I’m very excited to host fellow historical fantasy writer Celia Lake on the blog today.

Celia writes fantasy stories historically set between the 1850s and the 1940s, all of them set in an alternative Great Britain where magic actually exists.

She has written many series set in this world. Her more recent publication, Harmonic Pleasure, is part of the 7-book Mysterious Arts series, of which this book is the sixth.

I find the concept of Albion – Celia’s alternative Great Britain – very fascinating. So I asked her to tell us a bit more about it.

Enjoy.

Geoffrey Carillon has spent much of his life both before and after the Great War travelling the world.

In February of 1922, his older brother’s sudden and unexpected death calls him back to Albion to take up his ancestral obligations to the land magic. Naturally, Carillon relies heavily on his loyal and exceedingly competent valet, Benton.

Carillon discovers that much has changed in his time away, and he desperately needs allies to help him navigate the world as it is now. Benton, for his part, is focused on bringing the estate into better working order, in a number of ways he expected and quite a few he did not.

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1) You have written many series set in Albion. Where does this more recent story stand?

I love writing about people making the world better together. Most (but not all) of my books are romances: people who end up interacting to solve a problem and fall in love in the process. Harmonic Pleasure is very much one of those.

It’s also the sixth book (of seven) in the Mysterious Arts series, all set between 1915 and 1929. Each book has a problem that needs solving and a romance. But they’re also exploring different arts and crafts. It’s been tremendous fun to do some of the research for these. The books include bookbinding, theatre and shoemaking, perfume, jet carving (as in the stone), and weaving. Harmonic Pleasure is full of music. Distilling Sunlight, the last book, is about beer and mead making.

One of my readers described my books as like a mosaic. Each individual square has its own distinct identity, colour, and flavour. But the individual stories make a bigger picture of the world. I love that image, and it explains why there are so many more tales of Albion I want to tell! I also love how romances are a particularly intense look at a short period of someone’s life – usually a couple of months, maybe a year.

I do set things up so readers can start almost anywhere (the big exception is that you should read the Mysterious Fields trilogy in order). For people who want to avoid plot spoilers from other books or want recommendations, I have reading order suggestions on my website. Harmonic Pleasure is a great starting place, though!

2) Albion has a very unique, complex story. Would you mind briefly outlining it for us?

On one level, Albion is our world, but with a layer of magic and hidden history. On other levels, it has its own cultural touchstones, customs, notable families, and much more. When I began writing, I knew I didn’t want magic to be the answer to everything – or be something that could change our known history. Wars still happen, and so do many wonderful inventions and discoveries.

Where did the two communities split? That happened back in 1484. For those who don’t remember their British history dates, that’s when Richard III took over as king. Richard III died the following year at Bosworth Field. Henry VII, who began the Tudor dynasty, was the victor of that battle.

In my books, 1484 was also the Pact. This was a major and binding treaty between the Fatae (the magical beings of Albion) and the humans with magic. The arrangement was actually good for everyone. Humans with magic could learn some specific magical techniques, such as creating or growing portals for transportation or a number of healing techniques. The Fatae had a chance to protect specific places they valued. Most of them retreated to live in those places (not entirely in our world). Cousins (children of Fatae and humans) stayed to help tend the locations that connected with our world.

The Pact is anchored in a tremendously dense and encompassing bit of magic. It’s used to bind magical agreements. People can use it to anchor oaths including things like ‘is this person telling the truth’ in a courtroom setting. Enforceable oaths and the rapid transit provided by portals led to the development of several of Albion’s institutions. They include the Guard and Penelopes (mentioned in Harmonic Pleasure) as well as Albion’s Council.

By the time my current books are set, most people in Albion live at least partially in the non-magical community. While people of Albion swear (on the Pact) not to reveal Albion’s magic, there are still a lot of subtle magical things that are possible. These include comforts at home, faster healing of injuries, less chance of infections, and so on.

Just like any other group of people, the community of Albion has varied capacity for and skill in magic. If we’re comparing it to music, most people are happy singing in the shower and maybe in community groups. Many fewer are making their living with it. It’s the same way with magic. There are some incredible specialists with amazing skills, but a lot more who use small bits of magic but don’t rely on it all day.

3) I’m a Tolkien fan, I have to warn you, but really the story of the Fatae leaving Albion does echo (in my heart) the story of the Elves leaving Middle-earth. Was this part of your inspiration, or does the idea come from a totally different source?

