My husband thinks that all the historical romance novels I read have characters names Sebastian and Felicity. As much as I disagree vehemently with him whenever he brings this up, giggling as he makes his way through Eddie Izzard’s “Room with a View, with a Pond” sketch about Sebastian arranging matches, I have to admit that there is a grain of truth to his claim.
I haven’t been keeping track, but whenever I do read a novel where one of the characters is named Sebastian, I have been telling him, just so I can watch him roll his eyes. To tell the truth there have been several. More that I expected. I am totally keeping track now, and I will list theme here as I find/remember them.
Sebastian’s in Literature/ Romance Novels
- Sebastian Griffin, Duke of Melbourne – Suzanne Enoch, Sins/Griffin Family Series
- Sebastian (Bastian) Valmont, character in Les Liasons Dangereauses (Dangerous Liasons)
- Sebastian Flyte, a character in Evelyn Waugh’s novel, Brideshead Revisited
- Bastian Koehler, a character in With the Band, by L.A. Witt
- Sebastian, a character in William Shakespeare‘s play, The Tempest
- Sebastian, a character in William Shakespeare‘s play, Twelfth Night
Yes, different names were more popular in Regency London. Especially in Regency Romance London. Strapping Marquesses named: Oliver, Sebastian, Gabriel, Nathaniel, Gideon, Vincent and Fitzwilliam. Not to mention misses: Calphurnia, Aline, Violet, Olivia, Julianna, Althea, Eveline, Meredith, and Samantha.
From now on, I am also going to keep track of all of the great names that I find, and add them to this post. Feel free to comment and add!
Great Names in Historical Romance Novels
- Gabriel St. John, Marquess of Ralston
- George Wickham
- Modred Vaughn, Duke of Elderwood
- Olivia Marsden