Christina here. I’m totally addicted to Happy-Ever-After endings and absolutely refuse to read books that end badly or even just so-so. I want the full-on fairy tale everyone-is-happy-and-get-what-they-deserve kind of ending in everything I read or write. That means I’m also the kind of reader who LOVES epilogues. I really like finding out that everything has turned out OK in the hero and heroine’s lives, and I enjoy knowing every little detail the author cares to add. But only in their immediate future – I don’t need to know what happens during the rest of their lives.
In real life, very few people ever do get a HEA. Happy for now, or happy sometimes, with ups and downs, is more normal of course, but when I leave characters I’ve spent many hours with, I want to picture them at their happiest. What happens years down the line doesn’t matter, because I won’t know. Or will I?
Occasionally, we get a glimpse of characters as they return in other stories if it’s a series. Depending on how it’s done, that can be fun, and you feel as though you’re catching up with old friends. When I do this in my own books, I always try to show them as still being happy. But they only have tiny cameo roles and the reader will get a snippet, no more, because it’s not their story I’m writing, it’s someone else’s.
I’m currently working on a new story and at the beginning there is an appearance by a couple who starred in an earlier book. I suppose you could call this a sort of epilogue for them, only the new book takes place twenty years later, which means the couple have been together for that long. This shouldn’t be a problem as, in my mind, they were always going to stay in love forever. They were soul mates after all, and I envisaged a long and happy life for them. The difficulty is in portraying what their relationship looks like after twenty years. What are they like now?
When we are with a partner for many years, the love can still be as strong, but the way we act with each other might change over time. In fact, it would be strange if it didn’t. The chemistry is still there, but perhaps not as urgent or desperate as when we first fall in love. We develop routines, become comfortable together, know each other inside out, and might not have that burning need to always be touching or connecting. So I’ve had to think about how I want that relationship to look now, and how the two characters act with each other and towards others.
I have read stories with an actual epilogue that takes place after ten, fifteen or even twenty years. Most of the ones I’ve come across tried to persuade me that the couples hadn’t changed at all, that their yearning for each other was more or less exactly as it was at the end of the story. That they are still madly in love and also as madly in lust. And here’s the thing – I’m not sure I buy that.
There are probably couples out there who are still madly in love/lust after twenty/thirty years together, and you sometimes see them in newspaper articles celebrating their diamond anniversaries and looking blissful, holding hands. That’s really sweet, but how often does it happen really? And even if a couple are still in love after twenty years, I would have thought it would be a little toned down, a bit less frantic somehow perhaps?
I mean, yes, it’s nice to know everything worked out for them and they’re still so happy. That’s what we want as readers. But I was satisfied with waving goodbye to them after the first ending of their story and a short epilogue happening the following year or so. After that, not so much.
Perversely, I know that if I’d been given an epilogue where the couple are worn down by years of marital strife or too many children and not enough money or whatever, I would have been extremely upset. So a rosy glimpse of their futures ought to please me no end. But it doesn’t. Not if they haven’t changed at all. Anyone else feel this way?
On a slight tangent, as far as endings go, I remember being flummoxed by The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles – or rather, the fact that the reader was given a choice of three endings! I could see which one the author wanted to choose (the sad one, which was probably more realistic), whereas I wanted the HEA one obviously. But because it was so clear that this wasn’t what Mr Fowles had originally planned, it felt wrong either way. Confusing!
Thinking about this further, I guess what I’m after as a reader is that first breath-takingly wonderful period when a couple is falling in love or have just got together. There is something very special about that time and it won’t ever happen again. Sure, you can continue to be happy together, but the excitement or thrill of the beginning of a relationship will never be replicated. It won’t ever be as intense. So in my new story, I’m going to try to keep things vague. I’ll show the reader that the older couple are happy and together, with fulfilling lives and a family around them, but no other details. That way readers of the original book can hopefully keep imagining them however they want to and it won’t ruin things in any way. Sound good?
What about you? Would you enjoy periodic updates on your favourite fictional couples through the years? Or are you like me, preferring to leave them alone for the most part? And do you have a favourite epilogue or do you dislike them?
