How We Got to Where We Are Today: Modern Historical Romance Over the Last Several Decades, a Recommended Reading List for the Uninitiated

April is Classics month on Historical Romance Review. For those who love the genre, a review of how we got here is in order. Sometimes when I talk to fellow readers of historical romance, or even authors, and I mention a name from the past, an author who helped shape the genre, like Kathleen Woodiwiss or Rosemary Rogers, I get a blank stare in return. It occurred to me that it might be helpful to read some of the classics to see where we’ve come from and to enjoy the greats who have contributed so much to the craft.

 

Except for several novels of note in earlier decades, I’m starting in the 1970s. And while I may not have included your favorite author, by reading the romances on this list, you’ll have a good idea of our beginnings and what so many wonderful authors have done for the genre. Think of it as a Recommended Reading List for the Uninitiated in modern historical romance.

 

So, here’s the list of those I recommend, a sampling meant to give you a picture of how the genre has developed. Some may require you to shop online for a used book though many are available as ebooks. Most are novels I’ve rated 5 stars, so I promise you won’t be bored. 

 

Included because of their significance… and to show you what was out there early

 

·               The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer (1950)

·               Bride of the MacHugh by Jan Cox Speas (1954)

·               Sleep in the Woods by Dorothy Eden (1960)

·               The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett (1961)

·               Bond of Blood by Roberta Gellis (1965)

 

The 1970s: The Pioneering Years

 

·               The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss (1972)

·               The Wicked Marquis by Barbara Cartland (1973)

·               Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers (1974)

·               Love’s Tender Fury by Jennifer Wilde (aka Tom Huff) (1976)

·               Moonstruck Madness by Laurie McBain (1977)

·               Caroline by Cynthia Wright (1977)

·               Love’s Wild Desire by Jennifer Blake (1977)

·               The Kadin by Bertrice Small (1978)

·               A Pirate’s Love by Johanna Lindsey (1978)

·               Bonds of Love by Lisa Gregory (1978)

 

The 1980s: The Explosive Years

 

·               Lady Vixen by Shirlee Busbee (1980)

·               Skye O’Malley by Bertrice Small (1981)

·               Devil’s Embrace by Catherine Coulter (1982)

·               The Silver Devil by Teresa Denys (1984)

·               Rose of Rapture by Rebecca Brandewyne (1984)

·               Stormfire by Christine Monson (1984)

·               The Windflower by Laura London (aka Sharon & Tom Curtis) (1984)

·               Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught (1985)

·               The Wind and the Sea by Marsha Canham (1986)

·               Mountain Mistress by Nadine Crenshaw (1987)

·               The Hawk and the Dove by Virginia Henley (1988)

·               Capture the Sun by Shirl Henke (1988)

·               Nightwylde by Kimberleigh Caitlin (1988) Re-published as Black Falcon’s Lady

·               Sweet Savage Eden by Heather Graham (1989)

·               Heartstorm by Elizabeth Stuart (1989)

 

The 1990s: The Developing Years

 

·               Dark Fires by Brenda Joyce (1991)

·               The Wind Dancer by Iris Johansen (1991)

·               Keeper of the Dream by Penelope Williamson (1992)

·               Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale (1992)

·               Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1992)

·               Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell (1993)

·               Princess of Fire by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham) (1994)

·               Lady of the Glen by Jennifer Roberson (1996)

·               Night in Eden by Candice Proctor (1997)

·               Kilgannon by Kathleen Givens (1999)

 

The 2000s: The “Standing On The Shoulders of Giants” Years

 

·               By Possession by Madeline Hunter (2000)

·               The Captain of All Pleasures by Kresley Cole (2003)

·               On a Highland Shore by Kathleen Givens (2006)

·               Laird of the Mist by Paula Quinn (2007)

·               Broken Wing by Judith James (2008)

·               My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne (2008)

·               The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran (2008)

·               Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O’Connell (2010)

·               The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

·               Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner (2011)

“Making Love” in Georgian and Victorian Novels, post by Regan Walker

 

What did the Georgians and Victorians mean by "making love"?

