Regency Haircuts and Disguises in Lady Wynwood’s Spies

In this excerpt from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 8: Traitor, Phoebe prepares for a dangerous mission—one that requires her to disguise herself as a young man. The hairstyle she receives, called a Brutus cut, was actually quite fashionable during the Regency. Read on to find out more about this curious trend and why it suited her new identity so well.

Excerpt from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 8: Traitor:

By far, the absolute worst part of Uncle Sol’s plan was that Phoebe had to cut her hair.

Of the four agents, Phoebe and Mr. Coulton-Jones would be the least likely to be recognized when they entered the Ramparts building—Mr. Coulton-Jones, because of his skill in altering his facial features and his posture, and Phoebe, because she could play a convincing young man, which no one would expect.

A disreputable hat would hide her long hair to an extent, but it would not fool anyone who looked closely. Also, because she would look like a junior agent, she would be expected to remove her hat if addressed by a senior officer in a corridor. It would be far too easy for a wig to slip in such circumstances.

She gazed mournfully at the locks carpeting the floor underneath her chair as Aya removed them and gave her a fair approximation of a Brutus cut. Phoebe’s skin hadn’t the roughened texture of a common working man, and so it had been decided that she would pose as a young man from a more wealthy background. Aunt Laura had managed to collect several sets of male clothing for her, including an outfit appropriate for the son of a wealthy merchant.

Phoebe used cloth to pad her waist and groin areas, and she looked like a slightly portly young man with spindly arms and legs.

She pictured gentlemen of her age, especially those younger than herself, and recalled the way they stood, the way they walked and carried themselves. She made an effort to alter her gait and posture.

And suddenly, looking back at her from the full-length mirror in Aunt Laura’s bedroom stood an arrogant young stripling just down from university.

But what exactly is a Brutus cut?

The Brutus cut was all the rage in the early 1800s, especially in the years following the French Revolution and into the Regency era.

From Roman hero to fashionable haircut

The Brutus cut (sometimes called the Titus cut in French fashion plates) was inspired by ancient Roman statuary, particularly busts of figures like Lucius Junius Brutus, the legendary founder of the Roman Republic. In an era newly obsessed with classical antiquity, it was the ideal hairstyle to show off your noble ideals—short, tousled curls, brushed forward, and decidedly free of powder or wigs.

This was a radical change from earlier Georgian fashion, where men often wore powdered wigs, queues (a braid or ponytail down the back), and elaborately styled hair. The Brutus cut rejected all of that in favor of a more “natural,” even slightly rebellious look.

Think:...

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A New Look for Year of the Dog (and a Behind-the-Scenes Oops!)

What do a dog trainer, a security expert, and a nearly-naked book cover have in common? Let me explain. 😅

Year of the Dog is the first book in my Christian romantic suspense series, Mahina Security, set in beautiful (and sometimes dangerous) Hawaii. It features quirky humor, family tensions, sweet romance, and a mystery involving a missing person—and it’s now available to read in the Christian suspense anthology, Danger in the Shadows, on Kindle Unlimited!

But before that happened, I had a bit of a cover mishap…

While creating the ebook cover, I realized that the original stock photo made my heroine look, well, completely nekkid. 😳 She’s actually wearing a tube top in the image, but when I cropped it for the ebook, the top disappeared—leaving her looking very PG-13.

To fix it, I did some Canva magic on a strappy top from another image and stuck it onto the model (so she’s decent now).

But when I resized the image for the paperback, a bit of that strappy top peeked out behind her shoulder like a rogue piece of laundry flapping in the wind. So I had to adjust the front paperback cover, which altered the original ebook cover a little, too.

Most people probably won't notice, but the model looks a little bigger on the paperback cover than on the original ebook cover.

I also gave the back cover copy a makeover. The original was a bit too long for the layout, so I streamlined it. Here’s a peek at both versions:

🐾 Old Version (Longer)

Mari Mutou, a professional dog trainer, is having a bad year.

