Just like clothing
trends, fashions in the publishing industry come and go. Once the
rage, Gothics waned in popularity in the '80s and '90s. Now
they're making a comeback, but under a new heading...publishers
and booksellers are touting many of the new Gothics as 'Romantic
Suspense'. If you are a fan of this "new" sub-genre, urge your
favorite booksellers to visit their back rooms and retrieve these
romances for you. Dust off the classics--there is always
something to be learned from the great ones!
Charlotte
Bronte set the tone with the first true Gothic,Jane Eyre.
Innocent Jane had a heart of gold, but loved too much. You'll
find the classic "women in jeopardy" books are the ones that most
readers categorize as romance novels. The covers feature women in
long gowns running from a castle with one window glinting
hauntingly in the background. These books are making a comeback
under a new name; "romantic suspense" is the hottest new trend in
the marketplace. For a taste of the best, try reading the masters
of the new old genre.
What's The Appeal?
Either you
like first-person perspective or you don't. If you read Gothic
romances a couple of decades ago, first person was the pervasive
frame of reference and set the tone for the success of the modern
romance novel. If you aren't able to step into the shoes of the
heroine and try her life on for a few hours, the book you are
reading just isn't that hot.
When Gothics reached their
peak in the 1960s, women were beginning to explore
non-traditional roles. It's fascinating that our preferred
fictional fantasy was the traditional female predicament!
Our favorites featured orphaned adventuresses lost in
cavernous mansions with a devilish romantic partner. Isn't it
ironic that when we are at our most liberated, our fantasies have
us role playing opposites: helpless women seeking to please
someone larger than life. What is even more terrifying is that
these men are a complete enigma.
Our satisfaction with
this brand of novel came from the love match at the end, not from
the solution to the puzzle, which kept us turning the pages. The
mysterious hero always becomes a mere mortal and the novel's
mystery simply a long-answered question, later remembered hazily,
as a dream. Don't be scornful; the heroines of Gothics are always
intelligent, well-read and educated. But most of all, they are
intrepid (albeit lady-like!) risk-takers. Romance readers know
that one must take risks to find love. And the orphaned
governesses, poor relations or war brides that populated our
earliest romances were truly brave at heart.
It is only
fitting that the resurgence of the Gothic/romantic suspense
reflects a similar conflict in our home life: the contemporary
desire to have it all--career and family. Fictional role models
are women who do: photo journalists, attorneys, and celebrities
in hiding. Satisfaction is achieved by getting off the treadmill
and landing on a happy ending...
-Kate Ryan
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