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| Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1886-female-bathers-No4-nude.jpg |
Anyway, Merry's blog led me to another I hadn't seen before: Rakes, Rogues, & Romance by Nancy Goodman. How real, she asked in a recent post, do we want our romance? Do we read it purely to escape the reality of our not particularly romantic lives, or do we want something else?
Personally, I like some realism. I want to see the heroine lift her skirts a bit to step over the disgusting muck that filled London streets prior to the end of the 19th century. I want her to wrinkle her nose when she gets a whiff of the Thames as the wind shifts. I want to see the household staff wash off the windows, again, the soot that constantly covers them. In my mind, such snippets of historical fact add much to the setting, but don't detract from the romance.
Perhaps it is my advancing age, but I am a bit tired of the virginal teen heroine, who loses her maidenhead to the more worldly but gentle hero and almost always has an earth-moving orgasm on the first try. (No comment on the realism of that.) I have read many romances which feature this type of heroine, and have enjoyed them, but nowadays I find I like my heroines grittier, with more life experience before the first page. To me, they are much more real, and these are the heroines I like to write about.
However, as in most things in life, balance is important. I do understand the need to read as an escape from reality--it is very often that impulse which leads me to pick up a book. I read a lot of different types of fiction, but I open a romance when I want to be assured of a happy ending. It isn't always very realistic, but it is usually immensely satisfying.
So if you read romance, how do you feel about realism? How much is too much?
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Hi Marin--Great to spend some quality time with you yesterday! I read Merry's post as well, and am in agreement with you that I like to show some realism about the way life truly was during the time period in which we write. The heroine in my latest book runs her hem through a pile of horse dung right before she goes to dinner with the man she's trying to impress. I think it adds to the gritty reality of the life they actually led, high society or not.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Becky! It wasn't all silks and rose water. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Marin - Welcome to the blogging world. Fine post. I never gave much thought about this topic. Yes, I love descriptions and using your scenses when something smells bad, or tastes funny, but you seem to be adding these things as though they were a character giving them more prominence in your story. Yes this makes it more real. Something to think about.
ReplyDeleteHi Barb! I don't think I'd give them that much prominence in my books, but I suppose in some cases setting can be another character. Think Anne Perry, for example. Her depictions of Victorian London are incredibly real, and I think of the city as a character. I can almost smell it when I read her books.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Marin! I think readers enjoy an "honest" read more than a flowery, unrealistic read where the heroine is perfect. Who can relate to anyone who's perfect? There is a limit, however. Discussing bathing practices in the 19th century or dental hygiene, for example--I'm perfectly okay with imagining that my hero and heroine bathe frequently and don't have rotting teeth, thank you very much! Love your Italy pics, by the way! Amazing trip!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Miranda! I would agree with you about personal hygiene--that definitely falls into the TMI category. :)
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