Falling in Love Again. . .

Anne here, and no I'm not talking about a new relationship. Nor am I talking about Marlene Dietrich, though since I wrote that heading, I've had that song playing over and over in my brain.

No, this post is about falling in love again with favorite old books.  Every now and then I take a day or two off writing, pull up the drawbridge and curl up with some favorite old romances. 

Remember them? The books that first made you fall in love with this genre, the authors who made you sigh dreamily at the end, whose stories and characters stayed with you long after you'd finished reading.

How long is it since you reread some of your old favorites? 

Some of mine haven't lived up to my re-reading of them. I find myself reading them more as a writer than a reader, and being more critical of them than I expected to be. But some of them. . . oh, some of them sweep me away just as thoroughly as they first did back when I first discovered the romance genre.

Why reread old favourites, you might ask. Some of these books are ten, twenty, even thirty years old. Hasn't the market has changed so much since they were first published? Aren't they out of date? Old fashioned?

Probably, but as long as they still sweep me away, I don't mind, because I'm not reading them to study the market; I'm reading them for me, for my own pleasure, to escape into the world of someone else's imagination.

I also need to remind myself that this writing business is not just a business, not simply a craft, not only a career — that writing involves a little bit of magic.

I seem to need to do it at least once in every book I write — to lose myself in another person's story, to remind myself of the magic, to cleanse my writing palate from the taste of markets and numbers and reviews and deadlines and remind myself again why I fell in love with this genre. And to renew the love affair. Because those old books are a big part of why I became a romance writer in the first place, and I think it's important sometimes to remind yourself of where you came from.

In general, I read pretty widely — I read crime and fantasy and sci fi and historical novels and literary fiction. Good writing is good writing and good storytelling is always magic. But there is something about those old favorites that draws me back again and again to romance.

And even though I say it's not for study or craft-of-writing that I'm rereading them, they always have a beneficial effect on my writing.  Sometimes the experience of diving deep into the world of someone else's story can set my own muse spinning. 

I can be deep in a story written by someone else, and suddenly an idea for a scene or another story will come to me — and there's rarely any similarity between the story I'm reading and the idea that comes for the one I'm writing. I suspect it's something to do with giving the muse a day off, and some fun, and being freed to play, she comes up with the goods.

Sometimes it's just the emotional experience I want — to be plunged into an emotional roller coaster ride, weeping buckets, or breathless with anticipation, or aching for the heroine's plight, and ending on an absolute uplift — the cathartic experience.  

It can enhance a mood and help ready me to write a scene in my own current story. It can remind me of the intensity I want for a scene I'm struggling with, or the joyful abandon I'm seeking. But mostly it gives me a dose of the magic that is the lifeblood of this genre, and reminds me why I love it. Because it's so easy to become jaded, when you've read too many books that failed to move you. 

I've also been digging around in the roots of the genre — and I mean that in a nice way ;) — and discovering books and authors that are regarded as classics, but which I've never read. I came to reading romance fairly late in life and it wasn't easy to buy romance books (other than Harlequin) in Australia. Then, as now, most local bookshops simply didn't stock them, and those that did didn't have anything near the range and variety that was being published in the US.

So I have a lot to catch up on. These days romance novels are so much easier to come by, with old books gaining a new life through e-publishing, as well as the ability to buy out-of-print books from used bookstores in the US. And by reading some of the books that rocked the romance world in their day, I'm finding some utter gems, and rediscovering some of the excitement with which I first experienced romance novels. 

One of the reasons romance has been such a successful genre is that it keeps reinventing itself, and I'm also finding it fascinating to see how the genre has changed over time, and also how some tropes and themes spring eternal. I'm lucky enough to have friends who've been in this business for decades, and who will point me in the direction of some of these classics, usually by way of a comment such as "You've never read X? Oh, my but you have a treat in store for you."  And they've been right.

So whenever you feel a little weary, or disheartened or a little bored with your current reading choices, why not dig out some of your favorite old romances — or ask someone for their recommendations. It might just remind you of why you fell in love with this genre — and with any luck you, too will fall in love all over again. It's a lovely feeling.

What are some classic old romance favorites that would make you fall in love with the genre again? Any recommendations?

