Today we have the fabulous Sherry Thomas guest blogging. As many of you know, Sherry burst on to the historical romance scene with PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS, one of my all time favourite historical romances. Her prose is…the only way I can put it is to die for. This year Sherry’s NOT QUITE A HUSBAND is a RITA nominee for Best Historical. Please extend a warm welcome to Sherry as she chats with us about Eton–the reigning school of our historical heroes.
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If you read and/or write historical romance, you’ve probably heard of Eton College, the independent (private, in U.S. terminology) school for boys that has produced 19 British prime ministers, including the newest, David Cameron. And while the royal family traditionally educated princes at Gordonstoun, Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer is an Old Etonian, and Eton was where both Prince William and Prince Harry spent their teenage years.
Many, many historical romance heroes have attended Eton. Have you ever wondered what their life at school might have been like?
Well, think of Hogwarts, which is the most famous boarding school in literary history. There are some similarities. Although Eton students do not live in a castle, they are divided into various residential houses. And just like in Hogwarts, much of the students’ social life revolve around their peers in the same residential house.
Nowadays the houses are administered by the school. But during the 19th century and before, they were separate establishments, opened either by masters who wanted the extra income, or by enterprising women will and able to keep forty boys under control. Students referred to their particular house as either my tutor’s or my dame’s, depending on whether the house is operated by a man or a woman.
Eton, founded by Henry VI, was originally a charity school intended to educate poor boys who would then go on to King’s College at Cambridge. The boys who passed an examination and were therefore educated at the king’s expense are called King’s Scholars. At any given point in time, there were 70 King’s Scholars of various ages on campus, and their house is called College House, run by the school itself from the very beginning.
Your average Regency heroes, however, even if they aced the examination, were unlikely to be Kings Scholars. For much of its history, the conditions at College House were deplorable—and terrible food on top of it. So a boy from a family of any means would have been sent to one of the more comfortable, privately run houses, where each student had a room of his own to decorate as he pleased.
Another similarity between Hogwarts and Eton is the self-governing structure of the students. Britain’s public schools were the train grounds for the administrators of her empire. The boys had a say in the selection of their prefects. Between the prefects (called Debate and Library in centuries past), the House Captain, and the Game captain, the boys managed most of their own affairs. Even corporal punishments were administered by a prefect, instead of an adult.
Yet one more similarity between the most famous fictional boarding school and the most famous real-world boarding school is the sports madness. At Hogwarts there is only one sport, Quidditch. At Eton there are many, many sports. Eton’s three annual terms (called Halves) is each dominated by a distinct set of sports. The Michaelmas Half (fall term) is all football (soccer) and rugby. The Lent Half (spring term) the students play what is called field game, which is a type of football unique to Eton. And the Summer Half is associated with the sports that most often come to mind when we think about Eton, rowing and cricket.
Everybody played. It is difficult to overstate the pervasiveness of the sporting culture—a central tenet of manhood, in fact. The Duke of Wellington is believed to have said, “The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.” In 1939, during WWII, Eton donated fifteen acres of its playing field to the British Government’s Grow-More-Food program—and that made the news pages of Time Magazine.
Where Eton completely differs from Hogwarts, of course, is in its curriculum. I have here a weekly class schedule from circa 1900. And you can see, the boys education is concentrated overwhelmingly in the classics, even at that late date.
Yet another difference is the practice of fagging, which does not exist in Hogwarts and has been phased out at Eton, but was definitely still in place during earlier ages. A young boy who first enters Eton becomes a fag—a sort of personal servant—to a senior boy. He makes the senior boy’s tea—not just jam and crumpet, but a serious meal—fetches things, and makes himself generally useful.
So could your Old Etonian hero cook? Not all that well, perhaps. But when push comes to shove, anyone who had fagged—and every boy starting Eton fagged, no exceptions—could brew tea, make toast, and fry an egg.
Which just makes him more dreamy, non? 🙂
(And if the title of this post looks odd to you, click here )
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His At Night
Author: Sherry Thomas
Publisher: Bantam
Pub. Date: May 25, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0553592443
Retail: $7.99
432 pagesElissande Edgerton is a desperate woman, a virtual prisoner in the home of her tyrannical uncle. Only through marriage can she claim the freedom she craves. But how to catch the perfect man?
