The Lords of Hazard Series by Sabrina Jeffries
I have been a long time fan of Sabrina Jeffries' romances. Not only are they well written romances with engaging characters and interesting storylines, but I almost always learn something. In Ms Jeffries' new Lords of Hazard series, I learned about English citizens who were held captive in France for over a decade by Napoleon. Three such detenus are the heroes in this new series.
Hazardous to a Duke's Heart was released in 2025, and Nearly a Bride releases in April 2026. Please check out my review for Hazardous to a Duke's Heart
Below is my 3 Q&A asking Ms Jeffries for more information on what she learned about this piece of history.
3 Q&A
KRC: This history of English citizens held in France during the war does not appear to be well known and I read that you only learned about it through a footnote. I would have expected this to have been front page news for the ton with weekly updates. Why do you think it is not well known?
Ms Jeffries: It WAS well-known at the time. Many detenus wrote books about their experiences in the various camps and prisons, some of them even during the war while it was happening. I came across about 15 or so just on my own. And if you go to Wikipedia for some of the names (the Duke of Newcastle, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Pelham-Clinton,_4th_Duke_of_Newcastle ), their biographies in things like the Dictionary of National Biography mentioned their time in Verdun. I can’t figure out why it faded into obscurity later because once I knew about it and knew where to look, I found it everywhere in period accounts. And actually, authors like Patrick O’Brien and Winston Graham (Poldark) do talk about it in their own period novels. It just hasn’t been talked about in romance much.
KRC: The hero and his friends were in a prison, but not all detenu were held like that. Is there any idea how many were left in the towns versus prisons?
Ms Jeffries: Far more were in the towns, but the numbers are hard to determine, since Napoleon often exaggerated about how many British civilians he was keeping imprisoned. The number I think may be accurate is about 400 in Verdun, the biggest camp (but I don’t know how many at Bitche). More than one of the ten towns had a prison (at Verdun, it was the Citadel), but if they really wanted to send a message, they sent people to Bitche and a couple of others. I think Bitche was the most notorious. But be aware that the towns were still prisons. The gates were closed at night, and if a detenu tried to stay out or escape, the “peasants” were offered rewards to catch them. Some were marched in irons through the town after insulting the commandant (or Napoleon). Some were friendly with everyone and had parties. It was very haphazard.
KRC: What happened to the average person who had been held there. They must have spent all the money they brought, how would they be able to return to England?
Ms Jeffries: There were ways for people to get money on credit, but one of the most interesting details I found was that the detenus left behind millions in debt to French creditors in the towns. Britain did make a sort of settlement with France years later, but if you had extended credit to a Brit, you weren’t certain of being repaid. I honestly am not sure how some of them got home. I gather that they may have been shipped home on British ships once they walked to the coast, but I’d have to do more research on that.
If you’d like to know more, I have an author’s note on my new website that lists some of my many sources for the book at
www.sabrinajeffries.com/book/hazardous-to-a-dukes-heart It’s really fascinating stuff! I’m glad you were fascinated, too.
KRC: And that concludes my 3 Q&A for April. My thanks to Ms Jeffries for proving such detailed answers. I hope this intrigues you to read her Lords of Hazard series.
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