Research on this issue was the project of Dr. Clelia Duel Mosher, a hygiene academic who, between 1892 and 1920, persuaded 45 women to fill out questionnaires on their experiences of sex, marriage and contraception.

Not surprisingly, the results show that most women knew little about sex before marriage with some admitting they only picked up the facts of life by observing the habits of farm animals. But once married, most women said that their sex lives were active and they enjoyed the “habitual bodily expression of love”.

As Fraser Sutherland notes in his essay Why Making Love Isn’t What It Used to Be, where he examines the writing of Victorian men of letters, the term “make love” has undergone change over the last several centuries. Early on, the phrase referred to both wooing and sexual intercourse.

 

The Oxford English Dictionary lists the first date for the term “to make love” as 1567, citing Certaine Tragicall Discourses of Bandello with many Georgian and Victorian uses listed as well:

 

1768, L. Sterne Sentimental Journey “You have been making love to me all this while.”

1784, R. Bage Barham Downs “You..may make love, and play your pitty patties.”

1829, W. Cobbett Advice to Young Men “It is an old saying, ‘Praise the child, and you make love to the mother’.”

1845, T. Hood Poems (1846) “Oh there's nothing in life like making love.”

 

Thus, the term’s euphemistic usage was firmly entrenched by the early seventeenth century, and remained so into the early twentieth century. Take a look at the Award-winning Donet Trilogy of Georgian novels set in England and France. On Amazon.

Empress Josephine’s Love Affair with Roses by Regan Walker

Many of us Regency authors and readers know that Napoleon’s wife, the Empress Josephine contributed to establishing the slim, high-waisted, chemise dress as the dominant fashion in Regency England, but did you know that Josephine is also known for her passionate love of roses?

 

She was born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie in 1763 on the Caribbean island of Martinique where her wealthy family owned a sugar plantation. The island is a lush, tropical paradise with beautiful flowering plants. Perhaps it was there she first developed a love for beautiful, fragrant plants, for she was to introduce many to France.

 

After she married Napoleon and became Empress of France, Josephine spent vast sums of money collecting new varieties of plants, including roses, from all over the world for her garden at Chateau Malmaison outside of Paris. Napoleon complained about the expense but he was off fighting the British in various places, so Josephine pursued her love of roses and expanded her garden.

 

Napoleon turned a blind eye when Josephine broke the law by asking that English seeds and plants be brought to her from captured ships. Her informal plantings had already been christened jardins à l’anglaise (English Gardens) and her greenhouses were modeled on those at Kew Gardens near London. 

 

Her principal source for roses was the Lee & Kennedy Vineyard Nursery in London. But Josephine wanted every rose known in the world. In 1804, by way of Lewis Kennedy, she was in proud possession of the new Chinese roses: Slater's Crimson China, Parson's Pink and Hume's Blush Tea Scented China. These roses were recent imports to England from China, and it was a coup for the Empress (and for France) to have them growing at Malmaison. They became known as “stud roses”, potent parents of the modern ever blooming rose cultivars.

Andre du Pont, Josephine's head horticulturist, began breeding new roses for the Empress. His 1813 catalogue of roses at Malmaison listed nearly 200 different varieties, including many new introductions.

The fact that France was at war with England did not stop her from looking at the enemy’s roses. At the height of the war in the early 1800's, Napoleon sent money to England to pay for his wife's rose plant bills. And the British Admiralty allowed ships to pass through its naval blockade to deliver those roses to Malmaison. War could wait while the rose deliveries continued. She even obtained a passport of a London nurseryman to travel back and forth with her new plants.

