RANDOM JOTTINGS

Earlier this year at the Felixstowe Book Festival I chaired An Afternoon of Romance. It was great fun. On the panel we had a Jane Austen expert, a writer of Romances which are published and sold on Amazon, and a Mills & Boon writer who had written over 75 titles for them.

After the afternoon was over I was challenged by somebody attending the Festival who said what tripe romance was and how this person had sat on a beach once, no doubt after a few bevvies, reading out from Mills & Boon and being sarcastic. My hackles rose immediately and I launched into a full frontal assault on this person's snobbish attitude and scorn for the genre, pointing out that there was good and bad writing across all forms of the novel and I had read some pretty crap stuff in my time in the detection/thriller/so called modern literature formats and I would defend to the death the idea of the romantic novel. I was incensed by this attitude and it is an attitude which romantic writers have to put up with all the time.   Indeed, the Mills  Boon author told me she had been asked 'when are you going to write proper books?' and also advised to 'keep that quiet if I were you' when she said who she was published by.

I doubt that the person who I had this debate with could even write a short story let a lone a novel. And, as I pointed out, if you were lucky enough to have your work accepted by Mills & Boon, and they are hard task masters, you do not have long to preen yourself and think how wonderful, three months later they want another one and then another and then another. Romantic novelists are very hardworking.

I cannot bear snobbery in literature I really cannot. However, I freely admit that I would never be seen in public reading a Dan Brown…. worst writer in the world in my opinion and yet nobody pours scorn on him (well the book critics might) and his books sell in millions and nobody turns their nose up at them. And they should. They are AWFUL.

Over the last few months, my regular trawls at book fairs and charity shops have thrown up a bumper collection of romance for me. I am sure I have written about Mary Burchell before, but will do so again, as she is a most interesting woman. Her real name is Ida Cook and she and her sister, both opera lovers, travelled all over Europe visiting various opera houses. This was pre-war and they became very well know as they always wore fur coats and lots of jewellery and made friends in every airport and city they visited. During WW2 they continued these visits, even to Germany, where they were regarded as those Eccentric English Women and were allowed through. Sewn into their fur coats and smuggled in were more jewels and money which was passed onto those helping the Jews get out of the country. They continued doing this for years and, after the war, Mary carried on writing for Mills & Boon and all proceeds of her books went to supporting refugees from the war. She also wrote a wonderful biography of my favourite baritone, Tito Gobbi and became a great friend of his.

Her earlier books were products of their time.   The man patronised the women, the 'little woman' saw nothing wrong with this and knew their place. Later on, her books took a stronger line and the heroines began to flex their muscles, go out to work and not put up with being patronised.  Her books from the sixties onward reflected the change in society and also had opera as a background. I really enjoyed these as it is clear she knew her stuff and what she was writing about and had a knowledge of music. She wrote a series which Endeavour Press have recently re-issued as the Warrender Saga, featuring a rather despotic conductor and if he is not based on Karajan I will eat my baton.   Tremendous fun and I loved them.

In the photos you will see the covers and how they have changed over the years.  You will also see three books discovered at a book fair last year by Hermina Black, Renee Shann and, again, Mary Burchell.  I remember reading Black and Shann as a teenager and found them pretty unreadable now. The male character in the Romance for Romany title says, at one stage, 'you know you really deserve a good slap'……shock horror

Iris Bromige is another author who I loved in my teens but who I now find difficult to take. All the male protagonists in her books are frighteningly superior and arrogant and have an awful habit of calling the heroine 'Little one', 'My child' or 'My dear' until you want to clock them one.

But as our lovely Mills & Boon author pointed out when she spoke at Felixstowe, the books published by that house reflect the changing times. I now feel that they may have gone a bit too far in the other direction as, quite frankly, some of them verge on the pornographic to be blunt, and they seem to be obsessed with Millionaires and Billionaires and Fascinating Greeks.   And, sad to see, many of the women, though holding down jobs, running companies and operating a business still seem very quick to succumb to a powerful male.  I suppose we all want some wish fulfillment in our lives and dream of a Darcy type figure sweeping us off our feet.

Not sure that I do actually but until it happens I really cannot be sure…..

But long live Romance and sneery snobby derogatory people had better steer clear of me that is all I can say.

Now back to my pile of dog eared romances which are awaiting my attention.