Lord Vere is used to baiting irresistible traps. As a secret agent for the government, he’s tracked down some of the most devious criminals in London, all the while maintaining his cover as one of Society’s most harmless—and idiotic—bachelors. But nothing can prepare him for the scandal of being ensnared by Elissande.
Forced into a marriage of convenience, Elissande and Vere are each about to discover they’re not the only one with a hidden agenda. With seduction their only weapon against each other—and a dark secret from the past endangering both their lives—can they learn to trust each other even as they surrender to a passion that won’t be denied?
So do you like your heroes Eton schooled? Comment and enter to win an autographed copy of HIS AT NIGHT.
Eton educated is definitely a plus but not a must, while I think an educated man is pretty sexy, self-made men are pretty darn appealing too. Never knew there were so many similarities between Eton & Hogwarts, thanks this was very fun 🙂
Congrats on the new release, Sherry. I do like my heroes Eton schooled. Most of the heroes I read about went to Eton or Harrow. The education they received at these schools made them into the heroes that we love.
I think heroes schooled by Eton have something that makes them just a bit more arrogant and superior. And you know they’re going to rub the heroine wrong at first, then turn on the charm and who can resist an Eton man!
I used to think of Eton as a place where romance heroes would receive an education worthy of their arrogance. Now, however, I have an Eton-educated boss. Kinda takes away from the school’s romance, for me.
The Eton schooled heroes do sound more appealing 🙂
Congrats on the new release!
Congrats on new release. It sounds great. I do like my heroes Eton schooled. Very informative post. It is fun to escape to a different place.
I’m currently writing an Eton-schooled hero, so thanks for the info. It’s going to impact a certain scene of mine. Looking forward to reading this new release. Congratulations!
Congrats on the release Sherry!
In honesty i never even realized that most of my heroes are Eton schooled. I have to admit that if they turn out such wonderful men then let them keep on coming. ^^ What a magnificent school it is too!
I like heroes that were educated in Eton but it doesn’t have to be necessary for me to like them.
Fascinating post! I love learning the history behind things (hence my love of historical romance novels). Definitely looking forward to reading this one!
Great blog, I learned a lot! Eton schooled heroes is very appealing, esp. the part of making tea and a egg. Cooking skills always welcome, all the best for your release!
Thanks for the informative post, I’ve never really looked into Eton before. I guess it depends on the story, but I do love a well-educated hero. 😀
I love your books and I can’t wait to read this one!
Hi Sherry – thanks for the great post about Eton! (I totally got the title. You set us up the bomb.)
I learned about fagging from Roald Dahl’s childhood memoir, “Boy” (though that described a different school), and it sounds like it could be a horrible hazing. But I do like my heroes Eton-schooled, since that adds to the historical accuracy of a book. Congrats on your new release!
This was a really interesting post! While I had noticed the flux of Etonian heroes, I’d never tried to look into why there were so many. Next time I see a hero from Eton, I just know I’ll be thinking, “19 British Prime Ministers–pretty darn impressive…”!
Congratulations on the release!
Congratulation! on the release, can’t wait to read this book. 🙂
I have added this one to my TBR list for the summer. I t sounds really good and I want to see how an Eton educated guy meets the challenges that confront him.
Congratulations on your latest release, Sherry! Can’t wait to read it. I must admit to being something of an intellectual snob so a hero educated at Eton definitely appeals to me. My late husband was an extremely well-educated man and much of his study of the classics he did on his own. I keep his well-worn volume of Marcus Aurelius on my nightstand. There is just something about a man who is handsome, titled, rich AND well-educated that no sensible Regency Miss can resist! I know exactly how she feels!
I had a chance to visit Eton when I was visiting some friends. We took a “tour” and they told us everyone famous who went there such as Prince William and Harry but I kept telling my friends that is this book the hero went to Eton. They kept looking at my like I was crazy.
Hi Sherry,
Congratulations on the release of His at Night. Looking forward to reading it.
I guess I’ve never thought about the education of the heros in the books I read. But I believe I’ll go with the pack and just say ‘Yes’ to an Eton education!
