Regency romances are a subgenre of romance novels set during the period of the English Regency or early 19th century. Rather than simply being versions of contemporary romance stories transported to a historical setting, Regency romances are a distinct genre with their own plot and stylistic conventions that derive from the works of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, and from the fiction genre known as the novel of manners . In particular, most Regencies feature a great deal of intelligent, fast-paced dialog between the protagonists and very little explicit sex or discussion of sex.

Other common elements of Regency romances include:

• mystery or farce elements in the plot
• a secondary romance between another couple in addition to the more serious story involving the main protagonists
• mistaken identity, deliberate or otherwise
• false engagements
• marriages of convenience
• depictions of activities common during the social season such as balls, routs, carriage riding, theatre events, fittings, suppers, assemblies, etc.
• references to, or descriptions of, leisure activities engaged in by fashionable young men of the period, including riding, driving, boxing, gambling, fencing, shooting, etc.

Like other fiction genres and subgenres, experience cyclic popularity swings. Currently, two publishers, Zebra and Signet produce at least eight Regencies every month, The readership has waned somewhat during the early 2000's along with the popularity of other historical romances in favor of contemporary settings, and the subgenre has changed somewhat under pressure from a changing reader base. While long-time readers have balked at a corresponding increase in sensuality, the publishers are attempting to keeping the subgenre afloat until the next upturn in the popularity of historical romances by appealing to a new generation of readers while still delivering the witty and clever plotlines the loyal readers love.