While renovating her new dog kenneling and training facility, she needs to move in with her disapproving family, who have always made her feel inadequate—according to them, a job requiring her to be covered in dog hair and slobber is an embarrassment to the family. She convinces her ex-boyfriend to take her dog for a few months … but discovers that his brother is the irate security expert whose car she accidentally rear-ended a few weeks earlier.

Ashwin Keitou has enough problems. His aunt has just shown up on his doorstep, expecting to move in with him, and he can’t say no because he owes her everything—after his mother walked out on them, Aunt Nell took in Ashwin and his brother and raised them in a loving Christian home. What’s more, his brother Dusty also needs a place to stay after being kicked out of his apartment—with a dog in tow. And guess who the dog’s owner is?

But then Ashwin gets a request from an old friend, Edytha Guerrero, a private investigator who also runs a day spa on O’ahu’s north shore. A strange bit of “vandalism” at Mari's facility had led her to find a purse belonging to Edytha’s sister—who had disappeared three years ago. Worried that Mari might be in danger, and finding out that security expert Ashwin already knows her, Edytha asks him to covertly keep an eye on the busy young woman.

Ashwin is reluctantly...

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Free Christian Regency Romance Novella – Start Here!

A quiet wallflower. A wary spy. A dance of secrets.

Miss Lissa Gardinier may appear unremarkable in the ballrooms of Regency London, but her sharp wit and keen observations make her far more dangerous than society suspects. She’s trying to endure her second Season without offending anyone—again—and escape her mother’s relentless disapproval with a sensible marriage.

But when she crosses paths with the mysterious and guarded Lord Jeremy Stoude, her uneventful Season takes an unexpected turn into whispered secrets, hidden motives, and subtle sparks.

This novella, Lissa and the Spy, is a stand-alone story in the world of my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series and blends romance, suspense, and a dash of dry humor. If you’re new to my stories, this is the perfect place to start.

Here’s a snippet from the opening scene (including my annotations):

***

Spring, 1807

London

If only she were allowed to open her mouth.

Lissa reflected that in all fairness, she was not prohibited from opening her mouth. She was allowed to drink champagne and eat the delicacies offered by the host of the ball. She was allowed to discuss the weather, she was sure. And her mother likely wouldn’t be disappointed if she discussed fashion with a young lady or gentleman. She might even be allowed to say something ignorant about Napoleon, as long as she accompanied her words with a smile and a giggle.

But she had been ordered—under threat of being sent back home even in the midst of the Season—to keep her tongue under control while in London. Lissa didn’t think her tongue was particularly out of control. She had perfect control of her words. She had completely meant what she said when she compared Lady Adderly’s hat to a molting chicken (1).

And to be perfectly honest, she had been extremely polite when she asked Mr. Peterson to take more lessons from his dancing instructor. There was nothing rude about a gentle suggestion such as that, surely? (2)

Because she could have instead told him that he stomped on her foot like a bad-tempered donkey trying to maim its owner. She had exercised an iron grip on her tongue in that instance, and yet her mother had scolded her.

***

(1) This is an Easter egg. Laura, Lady Wynwood, might have also unfavorably described Lady Adderly’s hat in The Spinster’s Christmas

(2) In The Spinster’s Christmas, Aunt Lavinia gossiped about the rector’s wife, Mrs. Peterson, whose husband’s older brother became heir presumptive to an earldom. This poor gentleman with two left feet is Mrs. Peterson’s brother-in-law, but before the events that will lead to his expectations.

***

Ready to enjoy the full adventure? Download Lissa and the Spy for free when you join my newsletter!

Cover Reveal + Patreon Perks for Volume 8: Traitor!

New to the series? This is Book 8 in my Christian Regency Romantic Suspense series, Lady Wynwood’s Spies—filled with intrigue, danger, and slow-burn romance. If you’d like to start from the beginning, you can check out Volume 1: Archer here.