Congrats on your new release Sherry, I love your books! I guess I never thought much about where the heros are educated but I guess most of them were educated at Eton!
This post was very interesting! I have read quite a few books that featured Eton-educated heroes, but I never knew much about Eton itself. Thanks for the backgound.
Sherry, congrats on the new release! All of your previous books were a delight to read, and they now have prominent spots on my “keeper shelf.”
i loved seeing that class schedule! what a great piece of history!
Being well-educated is certainly a plus for a hero. Thanks for all the interesting information on Eton, and I can’t wait to read your new book!
What a beautiful cover. I have not read but; a couple of historical books so far & both did not mention any schools so I am not sure. It sure sounds like a good one. Adding this book to my to read list.
Congrats Sherry!
I don’t even think about where they are educated.
Thanks for the post, Sherry. I learned a lot because I didn’t realize what Eton really was all about. I think heroes educated at Eton do tend to have that rakish arrogance and I like that!
Congrats on your release!
Hero(es) with an Eton education sounds promising, (T)he(y) can serve her breakfast in bed…
And intelligent guys are hot! so would love to read this book.
I enjoy heroes that have a higher education. Whether it’s Eton, Oxford or Cambridge though doesn’t necessarily matter. Congratulations on your new release, His at Night.
Fun post, Sherry. I’m writing an Etonian at the moment but my forthcoming book features a Wykehamist hero. Winchester College is an even older school and famous for intellectual excellence and dubious social skills – appropriate for my transformed nerd hero.
Hi Sherry. Great post. I learned alot. It sounds like Eton schooled heroes learned a variety of skills. Congratulations on your new book. Sounds wonderful. I love the cover.
Congrats Sherry ! It feels like I’ve been waiting for this book to come out FOREVER. I’m really impatient to read it. So far I’ve loved all your heroes and I bet this one won’t be no exception. As much as I love my sony reader, with a cover like that I’m sure getting my paper copy. This is definitely my favorite cover so far this year. Here again, félicitations 😉
So informative! Whether or not the hero benefited from an Eton education doesn’t really matter to me. As long as he has some sort of street smarts or savvy then I’ll probably like him.
yes i like my heroes eton schooled .
These look superb!And I would love to get one!!
I prefer an intelligent hero-well-educated or not.
Yes! Eton is the place where all my hero’s always go. It looks gorgeous from that picture!
Eton has some great heros in it’s mist.
I always related Eton to the schooling of all the romance heroes I’ve read about. I loved this post. It was so informative. I didn’t realize they attended classes 6 days a week and studied so many classics. I”ll also say yes, I like an Eton schooled hero.
Thanks Sherry for the informative post and congrats on your latest release. Love the cover and it is on my TRL.
Carol L.
Lucky4750@aol.com
Interesting post. It doesn’t matter to me where they were educated, as long as they are intelligent.
This book looks fabulous!
Hi Sherry!!!! Can’t wait to read HAN! An Eton education is very nice but I’m not particular about my hero’s alma mater. His character is more important.
What an interesting post. I’ve never known much about Eton, although I’ve always heard of it. I like a hero who has a classical education, so I guess I do like my heros to by Eton schooled.
I really enjoyed the post. I’ve read stories that mention Eton, but now I know a lot more about the school than I did before. I believe I’d like an Eton educated hero, but as long as he’s intelligent it doesn’t really matter where he went to school.
Hi Sherry,
It’s so nice to see you here at The Season! 🙂 I enjoyed reading your blog post about Eton.
I really love British heroes but it doesn’t matter to me if they are educated at Eton or somewhere else.
Your new book looks great, and I love the names you gave your characters, Vere and Elissande.
Lots of luck with your new release! 🙂
Very interesting post about Eton. Sherry’s books are amazing! I can hardly wait to read HIA! Please enter me in the contest. Thanks!
I personally think fancy schools can be overrated. But, higher education is a must. The classics should still be required reading because they help us understand where we came from. Kind of like getting to know your ancestors. 😀
Congrats on your new release. A educated hero is definitely a plus but some of these prestigious schools can really be overrated.