No. I say leave them alone. I do *not* want to be bored with how many perfect offspring they have, and their names, and how they play nicely with the other couples' offspring, and how everybody's reconciled, and how their parents still have the hots with each other. There are huge swathes of otherwise compelling novels I skip because I just cannot be bored. I know none of those wretched kids will have so much as a zit, let alone a real issue. Well, they can't have a real issue because their parents are now perfect, aren't they?
It's mush. It's an insult to my intelligence, all that perfection, all that nothing but sunshine and flowers ever after.
When the story's over, it's over. Let them all fade into the sunset, I say.
I have no problem with Easter eggs - in one of Mary Balogh's books, the current couple attend some ton party at which the heroine of Red Rose, a gifted musician, attends with her husband and performs. It's just a one line mention for those who remember her. It ties together Balogh's regency world. I think that's a nice touch. Balogh did not make the error of dragging them into the present story or cataloging their offspring. In that instance she didn't overdo it.
Posted by: Janice | Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 10:01 PM
Kind of an epilogue: I once read an actual news item about a couple who divorced at ages 94 and 96. The reporter asked them why they waited so long. "We were waiting for the kids to be dead."
Georgette Heyer had probably the first recycled Regency characters, in which the hero and heroine of the earlier one, I think a cynical English duke and an accentric French waif, were the parents of the hero in the second. Don't recall the books' names (maybe These Old Shades and Devil's Cub?), but those characters were well worth more than a simple walk-on in the second book.
Posted by: Mary M. | Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 11:24 PM
I agree about the perfect offspring etc - not necessary or believable! Dropping in hints of past characters - I hadn't heard it called Easter eggs before, interesting! Thank you! I'll try not to overdo mine either.
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 02:42 AM
Oh my goodness, Mary, what a story! And imagine waiting that long ... wow!
I had forgotten about Heyer's characters but you're right, they did return. I haven't reread those books for ages, must look them up. Many thanks for reminding me!
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 02:43 AM
Mary, in reference to the couple in your first paragraph, you made me LOL.
Posted by: Mary T | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 04:55 AM
As far as epilogues go, I'm a take em or leave em kind of gal. The only ones I don't care for are the ones that are too long or get too specific. If the author does their job right, you believe the H/h have a love that is strong enough to make it through the tough times the years may bring.
One of my favorite epilogues is from a short Christmas story by Barbara Metzger called THREE GOOD DEEDS. It's less than half a page long and in a few sentences the author sums up the present and the future very nicely. And being a Metzger story, the last sentence is so unexpected it had me laughing out loud. You can't as for more than that!
Posted by: Mary T | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 05:06 AM
Yes, I enjoy reading an epilogue. I'm always curious. Either way, sometimes my mind wanders to a character and I imagine my own epilogue.
Posted by: Denise L. | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 06:26 AM
I think that an evolving romance is a bit like climbing a new mountain. Its exciting, with unknown hazards and surprises at every turn. The summit is the ultimate goal (HEA) but the real interest is in the journey. Once completed a second visit seems a bit flat ... unless its Everest! This doesn't apply to certain detective series where an HEA is not achieved until the end of the series I think ... eg Cavendish and Walker .... haven't actually got there yet!
Posted by: Quantum | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 06:43 AM
That does sound great, Mary! And yes, you're right that we should have the impression that the h/h will make it through the years.
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 07:04 AM
Oh, I do that too if there isn't one, Denise! Glad it's not just me :-)
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 07:05 AM
That's very true, Quantum, and I do enjoy those detective series where the romance builds up through several (or quite a few) books before the couple eventually get together. As long as they do and it doesn't fizzle out!
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 07:06 AM
Since I’m currently rereading Jo Beverly’s Company of Rogues series, I have to cast my vote for finding out how characters in previous books are doing. In that series not too much time passes bwtween books, but I still like learning who’s had children and what their parents named them that all’s well in their world. And yes, I like epilogues.
Posted by: Kathy Lynn Emerson | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 07:13 AM
That really resonated with me, Kathy Lynn - I love finding out what they name their children! I have a thing for names ... I'm currently doing it with my own series and thinking of making up a family tree to keep track of them all.
