Nicola here, introducing this month’s Ask A Wench feature. Today we’re tackling a big question which crops up a lot in different forms:
“With the world in such turmoil at the moment, what's the point of romance novels—especially historical romance novels about a past that's dead and gone?”
As readers and writers, we get this a lot: We’re accustomed to hearing: “What you read/write is frivolous/fluffy/some other disparaging word beginning with “f”. As the Wenches explain so eloquently below, this is to both miss the point and underestimate the power of romantic fiction. Read on to see exactly why, with the world in such turmoil, romance has so much to offer.
From Mary Jo:
What is the point of romance novels when the world is in turmoil? Seriously? This is when we need romantic stories the most because romance is about hope and change and building better lives for the future! Contemporary, historical, paranormal: romance is always positive and worth escaping into when times are difficult.
Historical romance actually has an advantage because putting distance between present troubles and a romance set in earlier times gives us perspective and shows that humankind has survived hard times before. Sometimes that distance can help us face hard truths more easily.
I could choose any of the hundreds of Wench romances as examples, but for simplicity's sake, I'll mention my most recent historical romance, Once a Spy. Set just before and through Waterloo, the story's protagonists have both suffered greatly from the long Napoleonic wars. The hero, Anglo-French Simon Duval, had just retired from years as an intelligence officer on the Peninsula. He's lost family members and is burned out and emotionally weary.
The French heroine, Suzanne Duval, is a cousin who lost her home, her husband, and her safety because of the wars, and has just escaped from painful captivity in a Turkish harem. Both Simon and Suzanne are exhausted, burned out, and lonely. When Simon finds Suzanne impoverished in London, he impulsively proposes a marriage of friendship because neither of them can imagine anything more. Yet their honesty, courage, and commitment brings them a love and happiness beyond their imaginations. Romance can give us hope for a better future, not to mention escape from the trials of today!
Anne writes:
When the world is in turmoil, and the news is depressing and upsetting, and there's nothing you can do, I think that's the very best time to seek refuge in a romance novel. Romance is the genre of hope. Romance novels remind us that love (in all its various forms) can triumph. Don't we all need an antidote to the relentless negativity in the media, a reminder that the world is not full of terrorists and criminals and disasters and heartless politicians? A reminder that love is real. And important. Worth writing about, and well worth reading. (Picture: 1898 Painting by John Longstaff. Gippsland, Sunday Night, February 20th 1898.)
I'm in Australia, where we're suffering the worst bushfires ever — and there's months still to come of the usual bushfire season. We're all wondering whether there will be anything left of our beautiful country, our beautiful bushland and our unique native creatures. It's utterly devastating. We can donate money and food and clothing and all kinds of things but still, we feel so helpless. A romance novel can provide comfort and forgetfulness, if only for a few hours, and you emerge from the reading feeling heartened and hopeful again.
As for historical romance — yes, they're set in the past, but people are still people and we can identify with historical characters. And we can learn from history — if we choose. People in the past suffered climate change, had war roll over them in the most devastating ways, they suffered plagues and fires and hurricanes and natural disasters and faced starvation and so on — with fewer resources than we have today. But in among those terrible big events there are tales of ordinary people, of human goodness, personal sacrifice, of courage, kindness and generosity to strangers — and the triumph of love. Just as there are today. Historical romances can tell the stories of people like us, people caught up in difficult times and yet finding love and hope along the way. Historical romances link us with the people of the past and remind us that they survived — and so will we.
Andrea:
The appeal of romance—those stories that celebrate hope and the power of love and friendship to triumph over adversity—is timeless, as those elemental emotions are what bring out the best in our humanity. And I think these days, with strife and threats rearing their ugly heads in so many places all over the world, romance is even more important. A romance book can lift the spirits; it can remind you that you're not alone in struggling and that you have more strength than you think you have. It can spark optimism, and the belief that dark clouds will give way to light.
Historical romance adds the extra twist of allowing you to escape to another era where the challenges and obstacles are different that the ones you’re facing every day. That journey gives a different perspective, and the storytelling can let you get lost in a different world—which can be a welcome respite, and in and of itself a balm for the spirits. But I think seeing the same fears, worries, dangers that we all face today in another era reminds that life has always been a struggle between Light and Dark. Seeing historical heroines and hero find the courage to fight their battles can help spark the realization that every generation is tested, and that we have to dig deep to find the best in ourselves.
The cover of my latest Wrexford and Sloane mystery is one of my favorite images because I read in it a powerful message—we all need to carry a flame in confronting whatever darkness is looming, and not let it extinguish the light.
Susan:
Why romance? Oh, lots of reasons! We often need a bit of escape or a mini-vacation from life now and then, and fiction offers that in an easy, accessible, enjoyable way. Historical and contemporary romance and all of its many variants, along with other fiction genres like science fiction, fantasy, young adult, mystery, and mainstream and literary too … all offer chutes and hatches and magical portals that lead us away from our own everyday reality. We get endless chances in fiction to explore other times, places, other personalities, other situations, adventures, and feelings. Emotions are conjured in the pages—love conquers all, and so in romance we can feel loved within those pages. Other people’s problems are (usually) solved, and our own can fade away for a bit. And if your life is great and you’re OK with what’s in the news, not particularly looking for an escape, then fiction—and romance—is a way to learn, explore, experience what we might not—or maybe experience more of what we most enjoy, and in romance, it's often that important, essential sense of feeling loved, accepted, vindicated, treated with respect and generosity and kindness. Readers grow with good fiction, and romance has a lot to offer.
Some people are uncomfortable with expressions of love, and some like to think that reading romance is somehow a weakness for readers, and writers too. On the contrary, reading romance and writing romance is a strength. We come away from a good romance novel—whether we’ve written it or read it—feeling better about life, about relationships, with a sense of hope, often with better tools for understanding individuals and relationships. We know more about history or some aspect of life. And there is nothing wrong with that!
In fact, if you're interested in experiencing a little of 19th c. Scotland, whisky distillation, or learning about Scottish education--and if you'd love to spend a little time with a strong, scholarly whisky smuggler and the curious schoolteacher who stumbles on a secret enterprise--you might enjoy my newest release, Laird of Secrets, just out this week!
Pat:
There are days when I read the news and wonder if there is a point to anything. . . Which is why we need escape, to clear our heads so we can face the constant litany of disasters presented in the media. Almost any fiction offers some kind of escape. Romance, though, promises us that relationships and community will help us heal these rifts. I think all humans need to hear that kind of positive message. I sincerely believe if we can love our neighbors, no matter how unlovable, we can make the world better.
Historical romance often gives us perspective by showing that our present problems are human and nothing new, just altered by time and technology. The Luddite Revolution and the industrial revolution of the Regency are an example—fighting the change of technology that disrupts entire economies, much as the Midwest has been disrupted by the changing of manufacturing. Victorian suffragettes—fighting for the vote much as women currently fight for equal rights. It’s all there in history. . . we are making progress, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.
Joanna here:
I write about times when the world is in pretty dire straits.
Considered one way: The very basis of order and civilization is in peril. The countries of Europe, one after another, plunge into riot, war, and devastation.
Considered another way: The despotic rule of the rich and well born is ended. It's time to build a new world. If they can ...
I drop my characters into this chaos. "What you do matters," I tell them. "Be brave and loyal and loving. Do what you can."
They are and they do and they win.
We need this.
Nicola again. As you will have seen, there are some strong, common threads here about the way that romantic fiction is good for our health, how it brings hope and happiness and positivity in hard times. It tells stories of strength and survival, of change, progress and community. Those are our thoughts about the immeasurable worth of the genre: What are yours?