Marriage stories

 Hi, Jo here, talking about marriage stories. Most romances are courtship stories, sometimes with marriage at the very end, but I love a marriage story, especially a marriage of convenience or a forced marriage. I'm not so keen on marriage in trouble stories, though I did one in The Shattered Rose.

I need a short hand here, and MOC -- marriage of convenience -- doesn't work, because some are very inconvenient for one or both parties! So I'll use VBL -- vows before love. That's the crux of it, isn't it? These two people will be in love (after all, it's a romance) but when they say their vows they aren't, and possibly are enemies.

The Shattered Rose is medieval, and medieval is a great time period for the arranged or forced marriage because it was more common back then. All four of my medieval romances are VBL, because even in The Shattered Rose Galeran and Jehanne made an arranged marriage when young. They'd come to love one another, but then trouble shatters that.

That's the original cover, which was absolutely gorgeous -- and which didn't sell well at all.

I think nearly every romance reader loves a VBL story. Am I wrong? If you don't like them, why not?

If you do, join me in listing the delights.

1. Rational conflict.

The perfect situation for a romance novel is one that forces the hero and heroine together even as something else drives them apart. In the real world, if we fear/distrust/dislike a person we avoid them as much as we can. This, however, does not a good romance make. With VBL they are locked together. In a historical VBL they have little chance of breaking the marriage, and the woman least chance of either.

Question? If we like VBL, do we like heroines in vulnerable situations? Is this healthy?

I like VBL a lot, and yes I do like heroines in vulnerable situations sometimes. The first book I wrote, An Arranged Marriage ('nuff said!) puts Eleanor in a very vulnerable situation, but also shows her strengths. To me, it's no different to a thriller that begins with a man trapped and vulnerable -- held hostage, wounded and captured, wrongly jailed et al. It's a launch pad for his heroism. What's more, assuming our hero isn't the sort to beat her or lock her in an asylum, he's stuck in a box with her, too, with few defences, and without some of the barriers he has against the wider world. She will learn his secrets.

That's the original cover, which I like a lot.

2. Rational sex.

We all know the tricky part of the modern historical romance is that sexy books are popular, but sexy acts without marriage weren't rational for ladies in the past. Even in the more recent past. It happened, of course it did, but before the pill it was risky behaviour, and the consequences shaped many women's lives, sometimes badly.

With VBL, there can be sex before love, too, but that doesn't mean it has to be bad sex. However it goes, it's allowed, and the woman won't be ruined by it -- though it might, of course, ruin some plan of hers. An interesting story possibility!

In Christmas Angel, we have a rationally arranged marriage between two sensible people, but they still manage to get all tangled about the sex!

3. Sex between strangers.

VBL doesn't mandate that they be strangers. The couple might have known each other all their lives. The story might have a betrothal period during which they get to know one another, even if that doesn't remove the conflict. That was the situation in An Unwilling Bride, my second Company of Rogues book. Beth and Lucien are both forced into the marriage, very much against their wills. They have their betrothal period, but manage to make things even worse!

But sometimes they are strangers at the altar. Alas, perhaps, I find it hard to push them into sex if the vulnerable heroine is reluctant. It can be erotic, but it can be unpleasant, and more importantly it can put the hero in a very bad light. Yet it's reasonable that a marriage must be consummated eventually, which can lead to an interesting dance!

So, what do you think of my 3 delights of the VBL? Do you agree?

Do you have others to suggest?

What are some of your favorite VBL stories?

Jo

Comments

[Bonnie]

Off topic, but I just had to say, I loved the embossed cover for The Shattered Rose. I think it set the scene for the time period very well. It's one of my favorite books. However, I knew you as an author. I can see how it might be a hard sell for people new to you. The cover to An Arranged Marriage is what attracted me to you as a new author (I never saw your previous books for sale until after I read your first Rogue books) I thought they used the same model for both Eleanor and Beth on the original book covers.

[Casey]

I love VBL stories because I love the tension when they start falling in love but still fight it or deny it. And the fact that one or more parties gets so vulnerable to admit it. That's why we love Pride and Prejudice right? My own love story even had a bit of that sort of tension!

I don't think it is about women in vulnerable situations, that is just a symptom of the time period and genre.

[Emilyjanehubb]

VBL are my favorite stories, because even though I love romance and even sexy romance, in the real world I don't believe in premarital sex. There is often enough emotional and relational truth in non-VBL that I can enjoy them anyway, but VBL ones make me the happiest.

[ElaineK]

I so agree--I love VBL romances. Once H/h are married, they have a much better chance of really getting to know and appreciate one another than in the artificial context of balls, etc. Also agree that premarital sex was very risky behavior indeed. It's hard to believe that a rational woman would casually jump into bed without a betrothal at the very least.
One other point: I hate stories in which every circumstance dictates that a marriage is NECESSARY, but the heroine refuses because "he never said he loved me."

[Lil]

I think this is my favorite trope as well. I like the way you played with it in THE SECRET WEDDING—where they are actually married to each other but don't know it.
And I agree with ElaineK about the idiocy of heroines who refuse to marry the hero until he says the words, "I love you." I like Laura Lee Guhrke's play on that where the trouble is that the hero says the words easily, and to far too many women, without actually meaning them.