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 07:17 AM
I do like epilogues but I don't much care for stories about the children of previous couples. Since they must have had wonderful parents and a lovely childhood, those stories lose a lot of intensity, without characters who have been tested by adversity.
For series with one main couple through many books, I think the author has to keep some sort of ongoing conflict going, just to keep the "buzz" between them. Or they have to be facing danger or separation during each book, which gets resolved with a renewed HEA.
Posted by: Karin | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 07:50 AM
I am in the HEA school. I do not read fiction for reality. In a series with a different hero and heroine in each book-- especially if there are any siblings involved, it would be odd if the siblings or close friends were never mentioned. I dislike stories involving the adult children of a couple in a previous book. I don't want to discover that these children were adult brats or that they lost their parents at a young age. I read a book by an author which was about the child of the couple in the first book. The first book was all about the way the heroine fought to save and her husband. I almost tossed the book about the daughter when I learned in the first chapter that her father had died and the mother had remarried. In a mystery series where the married couple is part of the background thread, I want their life to be smooth. Some say that isn't realistic. I say I have enough realism in my life and in the history books. I don't need it in fiction.
Posted by: Nancy Mayer | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 08:18 AM
I desire everyone always have a HEA. Alas, life is not always that kind. I can see it now....Elizabeth comes to the breakfast table,,,,,her hair tied in rags, Darcy is reading the recently ironed newspaper and never looks at her. There is no conversation and both go their separate ways when they have finished eating.
Nah, I like epilogues, but I do not want too much information.
I hope everyone is well and safe and happy.
Posted by: Annette N | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 08:43 AM
I don't mind stories about the children, as long as they have their own adventures, but I'm not too keen on series with just one main couple. I don't think I could ever write that myself, it would be very difficult, but some authors pull it off really well.
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 08:47 AM
Oh no, that doesn't sound good, Nancy! I wouldn't want to know anything bad about a previous couple, that's for sure. I totally agree about wanting things to be smooth - I too have enough realism in my life and want fiction to be an escape!
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 08:50 AM
No, I don't like that image, Annette! I prefer to think of Elizabeth and Darcy as living a happy life together. I guess a little information is best - that seems to be the consensus.
Hope you are safe and well too!
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 08:52 AM
I do like epilogues but only in the near future. One or two are all I need. Maybe telling about one major event in their life after the ending of the story - engagement, wedding, first child or such. I do not need to have any epilogues as my imagination can take it from there but sometimes it is fun to know what the author wants for them next.
If it is one of a series of books the main characters may appear continuing their story.
Posted by: Margot | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 09:08 AM
That sounds about right Margot! :-)
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 10:59 AM
I love a good epilogue. There are some characters I just need to know how they got on afterwards.
In series, I like to see previous characters turn up but just for a cameo appearance. We've done their story, lets move on.
Posted by: Teresa Broderick | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 12:31 PM
I love epilogues, characters returning later in other books, and books about the grown children of characters in previous ones. These people are all real to me and I never imagine them past the end of the story the author gives me because they belong to her/him alone. Which is probably why I like really long, interconnected series!
Posted by: Janet Murdoch | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 02:07 PM
Avon and Leonie did return in Devil's Cub, but that was a separate novel about their son. It wasn't a walk on with a nose count and Significant Glances :) Avon has a crucial scene with Mary. It is in part a study of a father/son relationship; it's not just an annoying intrusion that stops the Mary/Vidal story dead or was tacked on after that story was finished. So I don't think it's the same thing as an epilogue.
Posted by: Janice | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 02:59 PM
I do like an epilogue, but agree it should be brief. Two of my favorites aren't actually called epilogues; they're just the last few paragraphs or sentences in the book. Top of the list (in this as in so many things!) is "Pride and Prejudice", in which we learn, in succinct Austen style, not just what happened to Elizabeth and Darcy, but also to the other family members - and that Miss Bingley "repaid every arrear of civility." That creates an entire visual epilogue in itself, doesn't it! I also love the very end of Jennifer Crusie's "Bet Me", which gives even secondary characters the HEAs they, too, deserve.