I’m so excited to share the cover for Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 8: Traitor! My amazing graphic designer just finished it, and I’ve been staring at it with hearts in my eyes ever since. 😍

Meet Mr. Benjamin…

I got to choose the model for this cover—he’s meant to represent Mr. Benjamin, one of the key characters in this volume. The model’s name is Mathias (isn’t he handsome?!), and here’s the original stock photo I picked:
My designer tilted the image slightly and added a dagger and pistol behind him, both of which I also picked out! She removed the background, edited the weapons, and chose the deep violet background to complement the series’ aesthetic.

Here’s a look at all the covers side by side. You can really see how Traitor stands out!

Want Early Access?

I’m currently working hard to finish Volume 8: Traitor by July, but it will not release on Amazon until October or November 2025. If you’d like to read chapters early and get a free copy of the ebook months before it releases on Amazon, consider subscribing to my Patreon!

Patreon subscribers get:

•2 chapters of Volume 8: Traitor a week
•Behind-the-scenes updates
•A free ebook of Volume 8: Traitor when it releases
•Access to bonuses like deleted scenes, annotated editions, and book boxes

📌 Click here to check out my Patreon.

Thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm—it keeps me writing (and revising…and rewriting…😅). I can’t wait for you to dive into Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 8: Traitor!

Pride and Prejudice meets Mission: Impossible

If you love witty banter, secret agents in cravats, fierce heroines, and slow-burn romance with high-stakes suspense, then welcome to my world of Christian Regency Romantic Suspense!

This is the two prologues and chapter one from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer, the first installment in my epic-length historical adventure series. I originally posted this excerpt in weekly parts, but I’ve compiled everything here so you can read it all in one sitting—no need to click through multiple posts.

Before the excerpt begins, here’s the back cover description so you know what to expect:

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Part one in a Christian Regency suspense series with slow-burn romance and a supernatural twist

She met him again by shooting him.

Unmarried after four Seasons of towering over her dance partners, Miss Phoebe Sauber learns she will be cast out of her home when her father remarries. Feeling betrayed by her father and God, she misfires an arrow at an archery tournament.

But the arrow pierces a paper held by Mr. Michael Coulton-Jones. And strangely, the symbol drawn on the page is eerily familiar to her.

He met her again while searching for a killer.

Michael had quit his work as a spy for the Foreign Office when his brother was murdered. His investigation leads to Apothecary Jack, a criminal underworld lord gathering a powerful army through an alchemical potion that gives men supernatural strength.

Michael joins forces with Phoebe and her Aunt Laura, Lady Wynwood, who have found a vital connection between Apothecary Jack and a mysterious group plotting against England.

Now, only this team of misfit aristocratic spies stands against a treasonous organization that could enable Napoleon to conquer the world.

PLEASE NOTE: Like the novels published in Jane Austen’s time, this is a novel in multiple parts, projected to be 12 volumes. Each volume has a completed story arc, but this is NOT a stand-alone novel and ends on a cliffhanger.

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Ready to dive in? Keep scrolling to read the excerpt!

And if you enjoy it, I hope you’ll check out the rest of the series and join me on Patreon for more behind-the-scenes content and early access.

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Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 1: Archer

A Christian Regency Romantic Adventure serial novel

Camille Elliot

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

Nightmare

The young girl huddled at the top of the stairs, listening to the sounds from the floor below. Her uncle had been shouting loudly, but she hadn’t been able to make out the words. She heard women shrieking—her aunt, and her aunt’s maid, Aya—and then crying.

Then abruptly there had been a few minutes of strange quiet, as if the house were holding its breath.

Now the floors below echoed with the footsteps of many servants, speaking low, urgent words.

The girl often stayed overnight at her...

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Lady Wynwood's Spies: Volume 8 Progress + Exclusive Excerpt: A Scene in a Regency Gentlemen's Club How My Regency Heroines Hide Knives in Their Corsets What I Cut From The Spinster's Christmas (and Why My Heroine Was About to Make a Huge Mistake) Bringing My Sushi Series to Amazon (Again) Special Edition Paperbacks – Exclusive Kickstarter Update!