi Clifford tells the stories of history's forgotten women, writing both fiction and nonfiction. Visit her website to discover more.