Le Beau Monde Tarot is a lady-centric Regency inspired 78-card tarot deck, with 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. I have always been drawn to the world of Jane Austen, but became particularly interested in the "Regency Era" of British culture when I was introduced to the genre of Regency romance novels. Once known derisively as "bodice rippers", the romance novels of today tell the stories of heroic women living in times that are very challenging for women.

But nevertheless they persist, they find love, they find happiness. These are the women I wanted to embody in these cards. The intelligence of Minerva Highwood from Tessa Dare's A Week to Be Wicked, the ingenuity and strength of Chase from Sarah Maclean's Rules of Scoundrels series, or the maternal warmth of Julia Quinn's Violet Bridgerton. These, and many others, are the characters who inspired these cards.

I've designed the 78 cards using fashion plates from Ackermann's Repository (a Regency periodical from 1809-1829), some in their entirety and some pieced together using multiple images to suit the cards. The suits in Le Beau Monde tarot are Candles, Parasols, Fans and Reticules, all representative of the four elements commonly associated with Wands(Fire), Cups(Water), Swords(Air) and Pentacles(Earth). The Court cards for each suit represent the four archetypes known and loved in Regency romance novels - The Dowager, The Duchess, The Bluestocking and The Debutante.

Inspiration
The idea for the project started after seeing a single image from Ackermann's Repository. It quickly went from a "hmm, wouldn't that be an interesting idea" to "I think might actually do this!" From there, as I started collecting the illustrations, the composition ideas for each card came flooding in and I found myself writing pages of notes on how I wanted each one to look, the suits I wanted, and the subtleties I could infuse into them..

The Goal
The goal for this Kickstarter is to produce 100 decks (rewards for backers) and provide enough capital to print a second run of 100 to be sold online. The cards will be printed of 300 GSM smooth stock in full color. The cards, measuring 2.75" x 4.75" will come in a custom tuck box.

The printer has been selected and the shipping/fulfillment services have been fully priced out to provide each backer with easy and affordable shipping options across the world.