 

During the period 1805-1810, she collected 260 roses for her gardens. But she did more than plant a beautiful rose garden. She influenced the growing of roses. The roses at that time bloomed once a season, and their blossoms faded quickly once a flower was cut. By systematically hybridizing the western rose with varieties from China, where the rose first developed, Josephine re-structured the way roses developed their petals. The result was a rose that blossomed several times a season, and looked splendid in a vase in the parlor for days.

 

 Josephine elevated the stature of the rose by commissioning artist Pierre-Joseph Redoute, a former court painter of Marie Antoinette, to paint a series of rose portraits. Blush Noisette is considered by many to the all time masterpiece of botanical illustration.

 

 

After Josephine died in 1814, Redoute published his rose portraits in three volumes simply titled Les Roses (1817-24). There were dedicated to Josephine’s memory. The book has continuously been in publication ever since.

 

In Racing with the Wind, book 1 in the Agents of the Crown Regency series, you’ll see Josephine’s roses in Paris when Lady Mary Campbell is taken with them. 

 

See the series on Amazon.

 

 

Beppie Harrison’s THE DIVIDED HEART – Unusual Regency set in Ireland

 

Set in 1810, this is the first in Harrison’s “Heart” trilogy of Regencies and tells the story of the English aristocracy in Ireland, beginning with Lady Anne Wadsworth, an earl’s daughter who lives with her sister and parents on their estate in Ireland. Anne is well aware of her English ancestors’ role in persecuting the Irish, in her words, “…they overlooked the displaced Irish folk with placid arrogance.”

Early in the story Anne encounters Diarmaid MacGuinness, a red-haired Irishman who is working for Ireland’s freedom and tells her of the Irish living reduced to being starving tenants living on land that was once theirs. Meanwhile, she has a new English neighbor, Hugh, Marquess of Ashbourne, whose mother is counseling him to take a wife. Though Anne has no affection for the marquess, and he admits he does not love her, she agrees to marry him to stay in Ireland and avoid a Season in London. A marriage of convenience soon becomes one of love.

 

Harrison writes well and has delivered a solid story that depicts the fate of the Irish in the early 20^th century (before they gained their independence). There are some good action scenes when Anne makes some foolish decisions while trying to help them and the marquess rides to the rescue. (One could not help feeling sorry for Diarmaid who only wanted to see his country rid of the English. His tale was left unfinished so presumably it continues in the rest of the series.)

 

The trilogy:

 

The Divided Heart

The Broken Heart

The Rebellious Heart

Best Irish Historical Romances!

I first developed this list for a friend of Irish descent who loves Irish historical romances. Since then, I have updated this list each year as I have come to love stories that feature Ireland and/or Irish heroes and heroines. The books on this list cover all time periods. Some transcend typical historical romance as they bring to life heartrending tales of the Irish fight for freedom from English tyranny and/or the wonderful Irish people who survived much hardship to help make great their adoptive countries.

 

If you’re looking for stories of the Emerald Isle or handsome Irish hunks, or worthy Irish heroines, you will find them here. All these have been rated 4 or 5 stars by me:

 

·      A Love by Any Measure by Killian McRae

·      Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry by Amanda Hughes

·      Black Falcon’s Lady by Kimberly Cates (originally released as Nightwylde by Kimberleigh Caitlin)

·      Black Sword by Kathryn Le Veque

·      Briar’s Rose by Kimberly Cates

·      Bride of the Baja by Jane Toombs (original author name Jocelyn Wilde)

·      Broken Vows by Shirl Henke

·      Brotherly Love by Lorna Peel

·      Carnal Gift by Pamela Clare

·      Countess of Scandal, Duchess Of Sin and Lady of Seduction, the Daughters of Erin trilogy by Laurel McKee

·      Crown Of Mist by Kimberly Cates

·      Dark of the Moon by Karen Robards

·      Dark Torment by Karen Robards

·      Dream Lover by Virginia Henley

·      Embrace and Conquer by Jennifer Blake

·      Emerald Ecstasy by Emma Merritt

·      Emerald Prince by Brit Darby

·      Enticed by Virginia Henley (first published as The Irish Gypsy)