 

Comments

[Mary K]

For the old classic romances, I loved most of Georgette Heyer’s books—too many to name. Desiree by Selinko. Jane Aiken Hodge. Elsie Lee’s The Nabob’s Widow. Mary Stewart. My Lord Moncrief and others by Jan Coxe Speas. Anything by Roberta Gellis. The Wild Swan series by de Blasis. Beacon at Alexandria by Gillian Bradshaw.

[Christina Courtenay]

Great post, Anne - everything you say is so true! We do become very jaded sometimes, and it's comforting to reach for a book you know will give you exactly the experience you crave. When this happens to me, I usually go to my Georgette Heyer shelf, just like Mary K. 'Cotillion' never fails to amuse me, and many of the others too. As I blogged about, I also reread her crime stories last year, and loved those too. I love the early Johanna Lindsey books - she has the most satisfying endings! And my all-time favourite Barbara Erskine story - Midnight is a Lonely Place gives me chills and excitement every time. Too many books to choose from!

[Alice Mathewson]

Rereads are comfort blankets in the best possible sense and so Georgette Heyer is obviously at the top of my list. All my copies are currently in store so when they reappear, it will be all my Christmas and Birthdays rolled into one! In my late teens I read and reread a book called The Marigold Chain by Stella Riley. Then it went AWOL when I left home. I sort of looked over the next 30 years and then finally found a copy on eBay or Amazon but not only that, I found Stella had written more books and had recently started writing again. That discovery has brought me great pleasure

[Kareni]

What a fun post, Anne!

I'll admit that I'm not tempted to reread/recommend any of those 100+ Barbara Cartland romances I owned and loved when I was a teen. Some later discoveries that I would recommend are Morning Glory plus Years by Lavyrle Spencer; Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh; Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas; Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale;
and Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne.

[Susan Ward]

I too read Stella Riley and still have my original copy of the Marigold Chain and also the Black Madonna, the first of her English Civil War series. I was delighted a few years ago to find she was writing again. I am a member of her Facebook page Stella's Hussies and have quite a few of her audio books

[Susan Ward]

Stellas Historical Hussies🙂

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Mary — that looks to be a good list, with some authors I know and love and some new to me.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Christina. I have most of Johanna Lindsey's books. They were part of my gateway into my discovery of the US published romances of the 80's. Might have to reread some of them — it's been years. I don't know that Barbara Erskine story — will look for it.

[Anne Gracie]

Alice, what fun to rediscover your old Heyers. And how lovely it is when favorite authors are rediscovered and are found to be still writing — or at least republishing their books. So many authors have regained their rights to their books and self-published, making them available to a new generation of readers. I've just looked, and The Marigold Chain is also available on Kindle and audio.

[Anne Gracie]

Kareni, I'm with you on the Barbara Cartland stories — mostly I read them serialized in magazines my sister bought. But I did fall heavily for LaVyrle Spencer and Morning Glory was a favorite. Mary Balogh is an auto-buy for me and has been ever since I discovered her books, and Kinsale's Flowers from the Storm is one of my all-time faves, too. The Wenches miss Joanna Bourne.

[Janice J.]

I kinda stick to the "classics" - Heyer's Georgian/Regencies, Mary Balogh's very early books (particularly Secrets of the Heart, A Precious Jewel, The Secret Pearl), Jane Austen (particularly Mansfield Park), Tolkien's The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, Mara Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Jane Eyre -- I have more than one copy of most of these and I always know where they are. Sometimes I read them in print, other times I listen to an audiobook, if it's well done, but they are always out where I can see them.