[Susan/DC]

I like these stories too, but it's not because the heroine is vulnerable, it's because both hero and heroine are vulnerable. "An Unwilling Bride" is a classic example. Lucient may be son of a duke, handsome, and whip smart, but he is just as forced into marriage as Beth. Or think of all of those impoverished earls and such who must marry for money -- they are just as much trapped by circumstance as the women they wed.

[Sylvia]

Jo, you've stated it all perfectly!
Sex within marriage, whether a VBL or a rare no-sex-before-the-wedding novel, is probably the main reason i read historical romance almost exclusively. Because respect for marriage is a rock-bottom part of who i am. (And because they're often set in Britain, which i can't learn too much about & where i visit vicariously absolutely every chance i get!) I almost never buy novels that follow our modern sexual morals.
The Shattered Rose - with that beautiful cover - is most likely the first of your novels i bought & read, and it's still right at the top of my favorites.

[Grettel]

I agree with Susan. VBL stories often have their heroes and heroines in vulnerable situations. In your short story The Christmas Wedding Gambit the hero was in a very ugly situation, the heroine gave him an unexpected solution that included a marriage without love. He accepted it and he grieved for the love he could have found, if the circumstances had been different, but he did it without closing himself to the posibility of love with his wife. You ended the story with the sweet promise of a happy ever after. I love it!

[Jo Beverley]

Jo here. Yes, Bonnie, wasn't that a lovely cover! As you say, I suppose it confused readers on the romance shelves.

The artist who did the Regency covers at the time nearly always used the same type for the heroine. I'm not sure if it was the same model or he just liked the type!

Jo

[Patricia Rice]

I've been ranting lately about sex in historicals and you hit some very valid points, thank you! I want the sex to be a culmination of their love, if possible, but at least within the vows. Otherwise, the heroine is just being a silly twit without really special circumstances!

[Jo Beverley]

I'm glad so many here like VBL. My next book, Seduction in Silk is one. It's true that often the hero is also vulnerable in a story, but sometimes he's not. In the past the husband had the power in a marriage, at some times more than others, so he can be unpleasantly domineering.

Not my type of hero, though!

Jo

[Jo Beverley]

Thanks for mentioning The Christmas Wedding Gamble,Grettle. That story just came to me, and it's quite short.

If anyone hasn't read it, it's here.
http://www.jobev.com/xmasnup.html

Jo

[Mary Jo Putney]

Jo, that Christmas novelette of yours is delightful. I read it before, but it's bee long enough that I was able to reread it with great pleasure. I love the VBL story because if things are to work out, the characters have to act with wisdom and maturity, and these are the sorts of characters I enjoy reading and writing.

[LouisaCornell]

Very well put, Jo! And the possibilities for a writer with a VBL story are endless. I think the reason I love these stories is that it CAN all end badly. Even if the two people are married the romance can go terribly wrong and the people are sentenced to live their lives together or separately in misery. If that isn't a tragedy I don't know what is. If they aren't married and they say or do things to hurt each other they can walk away and eventually move on. In VBL stories that simply isn't an option. Therefore the worse you make the differences between them, the harder it is to write a convincing HEA. I love that! And you do it to perfection! :)

[Jo Beverley]

Louisa, I hadn't quite thought of it that way, but yes, the marriage ups the stakes by locking them in. It's a variation of the snow-bound cabin, or marooned on an island.

Jo

[LynS]

I love the Shattered Rose cover. I rarely judge a book by its cover, but this one hooked me.
As for VBL in modern times, on Valentine's Day 3,500 couples were married in a mass wedding by the Unification Church in Korea. Many had never met the other until that day or that week at the earliest. I wonder what percent turn in to a real HEA?

[Kay]

Jo: One of your big fans here. I say that first because it's interesting how much our tastes in books change over the years. I bought The Shattered Rose when it first came out, lovely cover and all. My reaction at the time was I didn't care for it. Years pass and I had thousands of books and no room for new ones. So, I did what I always do when I have no time, start a project. My project was to reread my older books in the hope of seeing which ones I really wanted to keep and which I wanted to give away. The Shattered Rose was one of them. I'm not sure whose eyes I was using in 1996 when I first read this gem, but I was enchanted by the loveliness of this story. The Shattered Rose still resides in my book case and also on my 10 favorite romance books list. I also feel this story is one of the best examples of a romance marriage around. So, thank you Jo for some terrific writing.

[Jo Beverley]

Interesting, Kay, that the book worked for you eventually. I've had that happen, too.

I'm glad you like it so much.

Jo

[Ella Quinn]

I'm very fond of forced marriages as well as the heroine in a vunerable position. There are so many wonderful possibilities in historicals.

[Anne Gracie]

I'm very fond of VBL stories, too — many of my books have contained marriages of convenience/inconvenience. I love them as a reader, as well as a writer.

And Jo, I LOVED the Shattered Rose — it was a tour de force! I remember reading it and thinking, Wow! I wish I could write like that.