There's a post going around tumblr today that's pretty good and interesting: https://www.tumblr.com/metanarrates/719021895078510592/escapist-media-in-general-is-an-ongoing?source=share
I think it's a really solid post and I don't disagree with it at all, but it got me noodling about what exactly I find escapist about regency romance, and it's not the colonial wealth. That probably is for some people, but it's not the case for me. What I find escapist about historical romance is the following:
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Rigid social mores that everyone has to follow, so that everyone is hyper vigilant about their own behaviour and about transgressing social taboos. I feel like this all the time anyway, so it's nice to see a world where it's reflected.
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People are expected to repress emotions and to do their duty, and often to sacrifice their own emotional wellbeing for social or financial benefit. I also relate strongly to this. For Reasons.
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In spite of the above two points, the main characters find genuine happiness and self fulfillment.
None of this requires the story to be set in regency England, and in fact I also enjoy historical romances set in other times and places. Jeannie Lim's work achieves a very similar effect in a historical Chinese setting. But regency/victorian romance is an easily accessible source of that particular emotional cocktail, so I often return to it when those feelings are in need of soothing.
And of course, I've no idea how common my experience is, maybe I'm an outlier. And I don't think anything I just wrote really refutes any of the points in the og post. But it's interesting to consider what exactly it is we find appealing about any kind of escapist fiction, because sometimes the answers will surprise you. (and maybe then you can think about ways to get the same effect without bringing along everything else)