Less often, but still not forgotten, I reach for early science fiction favorites such as Robert A. Heinlein's juvies, Clifford D. Simak (he was so civiized!), Ursula LeGuin's The Lathe of Heaven, and The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects by Edward Ruppelt, which is a piece of real history written at the time and a corker of a mystery as well (we still don't know what those things are). Or the odd Oz book :)

I also read a great deal of recently written historical romance, particularly regency era, but I regard most of them as light entertainments because so much of so many of them reflect modern attitudes and not those of the era they are set in. I suppose no one can properly express the spirit of an era if they haven't lived through it, and that only bothers people like me who have had English Lit as a hobby before most of these authors were born :)

[Denise]

As a teen I was a big reader of Pearl Buck, Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt and Anya Seton (adored KATHERINE). I have tried reading them, but it’s just not the same. Then came kids, who had time to read? Later in life it was the Regency genre and I found Anne and Mary Jo and was hooked! For the last year I have been going through Betty Neels Harlequin’s, our library has made HOOPLA available and it has 100 of Betty’s novels in digital format. Her plots are so very formulaic, but her books read like travelogues and the fashion magazines of the 60s, so I find them fun.

[Cheryl]

My first books were by Kathryn Woodwiss, The Flame and the Flower, copyright 1972. Have red it multiple times.

[Patricia Franzino]

I always loved re-reading "Flowers From the Storm" by Lisa Kleypas, from 2003.

Anything by Georgette Heyer.

[Alison Lloyd]

Enjoyed this post and the comments. I'm wondering, Anne, which of your rereads have lived up to your expectations? And which tropes have lasted, or not? That second question is probably a post topic of its own.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks for that, Susan.

[Anne Gracie]

Janice I liked this: — " I have more than one copy of most of these and I always know where they are." I'm the same — there are some books I have several copies of and also one on kindle, because I don't ever want to be without them.

Thanks for those recommendations, especially the science fiction. I haven't read sci-fi for quite a while, but I'm considering some of my old faves as I'm slowly culling my library. But I don't know several that you mentioned so I might just investigate. Thanks.

As for the modern-sounding Regencies, I'm afraid they're with us for good. When I first got a US agent, the first thing she did was cut out some of my Regency slang. It's a balancing act.

[Karin]

I've enjoyed rereading many of the books already named. Several of Jo Beverly's older books are also on my keeper shelf, like Lord Wraybourn's Betrothed and Emily and the Dark Angel.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Denise, I'm glad you enjoy my books and Mary Jo's. As for Betty Neels she's a real comfort read for a lot of people, I know. She wrote over a hundred books and kept writing right into her 90's, and her "core story" — where a young hard-working woman falls in love with a tall Dutch doctor was very much her own life-long romance. And her books still fly off the shelves.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Cheryl — and you know what? I've never read it, though a lot of people mention it as one of their first. I must rectify that.

[Anne Gracie]

Patricia, I think you mean Laura Kinsale for Flowers from the Storm, and it's a favorite of mine, too. But Lisa Kleypas is also a favorite, especially The Devil in Winter. And I can never choose a favorite Heyer either.

[Anne Gracie]

Alison that second question would make a great topic for discussion, I agree. As for which books haven't lived up to my expectations the second time around? I really couldn't say, not because I'm being tactful or discreet, but because I haven't tried to remember them, just cast them aside and moved on.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Karin — yes some of Jo's often get mentioned, and I know Emily and the Dark Angel is a favorite of several of the wenches.

[Constance]

Reading your post, Anne, and all the comments has been a lovely trip down memory lane - and will make me pull out a lot of old favorites for a re-read. I’ll only add that my two favorite comfort reads are Jane Austen‘s Persuasion, and Dorothy L Sayers’ Busman‘s Honeymoon (much more a romance than a mystery, that one). In my early days of reading romance, I loved Judith McNaught’s Almost Heaven, and a recent reread didn’t disappoint.

[Christina Courtenay]

Like you said in your post - you're in for a treat! It's a bit scary though so don't read it on a dark and windy night!

[Suzanne Brownrigg]

Anne, some of my all-time favorites which I reread when I am between books or just disappointed with some of the newer romance novels (I read mostly historicals):
Devil in Winter
A Week to Be Wicked--Tessa Dare
The Bridal Season--Connie Brockway
ANYTHING by Joanna Bourne, particularly "The Spymaster's Lady"
ANYTHING by Laura Kinsale
The Secret Pearl--Mary Balogh
The early Sherry Thomas's although she's into mysteries mow which I haven't read

[Patricia Franzino]

Thank you, Anne. What a mix-up!