Oh, goodness! I think my answer here is that I’ve also been very taken with the same stories Tolkien was drawing on – and on a lot of folklore – and changes over time. If you look at, say, stories of the Wild Hunt in Great Britain, the stories start to change around the 1400s. That’s true both of the nature of the Hunt and what people think it means.

There’s a lot of lore out there about the fae going under the hill or away. Stories attribute many reasons including concerns like industrialisation, pollution, a vastly increased human population encroaching on their spaces, etc. In my history of Albion, it was a deliberate choice, made for their own benefit, but partly because of those things.

4) Most of your stories are set in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Is it just your personal preferences, or do you think there’s something more ‘magical’ in these decades?

I started writing in the 1920s for a specific reason. I am slowly working on the background research for a series set in the 1480s (leading up to and including the making of the Pact). At this point, I’ve been working on that research for about two years, and I’ve got at least another 18 months before I can seriously think about writing it! But I’ve been expanding in both directions and by the end of this year, I’ll have books out ranging from 1854 to 1948.

I think that the changes in society, wide-ranging wars, and the new challenges people have to face make a fascinating place for what I want to write.

5) Regarding the 1920s (which is where Harmonic Pleasure is set), what do you find more magical about this era?

I was drawn to the 1920s in particular because they’re – to my way of thinking – an especially potent place to set a romance. If something difficult, awful, or challenging happens to us, I think it’s normal to put our heads down and get through it as best we can. But hopefully, a little later, we put our heads up and can engage with the larger world again. For some people, that can happen in months. For others, it might be years or even decades later.

I think that’s an amazing place for a romance to happen, those steps into exploring a world that’s changed around us. The 1920s have so much of that! And living through the Great War (and then later World War II) was such a universal experience in Britain, even though people reacted in a wide range of ways.

6) What is your next project? Will it also be set in the 1920s?

So, back to that idea of a mosaic, I write – and publish – a lot. That means I have two more books coming out in 2025 and another free extra to share with my readers. Claiming the Tower is coming out on September 19th. It’s set in 1854, a f/f romance between a woman who’s infuriated with how the Crimean War is being handled and a woman trapped in an increasingly limited life as a lady’s companion. It’s full of drinking chocolate, making the most of the joys of life, and figuring out how to take on new challenges together. This is the first book in a three-book series exploring Albion’s Council in the Victorian period.

In November, we have Apt to be Suspicious, set at Oxford in the 1947-1948 school year. That one is full of people who aren’t what they seem, Homer, code-breaking, and of course some time on a punt on the river. This is second in a series of four post-WW2 romances, three of which feature children of couples whose romances I wrote in the 1920s. That’s a lot of fun for me!

(The extra is a surprise for my readers for winter solstice!)

In 2026, we’ll have the last book in the Mysterious Arts series (Distilling Sunlight), more in the late 1940s series, and I hope one set in the 1860s. I’m also looking at starting a new 1920s series. That’s going to be set in and around the main library in Albion’s magical city and focus on Albion’s seven main secret societies. My day job is as a research librarian, so I’m excited to finally spend some more time in the fictional library!

Oh, and one more note for readers! I’ll be doing a sale for my birthday weekend in September. Keep an eye on my newsletter and social media for the details!

Celia Lake

Celia Lake is a pen name, but there’s a real person behind the books.

Celia is in her 40s, and lives and works in the Boston, Massachusetts metro area. She grew up there as the child of one British parent (her father), and one ‘grew up in the United Kingdom from the age of 2’ parent (her mother). She’s had the chance to visit the UK multiple times as a child, and most recently as an adult in 2015.

She spends her days as a research librarian, and her library work definitely shapes her writing – and her own reading.

You can discover more about her books here.

Vega is a singer.

Hard work and talent have brought her to a long-term contract at London’s best magical night club. There’s plenty to keep her busy: new music, reading the mood of the audience that night, and exploring the city. When her family asks for her help, she thinks they need an archaeologist instead.

Farran loves art in all its forms.

As he nears the end of his apprenticeship with one of Albion’s magical auction houses, he needs to decide what to do next with his career. After taking a short-term assignment in London, Farran wants to help Vega. The question is how.

Together, they explore the magic of London in all its forms and the songs of its history. Their explorations take them from the Guildhall and Tower of London into hidden spots underground. Along the way, Vega has to decide which of her secrets to reveal, and whether Farran will understand what she loves.

Harmonic Pleasure is full of music, London’s many-faceted history, and varied forms of magic. Set in 1928, join Farran and Vega as they navigate what loving their families and homes mean as they live their lives. Harmonic Pleasure can be read in any order.

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