Regency espionage comedy-romance series by Lauren Willig. Harvard graduate student Eloise Kelly is in England researching her thesis on Regency spies. Specifically, Sir Percy Blakeney, Literature/TheScarletPimpernel; Lord Richard Selwick, the Purple Gentian; and the Pink Carnation, whose real name has never been discovered. But Eloise is determined to unmask the Carnation, if the handsome and aloof Colin Selwick will allow her access to the family papers.

In 1803, Amy Balcourt accepts her brother's invitation to Paris. She's spent her life dreaming of joining the Purple Gentian's league, and she's determined to restore the French monarchy, despite the distraction of Lord Richard.

The subsequent novels have followed the adventures of various friends, associates and contacts of the Pink Carnation, all set against the backdrop of UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars. The series also follows the development of Colin and Eloise's relationship as Eloise continues her research into the Pink Carnation's spy ring.

!!Titles in the series
* ''The Secret History of the Pink Carnation'' (2005) - Amy Balcourt and Lord Richard Selwick
* ''The Masque of the Black Tulip'' (2005) - Lady Henrietta Selwick and the Hon. Miles Dorrington
* ''The Deception of the Emerald Ring'' (2006) - Laetitia Alsworthy and Geoffrey, Lord Pinchingdale
* ''The Seduction of the Crimson Rose'' (2008) - Mary Alsworthy and Sebastian, Lord Vaughn
* ''[[http://www.laurenwillig.com/diversions/novella/averyselwickchristmasprologue.html Ivy and Intrigue: A Very Selwick Christmas]]'' - Amy and Richard
* ''The Temptation of the Night Jasmine'' (2009) - Lady Charlotte Lansdowne and Robert Lansdowne, Duke of Dovedale
* ''The Betrayal of the Blood Lily'' (2010) - Penelope Deveraux and Captain Alex Reid
* ''The Mischief of the Mistletoe'' (2010) - Arabella Dempsey and Reginald "Turnip" Fitzhugh
* ''[[http://www.laurenwillig.com/diversions/Away%20in%20a%20Manger%20-%20Lauren%20Willig.pdf Away in a Manger]]'' - Arabella and Turnip
* ''The Orchid Affair'' (2011) - Laura Grey and Andre Jaouen
* ''The Garden Intrigue'' (2012) - Emma Morris Delagardie and Augustus Whittlesby
* ''The Passion of the Purple Plumeria'' (2013) - Gwendolyn Meadows and Colonel William Reid
* ''The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla'' (2014) - Sally Fitzhugh and Lucien, Duke of Belliston
* ''The Lure of the Moonflower'' (2015) - Jane Wooliston and Jack Reid