[Beverly Abney]

I have 3 large bookcases filled with old favorites and am lucky enough to have several libraries nearby for the new titles I learn about. The computer is handy for visiting with all of you and learning about new to me authors and titles. I am 90 now and have been a reader all my life. There is nothing like a good book to keep me interested in everything. TV is helpful, but not lasting like a book.

[Mary T]

In my younger days, I read more for my head than my heart. Whatever was the current best sellers or the classics. They are not where I go when I want a comfort read.

I discovered the romance genre in my early thirties. While on jury duty, I picked up a paperback from the reading rack. It was THE WOLF AND THE DOVE by Kathleen Woodiwiss. I was in a dark place at the time and it gave me comfort. I used to have several of her books, but I have lost them somewhere along the line.

Nowadays when I want a comfort read I usually pick Mary Balogh's Slightly and Simply series. I also re-read a lot of Joan Smith and Barbara Metzger because if I need a comfort read, I usually need a good laugh also.

Enjoyed the post and all the comments.

[Karen S. Clift]

Janice J, I was amazed to see Mara, Daughter of the Nile in your list. That was one of my favorites as a teenager--even then, I loved romances & that's a good one, along with the adventure & all!

You say that about sci fi--if I'd seen the movie "Damnation Alley" before buying a copy of the book--I never would have bought or read the book, even if it was written by Roger Zelazny. Happily, I had time before the movie started & was cruising the bookstore in that mall. But my main Sci fi authors: Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey & Tolkein. I discovered Norton's Witch World series in 9th grade & never looked back. I still have that original copy--pd .35 for it way back then...and laugh at the price differences!

[Alice Mathewson]

Me too:-)

[Karen S. Clift]

Yep, my first discovery of "bodice rippers" was Kathryn's The Wolf & The Dove. I have a little trouble dealing with the writing style now but still love certain parts of that book, Flame & Flower, & Shanna.

[Karen S. Clift]

I've done a great deal of rereading my old favs over the last couple years; in fact, many of us on the Romance Book Lovers website were commenting that we kept going back to the comfort reads instead of reading new titles. I had to force myself to read new titles, even with authors that I love. Then we found an article that said this is a normal reaction to stress & heaven knows, we've seen a lot of stress recently, both in public & personal lives.

Many of my rereads come from Heyer, Elizabeth Lowell, Jayne Ann Krentz in all her manifestations, Nora Roberts/JD Robb and quite a few others. But one book in particular I should be able to quote: Red Adam's Lady by Doris Sutcliffe Adams writing as Grace Ingram (1973) My hardback copy was disintegrating, long out of print so replacement was way too expensive & hallelujah, it came out in ebk! I do love that story and oh, wanted a Red Adam of my own!

[Annette N]

I use my old favorites for the times I am in a less than happy place. Or when I simply feel blah with reading. I go to Susan Elizabeth Phillips and early Julie Garwood. They make me laugh and their characters always draw me into the story.

Until You by Judith McNaught was my first romance. I had been a critic of romances and their readers. Of course I had never read one. Then I fell in love with the entire premise and have not looked back. I read mostly romance, mysteries and some history.

I have never regretted the fact I have become a fan of romance, and I feel so sorry for those people who have not jumped into the books with both feet. There is nothing like a satisfying Happily Ever After to make a day sunny.

Thanks so much for this post. Everyone has reminded me of so many wonderful books. And I have also been introduced to books I never knew existed. Thank you everyone.

[Jeanne Behnke]

I have bookshelves with all my keepers - the usual suspects everyone has mentioned- but I haven’t opened them in years. Just looking at them makes me happy & brings back the good memory of reading them the first time. The one exception seems to be Mary Stewart. I have reread hers & love them still.

[Susan Ward]

I know that Stella has just completed the first draft of her new book. I'm looking forward to it.

[Teresa Broderick]

I didn't discover Georgette Heyer until I was in my late 30's but I will happily re-read them any time. I read a lot of Mills and Boon in my teens and beyond. Mary Nichols was one of my favourites. I read most of what she wrote and they're great for re-reads. Another favourite I re-read often is The Chaperon Bride by Nicola Cornick. A lovely story. I also read a lot of Danielle Steel in the 80's and 90's and re-read some of those from that time. Unfortunately I've given up on her now. Sometimes her books read like someone else has written them.
This is a brilliant post. Lots of old books to look up.