I have to say that I don’t care where my heroes are schooled. However, when creating a hero when I do have to choose a school, I usually go with Eton or Rugby. For Universities it’s either Cambridge or Oxford.
Hi Sherry, congratulations on your release. I loved Private Arrangements and I can’t wait to read this one.
I love the whole Eton blog tidbit, Sherry. I also adore my men with an Eton education as well. 😉 As far as Universities go, I agree with you, Beverley, definately Cambridge or Oxford.
I look forward to reading His At Night.
I’m not sure there were many private schools to choose from back then, so most of the aristocratic heroes always come from Eton or the other one. I don’t really have a preference, I’m easy. Congratulations on the release Sherry. I haven’t read anything from you yet and this one sounds very good.
The prep schools had a lot of drawbacks, but they were an established and acceptable way to get out in the world and away from your family. 🙂
I have noticed how many historical heros attend Eton but didn’t really know what that involved, apart from it sounding like some boys would have been dreadfully bullied (Loretta Chase’s Dain comes to mind). What happened to boys who weren’t very athletically adept? Or good at classics? Seems like it could have been a very difficult life.
Fagging seems a bit like being a page and squire. A hold over from medieval times maybe? Thank you for an informative post on the school. Other than the name, I knew little about it.
Your new book, HIS AT NIGHT, sounds like a good read. You have used a few of my favorite plot devices.
I’ll be looking for it.
Thank you for this post, Sherry! So informative!
Such great information! I never knew any of this before.
Margay
I enjoyed reading all this information that I didn’t know.
Sherry, thanks for your interesting post about Eton and Hogswarth. I didn’t know anything about them, but learned a lot. Congrats on your release!
Hi, Sherry. Already have the book, but just stopped to say hello. Enjoyed the review of Eton, partially because the educational structure has similarities to medieval Cambridge, where I set IN THE MASTER’S BED. I suspect the ideas of men living in their own housing, the emphasis on the classics, election of their own masters, and so on worked down from university. All very British, to be sure! Looking forward to the book.
Hi everybody,
So lovely to read all of your comments.
My first two heroes were not Eton-educated. Camden from Private Arrangements, because of his peripatetic childhood, probably attended various lycées all over the continent for his secondary education. (I always smile when I think of the university I put him to: the Ecole Polytechnique of Paris, where students probably still wore the tricot and the uniform of military cadets when he attended. Hawt!)
Stuart, from Delicious, went to Rugby, the school where the sport originated.
It was an offhand mention in Not Quite a Husband (something about a drama production at Eton) that made Leo from Not Quite a Husband into an Old Etonian. And since Leo and Vere from His at Night are classmates–originally I made them cousins–so Vere is also an Old Etonian by default. 🙂
I feel actually rather ambiguous about Eton, or at least current-day Eton. I don’t know whether the young men they produce will serve their communities well, or merely serve themselves. Can’t judge, as I have never met anyone from Eton.
I’m so glad Miranda Neville brought up Winchester, cuz that really is the brainy school. (At Eton the love of brawn is probably greater.) So to answer Maya M.’s question, Winchester would be better if a boy had less interest in sports. Although if he’s no good at classics, he’ll suffer everywhere. (And lots of boys at Eton were somewhat shoddy at school work. Didn’t bother them too much. They’ve cricket practice.) 🙂
Again, thank you everyone for commenting. Should you get around to reading HIS AT NIGHT, I hope you enjoy!
http://edwardianpromenade.com/great-britain/boys-public-school-winchester/
Oops, forgot to label the link above. I’ll list it below again
http://edwardianpromenade.com/great-britain/boys-public-school-winchester/
It’s an excellent article on British public schools, with more detail on Winchester, at Edwardian Promenade.
And @Blythe Gifford, you should blog somewhere about medieval Cambridge University. My previous book, Not Quite a Husband, went all over Northwest Frontier of the British Raj, but ended in Cambridge, where the hero would go on to be the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. Love those old universities.
Very interesting history….I had no idea!!! I can’t wait to read your new book….they rock!!!
I do tend to love books set with their heroes coming from eton. Then again, I also love the ones with men sent to a hard school where boyhood bonds are forged for survival. I think I just love the heroes from then period. 🙂