!! The series provides examples of:
* AlliterativeName: Percy Ponsonby, Duke of Dovedale, and Serena Selwick
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Richard and Henrietta's parents Lord and Lady Uppington.
* AndThisIsFor: "This is for your manners. This is for the scimitar. This is for blind man's buff. And ''this'' is for forgetting her name!"
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Letty is one for Mary, especially after she ruins Mary's plans to elope with Geoff.
* BreakoutCharacter: Turnip
* BrokenBird: Lucien. Also Penelope, to an extent.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Subverted. Lucien is seen by everyone but Sally as a brooding boy, when he is in fact funny and warmhearted. Sally certainly comforts Lucien, but she is also rather bossy and meddlesome regarding Lucien's affairs.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Turnip is assumed to be this by the Marquis de Montval near the end of ''Masque of the Black Tulip''. She, however, is [[spoiler:wrong]] about him.
* DancesAndBalls: There's usually at least one per book.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Richard, Lord Vaughn and Lucien in particular.
* DatingCatwoman: The Pink Carnation and the Gardener, aka [[spoiler: Jane]] and [[spoiler: Nicolas de Brillac]].
* DeadpanSnarker: Every protagonist in the each Pink Carnation book gets to enjoy their fair share of being a Deadpan Snarker. Lord Vaughn seems to be this the best out of all of them, however.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Laura Grey first appears in ''Black Tulip'' as a pupil of the Selwick Spy School who is roped into playing a wedding march for Miles and Henrietta's nuptials. Augustus Whittlesby also cameos in a chapter set in Paris.
** Emma first appears in ''Orchid Affair'', visiting the same bookshop that Laura has taken Andre's children to.
* {{Expy}}:
** While none of the heroes or heroines are Expies of the Blakeneys, Turnip resembles Literature/BertieWooster.
** Mr. and Mrs. Alsworthy are [[Literature.PrideAndPrejudice Mr. and Mrs. Bennet]].
* FemmeFatale: The Marquise de Montval
* FieryRedhead: Penelope. Eloise has red hair, but her personality doesn't fit.
* FramingDevice
* UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution
* GenkiGirl: Amy
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Henrietta and her stuffed toy rabbit, [[ADogNamedDog Bunny the Bunny]].
* GoodParents: Lord and Lady Uppington
* GrandeDame: Dowager Duchess of Dovedale
* HappilyMarried: Lord and Lady Uppington; the OfficialCouple of each book.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, his sister Pauline, and Empress Josephine cameo in ''Pink Carnation''.
** Josephine's daughter Hortense appears in ''The Garden Intrigue'' as a friend of the heroine.
** [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfHanover King George III]] and his family appear in ''Night Jasmine'' and George's episodes of madness are addressed in the plot.
** In ''Mischief of the Mistletoe,'' Creator/JaneAusten appears as a supporting character for Arabella Dempsey.
* HoneyTrap: Mary is used as one for the Black Tulip.
* HopelessSuitor: Tommy Fluellen is one for Penelope in ''Night Jasmine''; he even proposes marriage to Pen after she publically admits to fooling around with Freddie, but she refuses him so that his reputation isn't tarnished by being with her.
** [[spoiler: Augustus Whittlesby]] and [[spoiler: Nicolas de Brillac]] are both rebuffed by Jane.
* ImpossiblyTackyClothes: Turnip's carnation-embroidered waistcoat and some of Pammy's outfits.
* IReadItForTheArticles
* KissingCousins: Charlotte and Robert.
* LegacyCharacter
* LovesMyAlterEgo: Richard and Amy
* MarriageBeforeRomance: Letty and Geoff. Averted with [[spoiler: Penelope and Freddy]].
* MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler: In the first book, Richard's relationship with Deidre proved disastrous to the point where one of his friends, Tony, died because Deidre's maid was a secret French agent who overheard a conversation about his plans and was in the way. Needless to say, Richard did not want his relationship with Amy to turn out like Deidre's.]]
* MySisterIsOffLimits: Richard does not react well to Miles and Henrietta's marriage.
* NonIdleRich: It's hard to be an idle spy.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Most of the protagonists employ this during their feats of espionage. Notably, Turnip zigzags this trope from book to book, eventually falling into this trope.
* OfficialCouple: Each book has one, as listed above.
* ParasolOfPain: Frequently employed by Miss Gwen
* ParentalAbandonment: Miles's parents spent his childhood touring the continent.
* PreppyName: Just look at that character list.
* PurpleProse: In-universe, Augustus Whittlesby's poetry.
** Also Miss Gwen's prose.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: The Black Tulip is partial to recruiting women of this coloring for his "petals". The Marquise de Montval is one such petal. [[spoiler: When the Marquise is killed in ''The Deception of the Emerald Ring'',]] the Pink Carnation seeks out Lord Vaughn to use Mary Alsworthy, known for being a raven-haired and fair-skinned beauty, as bait for The Black Tulip.
* RiddleForTheAges: In-universe, the identity of the Pink Carnation, unless you're Eloise or a Selwick.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: It is a series about aristocratic espionage, after all.
* RunningGag: Minor character [[AlliterativeName Percy Ponsonby]] has a habit of falling out of windows.
* SexlessMarriage: Geoff and Letty's marriage starts off this way.
* ShotgunWedding: How Geoff and Letty get married, after he's caught snogging her in the back of a carriage. In her ''nightgown''.
** Penelope and Freddy are also forced into marriage after Penelope admits to being with Freddy in his guestroom. Her confession was heard by a ballroom full of party guests.
** Also Miles and Henrietta - Miles hastily proposes after Richard discovers them making out and tries to start a fight for his sister's honour.
* ShowWithinAShow: ''Purple Plumeria'' features excerpts from ''The Convent of Orsino'', Miss Gwen's GothicHorror novel.
* SickeninglySweethearts
* SpiritedYoungLady: Many of the heroines have the traits, but in particular Jane, Amy and Penelope qualify as this. Penelope in particular is a capable rider and has no qualms about diving into a river to save a manservant from drowning.
* TallDarkAndSnarky: Lord Vaughn
* TeamMom: Lady Uppington for Geoff and Miles
* UpperClassTwit: "Turnip" Fitzhugh, initially.
* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: Henrietta, to Miles
* [[WrongGuyFirst Wrong Girl First]]: Geoff flirts with Mary before accidentally eloping with Letty.
** Also in ''Betrayal of the Blood Lily'', where the story starts with Penelope newly-married to Freddy Staines.