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Romance on the Rocks climbed into a Wisconsin hotel bed for this installment of “Mothers of Romance,” revisiting the foundational romance authors who helped shape the historical romance genre. Armed with gin cocktails and entirely too many opinions, Nicole and Meghan tackled two classic novels that left them with more frustration than swooning.
Meghan Leigh’s Book: The Dawn of Love by Barbara Cartland
Meghan went first with The Dawn of Love by Barbara Cartland, a 1980 historical romance loosely inspired by Pygmalion and My Fair Lady. The setup follows a bored duke and his equally insufferable aristocratic friends as they decide to “improve” a young woman who lacks the status and polish of high society. Naturally, the men turn the entire situation into a wager because apparently rich people in historical romances need hobbies.
The result is a lot of drawing room conversations, casual misogyny and enough ellipses to make Meghan question her sanity. Lorena, the heroine, is repeatedly praised for being “not like other girls,” mostly because she quietly listens to men and pauses dramatically every few words while speaking. Meanwhile, the men around her openly cheat on their spouses and treat marriage as little more than a business arrangement for producing heirs.
The only thing Meghan truly loved about the novel was the cover art and Barbara Cartland herself. The book itself earned a green pepper spice rating and a lengthy rant about manipulative aristocrats.
The book is available for Kindle.
Nicole Danielle’s Book: Until You by Judith McNaught
Nicole followed with Until You by Judith McNaught, a 1994 historical romance packed with classic tropes including mistaken identity, amnesia and slow burn tension. Sheridan Bromley, a spirited American governess with striking Titian hair, finds herself mistaken for another woman after a cargo net accident leaves her with memory loss. Naturally, the hero decides the most reasonable response is to lie to her repeatedly.
Stephen Westmoreland spends much of the novel making terrible decisions in the name of protection while Sheridan attempts to communicate like an actual adult. Nicole enjoyed the chemistry between the pair and appreciated McNaught’s writing style and detailed London pre-season backdrop. Unfortunately, Stephen’s refusal to apologize for literally anything tested everyone’s patience.
If you want to read the book, it’s available here:
The discussion quickly spiraled into a broader conversation about old school romance tropes and how reader expectations have evolved. Nicole and Meghan compared the treatment of consent, communication and fidelity in these classic romances with modern genre standards where readers increasingly expect accountability, honesty and at least a little groveling from their heroes.
There was also plenty of chaos unrelated to the books themselves including “booby prize” breast references, hotel room recording antics and an ongoing debate about whether honesty is actually the sexiest trope in romance. Spoiler alert: it is.
Have you read either of these “old school” romances? What did you think of them? Comment below! We’d love to hear from you. Want to listen to the podcast episode? We’re available on pretty much all your favorite podcast streaming services. Or you can visit our podcast player page here.
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