The Historical Romance, 1890-1990

Explores the ways in which romance authors have sought to represent our fantasies of life in the past ever since the first "cloak and dagger" tales of the 1930's. It examines how, with the social upheaval of the war, these cut-and-thrust swashbucklers gave way to the female-oriented romances.

Other themes include the abducted heroine and the disguised or wounded hero; the romantic treatment of popular and revolutionary movements, and "Englishness", national identity and the First World War. The author also charts the ways in which the marketing of romance has developed since the beginning of the century, culminating in the explosion of the mass market, the "bodice-rippers" of the seventies, and the family sagas of the eighties. The Historical Romance unravels the formulaic and mythical natures of historical romance to provide a fascinating study of this highly popular genre.