·      Eyes of the Seer by Ashley York

·      Forbidden Love by Karen Robards

·      Forbidden Passion by Theresa Scott

·      Golden Surrender, The Viking’s Woman and Lord of the Wolves, the Viking/Irish trilogy by Heather Graham

·      Gracelin O’Malley by Ann Moore

·      Heart of Stone and Heart of Lies by Jill Marie Landis

·      Her Warrior Slave and Her Warrior King, from the MacEgan Brothers Series by Michelle Willingham

·      In From the Cold by Nora Roberts

·      Lady of Conquest by Teresa Medeiros

·      Lily Fair by Kimberly Cates

·      Lions and Lace by Meagan McKinney

·      Lord of Hawkfell Island by Catherine Coulter

·      Maid of Killarney by Ana Seymour

·      Moonlit by Emma Jensen (3^rd in her Regency spy series; the only one set in Ireland)

·      Maidensong by Diana Groe

·      Master of My Dreams by Danelle Harmon

·      No Gentle Love by Rebecca Brandewyne

·      Odin’s Shadow by Erin Riley

·      O’er The River Liffey by Heidi Ashworth

·      Old Glory by Christopher Nicole

·      Only Forever by Kimberly Cates

·      Passion’s Joy and the sequel Virgin’s Star by Jennifer Horsman

·      Raeliksen and Mac Liam (from the Emerald Isle trilogy) by Renee Vincent

·      Rose in the Mist and Irish Gypsy (from the Riordan trilogy) by Ana Seymour

·      Rose of the Mists, A Rose in Splendor and A Secret Rose, trilogy by Laura Parker

·      Scarlett: The Sequel to Gone With the Wind by Alexandra Ripley

·      Scattered Seeds by Julie Doherty

·      Sea Raven by Patricia McAllister

·      Skye O’Malley by Bertrice Small

·      Stealing Heaven by Kimberly Cates

·      Stormfire by Christine Monson

·      Storm Maiden by Mary Gillgannon

·      Surrender the Stars by Cynthia Wright

·      Tears of Gold by Laurie McBain

·      The Black Angel by Cordia Byers

·      The Divided Heart by Beppie Harrison

·      The Game by Brenda Joyce

·      The Ground She Walks Upon by Meagan McKinney

·      The Hawk and the Dove by Virginia Henley

·      The Heart and the Holly by Nancy Richards-Akers

·      The Highwayman by Anne Kelleher

·      The Irishman by Jennifer Roberson (first published as Royal Captive)

·      The Irish Devil by Donna Fletcher

·      The Irish Duke by Virginia Henley

·      The Irish Princess, The Irish Enchantress and The Irish Knight by Amy Fetzer

·      The Irish Princess by Elizabeth Chadwick

·      The Irish Rogue by Emma Jensen

·      The Irish Rogue by Judith E. French

·      The Irish Sisters Trilogy by Debra Holland

·      The Legend of the Green Man by Sara Hely

·      The Linnet by Elizabeth English

·      The Passions Of Emma by Penelope Williamson

·      The Prize by Brenda Joyce

·      The Rebel by Christine Dorsey

·      The Seventh Son by Ashley York

·      The Sword of the Banshee by Amanda Hughes

·      The Wayward One by Danelle Harmon

·      To Ride a White Horse by Pamela Ford

·      Touch of Lace by Elizabeth DeLancey

·      Tread Softly On My Dreams by Gretta Curran Browne

·      Uncertain Magic by Laura Kinsale

·      Whispers of Heaven by Candice Proctor

·      Wild Angel by Miriam Minger

·      Wild Roses by Miriam Minger

·      Windsong by Judith E. French

·      Wolf’s Embrace by Gail Link

 

All of my books in The Clan Donald Saga have scenes set in Medieval Ireland. Bound by Honor features an Irish heroine…a historical figure. And I hope you’ll read my Regency novella, The Shamrock & The Rose with an Irish hero!