The characters in The Talisman Ring set the stage for the self-determining heroines of the Regencies, heroines who shape their lives by revising existing narratives and manipulating the narrative expectations of their social "audiences," and who do so to garner maximum freedom and satisfaction for themselves as well as others. The Regency heroines nearly always succeed in their endeavors and on their own terms; for them, the ability to "author" one's own story or history depends on knowing the rules of patriarchal society and deftly exercising masculine knowledge of money, sex, and wit. (170)