Madam, Will You Talk? may very well be the very first grown-up romance I ever read. I had crept into the grown-up department of the public library in secret, because I was supposed to look after my younger siblings over in the children’s department, and had to grab books quickly. No idea how I came…
Normally, I am all for leaving classic works alone and have been known to frown severely when they are mucked about with. However, I do admire sheer audacity, so when I heard about a book entitled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I gave my sedate self a vacation and just dived into it. Gentle readers…
It feels as though I am committing some form of romance sacrilege when I give Georgette Heyer at B+. Still, even though I enjoyed An Infamous Army, it just didn’t quite rise to DIK status. The book is set in Brussels in the months leading up to the Battle of Waterloo and it describes the…
Jane Eyre is not a pure romance novel. It’s a complex work combing elements of the coming-of-age story, the roman à clef, the gothic novel, and more. Despite its complexity, though, the heart and soul of Jane Eyre is the passionate love between Jane and her employer, Edward Rochester, and it’s their love story that…
Once upon a time there was a genre of English fiction called the rural novel. These books were set in the country, often featured sexual themes, and were mostly pessimistic about the human condition. Some critics referred to rural novels as Lust In The Loam, and they were fairly popular with readers. In 1932, Cold…
I love books. My favorite genres are science fiction and romance, and I have hundreds of keepers of both varities on the shelves of my personal library. But if I were to be stranded on a desert island and could have just one book, I know the one I’d choose. It’s quite old (published in…
Arabella Tallant is the daughter of a vicar, and when she gets the opportunity to spend the season in London with her wealthy godmother, it’s a dream come true. Much is riding on Arabella’s season, as she has seven younger siblings who will need help with their own launches into the world. Arabella’s season takes…
I was 12 the first time I read Mrs. Mike. Like all book lovers, I have keepers…and then I have keepers. Mrs. Mike is in my sacred keeper pile – the kind of book that begs to be re-read every few years – and only gets better every time. The story is about Katherine Mary…
When I am cleaning up the kitchen for what seems like the millionth time or coaxing a reluctant child to do her homework, I remind myself that parenting has its perks. Topping the list for me is the joy of introducing my children to books I loved as a little girl. Over twenty years ago…
Egad! Was this the first romance novel? If you’re the sort of reader who takes literary arguments seriously, you’d better grab the Alka-Seltzer bottle before reading on – because this little essay may give you a headache and a stomach ache at the same time. I’m going to try to convince you that perhaps the…