Posted by: Constance | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 03:31 PM
I'm happy to read a (good) epilogue. If I like the characters, I'm also happy to see prior main characters play a role in a subsequent book...if it's appropriate. For example, I enjoyed seeing Ian MacKenzie appear in subsequent books in the series by Jennifer Ashley.
Posted by: Kareni | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 03:54 PM
As a woman who has been married to the same man for for more than 40 years, I can say, couples grow and change. Some of the things they fell in love with about each other WILL be there in 20 years, some of it won't. And that is perfectly okay. I would expect a few changes. the HEA would still be there, but maybe not the same way it was the first year. Personally, I do like looking forward to see what a couple has done with their marriage. I don't expect their children to grow up perfect either. I suppose the best example of doing this right is in Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody series. She handles the growth and aging of her characters in a way that is fun and entertaining.
Posted by: Gail Daley | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 04:23 PM
I think your views are very similar to mine, Teresa!
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 04:41 PM
They do become very real in our minds, don't they! I find it very hard to let go of characters when I finish writing a book and sometimes it's difficult not to imagine what happens to their children.
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 04:42 PM
You're right, it doesn't have to be in the form of an epilogue, just a few paragraphs to sum up what happens. Thank you for reminding me of the ones in Pride & Prejudice, Constance!
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 04:43 PM
I'm glad you don't mind them, Kareni, and yes, it has to be appropriate, doesn't it. Can be tricky for the author!
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 04:44 PM
Thank you, Gail, I agree with you that couples will have changed, even if the love is still there. It's just a part of life, isn't it. So glad your marriage is still going strong, that's lovely to hear!
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 04:46 PM
I want that HEA ending, and I don't want an epilogue that ruins that. A cleverly written prologue can be used to get the reader interested. An epilogue not so much. Unless the writer plan to continue the series, but then it would be a cliffhanger :D
Posted by: Natalie Normann | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 05:21 PM
Janic, your analysis of the Avon and Vidal books is spot on, plus another generation of the family shows up in AN INFAMOUS ARMY, Heyer's Waterloo novel. Lady Barbara is the granddaughter of Vidal and Mary, they being the Duke and Duchess by them. Lady Barbara was quite a handful!
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 05:59 PM
Christina, since my characters often meet and fall in love in the midst of high drama and danger, I'll sometimes do an epilogue that takes place not much later just to show that they'll still be in love when they're settled into a normal life. I want readers to feel that whatever happens to them in the future--and there will likely be challenges or hard times--they have the love and strength to get through it together.
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Monday, January 24, 2022 at 06:06 PM
I had forgotten that, Mary Jo! Really need to reread some Georgette Heyer's!
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 04:48 AM
I really don't like cliffhanger endings, Natalie, unless I know I have access to the next book immediately. I'm too impatient! :-)
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 04:51 AM
That sounds lovely, Mary Jo - I really like that! That's what I'd like for my readers to feel too.
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 04:52 AM
I haven’t read GH books, but it sounds similar to Lisa Kleypas Devil in Winter and Devil in Disguise. In fact these books belong to two series, the latter being pretty much about the offspring of the characters in the first series. Mary Jo does this too. The heroine of the Bartered Bride is the daughter of the heroine of Shattered Rainbows, and I loved it in both cases. I like seeing the children of my heroes get their own stories and a glimpse into the future of my favorite characters. Now I wouldn’t want to look any further than their children. I’ve read epilogues that talked about generations, and the grandchildren, and even the present time descendants, and for some reason that depressed me a little. I guess it reminds us of the passage of time and our own mortality and that’s too much reality for me.
Posted by: Leah | Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 03:45 PM
Add me to the list of epilogue fans. IMO a good epilogue finishes a story off perfectly, leaving the reader smiling, and perhaps a little bit sad to be leaving the world of the book. For this reason I almost invariably write an epilogue.
As others have said, I want the epilogue to take place a fairly short time after the main events of the book have finished, a year or so at most. I have seen some epilogues where the author shows the happy couple as grandparents, still lusting after one another and surrounded by doting children and grandchildren. Not my cup of tea at all!
Posted by: Anne Gracie | Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 05:34 PM
Thank you, Anne, I totally agree!
Posted by: Christina Courtenay | Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 05:12 AM