Romantic fiction, Georgian style
My new book, Wanted, a Gentleman is set in 1805, with a hero, Theo Swann, who runs a Lonely Hearts magazine and writes Gothic romance on the side. These sound like very 1970s sort of jobs, but Lonely Hearts go way back (I’ve written about them elsewhere on this tour) and the “romance” novel has a long and complicated history.
At first ‘romance’ meant, basically, ‘a fictional adventure story’, and it hung on to that meaning for a while. The Monk: A Romance by Matthew Lewis (1796) includes rape, torture, incest, murder, the Inquisition, selling one’s soul to Satan, the heroine’s baby starving to death, lifelong misery for everyone, and the main character’s six-day agonising death described in loving detail. I’m pretty sure it’s not eligible for a RITA.
Notwithstanding, this was the period when the basis of what we would call a romantic novel was being laid down. Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740) included many of the tropes we still love—class conflict, rake/virgin, alphahole hero redeemed(ish) by love, HEA. 1764 saw the first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, with persecuted heroine, wronged hero, family secrets, sinister villainy, ghosts, and a love affair (spoiler: no HEA). In 1789 Mrs Radcliffe wrote her first Gothic romance, featuring a central love plot with a happy ending, and a genre burst into bloom. So much so that, by 1798, Jane Austen was already writing a satire of the genre’s many accepted tropes (though Northanger Abbey wouldn’t be published for another two decades).
So by 1805 the Gothic romance-as-we-know-it is a thing, the romantic novel is going gangbusters, there is a thriving publishing business serving a big, voracious, much-mocked but economically powerful readership mostly seen as female. Nothing much changes, does it?
My hero Theo pens Gothic romances in the spare moments of his day job. He’s very much writing for the money, as he does everything for the money. But Theo has a lot to learn, about what he writes, and what he wants to write, and the reasons for doing what he does—and all those chickens start coming home to roost when Martin St Vincent drags him off on a breakneck chase to catch a runaway heiress before she reaches Gretna Green with her beloved.
Because when a “churn ‘em out” Gothic romancer finds himself not just acting a part in a romance trope, but falling in love himself…well, it’s possible that only romance novels can save him now.
__________________
Wanted, a Gentleman is published by Riptide on 9th January.
By the good offices of Riptide Publishing
KJ Charles’s new Entertainment
WANTED, A GENTLEMAN
Or, Virtue Over-Rated
the grand romance of
Mr. Martin St. Vincent . . . a Merchant with a Mission, also a Problem
Mr. Theodore Swann . . . a humble Scribbler and Advertiser for Love
Act the First:
the offices of the Matrimonial Advertiser, London
where Lonely Hearts may seek one another for the cost of a shilling
Act the Second:
a Pursuit to Gretna Green (or thereabouts)
featuring
a speedy Carriage
sundry rustic Inns
a private Bed-chamber
***
In the course of which are presented
Romance, Revenge, and Redemption
Deceptions, Discoveries, and Desires
the particulars of which are too numerous to impart
KJ Charles Biography
KJ Charles is a writer of mostly m/m historical romance, sometimes with fantasy. She has won several Rainbow Awards for her work and twice been voted Best LGBT+ Romance in the All About Romance annual poll. She is published by Loveswept and Samhain.
KJ is also a RITA-winning editor with twenty years’ publishing experience as a commissioning and line editor. She worked primarily in romance and children’s fiction, and is now freelance.
She lives in London with her husband, two kids, a wildly overgrown garden, and a cat with murder-management issues.
Connect with KJ:
- Website: www.kjcharleswriter.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/kj.charles.9
- Twitter: @kj_charles
- Tumblr: kjcharleswriter.tumblr.com
Giveaway
To celebrate the release of Wanted, A Gentleman, one lucky winner will receive $20 in Riptide Publishing credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on January 14, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Please note, it’s one winner for the entire tour, not just at Smexy Books.
Thanks for this post, KJ. This blog tour has been both entertaining and informative, just like the book itself.
puspitorinid AT yahoo DOT com
Thank you so much for this opportunity!
The story sounds very interesting and the prize is quite generous. Thanks for the giveaway.
Very interesting! I’ve never had reason to look into the history of romance books.
aahickmanathotmaildotcom
Sorry.
Can’t wait to read it!
Just downloaded Wanted, a Gentleman and will be reading it next. Don’t think I will be reading The Monk: A Romance by Matthew Lewis anytime soon (re: never), though.
Thanks for another interesting post!
jen(dot)f(at)mac(dot)com
The Monk is … unusual. It might be the most horrific thing I’ve ever read, in fact, but it was a gigantic hit. the author became known as Monk Lewis, I think he gets a cameo in a Georgette Heyer novel!
Thanks for the post. I haven’ t read many historical novels yet. This sounds interesting.
Tankie44 at gmail dot com
I’ve just started this book and am loving it so far! Thanks for the giveaway. :)
I love a good Gothic Romance… I remember The Monk and Pamela from University, and the ironic version Shamela… Anyway, I’m sure Gothic romance would have a big audience nowadays!
Congratulations on the release, KJ. I’m waiting to the weekend to read it (I want to be able to read non-stop)
susanaperez7140(at)Gmail(dot)com
Just started reading Wanted: A Gentleman today. Loving it! I just discovered your books in December, and I’ve read just about every book you’ve written so far already!
sharphil2@yahoo.com
Thanks for the interesting post! I loved the insight into the early romance genre. I’m really enjoying Wanted, A Gentleman too! violet817(at)aol(dot)com
Thank you so much for the post and insights about the book; read it a while ago and liked it
amie_07(at)yahoo(dot)com
I can’t wait to read this. Thanks for the interesting post.
The first romance I ever read was a gothic–Menfreya in the Morning, by Victoria Holt. I was in eighth grade at the time and had no idea that romance (gothic romance in particular) was A Thing. (I hesitate to say exactly how long ago that was!) BTW, I absolutely love the format of the book blurb. So perfect for the story!
Thank you for the opportunity, but much more than that, THANK YOU for all the books!!!
I remember reading The Monk after running across mention of it on a blog about early novels; I sure wouldn’t classify it as a romance, and I’m surprised to hear that it was initially. Language can change in fascinating and bizarre ways; my brother just got a doctorate in linguistics, and has shared several words that have had similar shifts in meaning over time. I’m glad that your book follows the more modern definition of romance! jmarenbowen(at)gmail(dot)com.
I loved that Theo was a writer in disguise, how that wove in and out of the story between him and Martin, and it definitely made all his ideas and plotting so believable. I had such a laugh when he talked about how he has definite ideas about the villain and his hunchbacked henchman. It would delight me to no end to actually read a snippet of that fanfic. ;)
caroaz [at] ymail [dot] com
Congratulations on your new release! I can’t wait to read it.
ree.dee.2014 (at) gmail (dot) com
This sounds really interesting! I love KH Charles writing
History and romance WOW!!! Thanks for the lesson and the chance! Hope I win one of these! Colleen
I don’t think I’ve read a gothic romance and I’m not sure I really want to but then again I’m willing to give any book a try.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Thanks for another informative post!
legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com
That was really interesting! Thank you for a great book tour!
booklover-forever(at)web(dot)de