[Janice J.]

I have a handful of Nortons on my shelf also. I wish we could post pics as those old Ace paperbacks had some great covers :)

[Janice J.]

Exactly so. I read new books and reread old favorites during the late covid craze which forced us all (especially the older people) into isolation. Books have always been my friends but I appreciated them more than ever then.

[Anne Gracie]

Add me to the list of Norton and McCafrey fans, in fact I did a big reread of the various McCaffrey series a year or two ago and they did not disappoint at all. I also loved the Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Might read some of them again.

[Anne Gracie]

Janice you could always post them in the comments referring to this post on the wench facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/wordwenches/

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Constance. I have never really got into Dorothy Sayers. Maybe I need to read Busman's Holiday. Thanks.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks for that list, Suzanne. Several of my faves there.

[Anne Gracie]

I agree, Beverly — I can get lost in a book, but with TV I'm fairly easily distracted. I wonder if that's a habit formed in childhood.

[Anne Gracie]

Janice, I think a lot of people rediscovered — or maybe even discovered— the joy of reading during the CoVid lockdown. I think for me, it also prompted me to reread a lot as well.

[Anne Gracie]

Great selection, Mary. I have also enjoyed finding early Baloghs that are now available as e-books. When they were first out, they mostly weren't available in Australia. And yes to having a good laugh. I recently reread Heyer's The Talisman Ring, which wasn't initially a fave of mine, but when I read it again, I was laughing out loud and grinning quite a bit at its subtle ironic humor.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Karen, Heyer, Lowell and JAK/Amanda Quick are all staying on my bookshelves, resisting the Great Cull of 2023, even though I have my faves of them in e-book form. I'm about to reread Elizabeth Lowell's medieval Scottish border series, Forbidden, Untamed and Enchanted.
I also have Red Adam's Lady, which my kindle tells me I've read, but I have no memory of it, so perhaps I need to read it again.

[Anne Gracie]

Annette, this is so true of so many people, including myself. "I had been a critic of romances and their readers. Of course I had never read one. Then I fell in love with the entire premise and have not looked back."

It frustrates me so much that the loudest, most dismissive critics of romance are those who haven't read many — or even any. But they're the ones missing out, aren't they?

[Anne Gracie]

Jeanne, my need to cull my books to fit in my new bookshelves has fuelled my rereading of old favorites, and I've recently reread a number of Mary Stewarts — Madam Will You Talk, Nine Coaches Waiting, This Rough Magic, The Moonspinners, and more. They are definitely staying.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Teresa. Yes Nicola's earlier romances stand up very well, don't they? Glad you're enjoying the post with all the wonderful recommendations in the comments.

[Janice J.]

My favorite Anne McCaffrey book is actually Cooking Out of This World. She asked her science fiction friends to contribute their favorite recipes. Some were straightforward good cooking, others were more adventurous, like Avram Davidson's recipe for stewed fountain pens. There was a follow up book called Serve It Forth.

[Anne Gracie]

How interesting, Janice. Ive participated in a couple of author group recipe anthologies before.
One was called Sizzle, Seduce and Simmer, and was an all-Australian romance collection with a short story and a recipe from each author.
It was only sold in Australia, but we had a lot of fun doing it, and our group launch was spectacular with authors from all over the country and lots of delicious food.

[Maggi Andersen]

Two of my favorite authors, Georgette Heyer and Mary Stewart, and two favorite books! I haven't read the other author, but I will certainly check it out! Thanks Anne.

[Karen S. Clift]

Anne, that's one of my favorite Heyers just because I laugh every time I read it! I'm smiling now just thinking of it! That, Black Sheep, Bath Tangle, and Devil's Cub are the ones I reach for first when I need a Heyer dose!

[Karen S. Clift]

Yeah, I had a Great Cull last year. I had to empty a room for repainting & had 40+ bags stashed under & around the dining room table--seemed like the time to review as they went back--and I did. I donated huge amounts of pbks but certain authors--no way! Those pbks went right back on the shelves and I have most of their bks in ebk format as well!

Enjoy those rereads! Oh, so good!