#laure lee guhrke

[maddie-grove]

My Top Five Twentieth-Century (Ish) Romance Novels

Notes: Romances set during the twentieth century are among the hardest for me to categorize. First, romance novels (as we know them today) began to emerge as a distinct genre in the twentieth century, so it’s entirely possible for two romance novels, one historical and one contemporary, to be set during the same decade. What do I do with that? Second, I think twentieth-century historical romance falls into three distinct categories with little to do with each other: Edwardian-ish (post-Victorian but pre-WWI), World Wars (WWI, WWII, and everything in between), and Cold War (roughly 1947 to 1991). I lump in nineties-set romance with contemporary romance, partly because I am a very self-centered early-nineties baby, and partly because of some pivotal events that took place in the early nineties (the end of the Cold War, the popularization of Internet usage, the Old School/New School schism in romance). Also, I’ve yet to see a nineties-set historical, which isn’t the case for the seventies or eighties. This is not a science.

1. Scandal of the Year by Laura Lee Guhrke (2011)

Exact Setting: 1900s England.

Premise: Years ago, Julia, Lady Yardley, used the unwitting Aidan, the Duke of Trathen, to trick the world into thinking she’d committed adultery with him. It got her a divorce from her abusive husband, but it also dragged the very proper Aidan’s reputation through the mud. Since then, Julia has become a motorcar-racing, cigarette-smoking firecracker. Maybe Aidan should resent her, but instead he misses her and dreams of doing what everyone thinks they did. 

Why I Like It: This was the first post-Victorian historical romance I ever read, and it blew me away. Looking at it objectively, I know it has its flaws--it contains very little conflict, and Julia’s past actions towards Aidan aren’t taken seriously enough--but I love it still. Their odd-couple friendship is endearing, and their sexual chemistry is off the charts. I really appreciate that Guhrke put in one spectacular love scene, rather than three repetitive ones (as is the custom). I also like the inclusion of exciting technological developments, like cars, and Julia’s post-divorce hellion ways.

Favorite Scene: The one spectacular sex scene.

2. Let Us Dream by Alyssa Cole (2016)

Exact Setting: 1917 New York City.

Premise: Bertha Hines, a black cabaret owner and suffragette, is dealing with opposition from all sides. A racist white official is trying to get her shut down, the more “respectable” suffragettes won’t even take her money, and (more pleasantly) the hot dishwasher at her club is critical of her dance routine. Said hot dishwasher, Indian-born Amir Chowdhury, is having his own problems; he’s sharing an apartment with three roommates, he’s been dodging immigration officials since he jumped ship, and his ambitions of being a chef have stalled. Can these two prickly, passionate people ever get along? Can they maybe even help each other out?

Why I Like It: I’m a little disappointed that so many World Wars historicals are set in rather bland small towns where it might as well be 1890 . Let Us Dream is a delicious exception. Set on the eve of the Harlem Renaissance and women’s suffrage, during the waning days of WWI, it captures a vibrant historical moment. Bertha and Amir are both unique protagonists with a great dynamic; when they clash, it’s not because they don’t share values or respect each other, but because they’re both so ambitious and self-assured. Plus, the food descriptions are really good.

Favorite Scene: The dancing lessons.

3. Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer (1990)

Exact Setting: Early 1940s Northern Georgia.

Premise: Will Parker, fresh out of prison and half-starved, finds refuge with “Crazy” Elly Dinsmore, a reclusive pregnant widow with two little boys. Unable to run a small farm by herself, she’s taken out an ad for a husband, but she and Will sensibly agree to take things slow. Nevertheless, things...evolve. Can they get through childbirth, the tail end of the Great Depression, World War Two, and a murder trial? Are they gonna have to wait for their lives to be over?

Why I Like It: Lord, the sheer tenderness of this book. Elly and Will treat each other with kindness from the start, even though neither has received much of that in their life. Their relationship grows even lovelier as they get to know each other and weather the challenges that life throws at them. It also made me think of my grandparents, who also married shortly before WWII. Finally, there’s a lot of good stuff about responsible land management, which is very appealing to me, someone who struggles to responsibly manage an apartment and a Toyota.

Favorite Scene: Will gets the imperious but secretly nice town librarian to take an interest in Elly.

4. Let It Shine by Alyssa Cole (2015)

Exact Setting: Early 1960s Virginia and Mississippi.

Premise: Sofie Wallis, a black college student, has always done the proper thing, not wanting to upset her anxious father since her mother’s untimely death from a sudden illness. The Civil Rights Movement is gathering steam, though, and she’s not about to sit it out. Through her activism, she becomes reacquainted with Ivan Friedman, a reserved white Jewish boxer whose terminally ill mother employed her mom as a housekeeper when they were kids. They were friends back then...can they be more now? And how is the Freedom Summer going to go?

Why I Like It: Cole expertly captures both the idealism and the ugliness of the early 1960s, making for an exhilarating and thought-provoking story. The dynamic between Sofie and Ivan--both quiet, intense, and conscientious people--is both moving and sexy. There isn’t a whole lot of conflict between them; they have internal stuff to sort out (Sofie’s fear and grief over her mother’s death, Ivan’s attempts to channel his righteous anger into constructive channels) and some external obstacles to overcome (racist opposition to the Freedom Riders, somewhat disapproving but mostly scared parents, the fact that interracial marriage wasn’t legal in Virginia until 1967), but they’re pretty much always on the same page. This could make for a less-developed romance, but instead you get this incredible sense of rightness: that these are two people with shared values, great chemistry, and a deep respect for one another.

Favorite Scene: Sofie and Ivan practice for the Freedom Ride.

5. Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi (1996)

Exact Setting: Early 1900s Arkansas.

Premise: Althea McNees Winsloe, a young widow with a three-year-old son, has no wish to marry. She doesn’t trust any man to truly look after the interests of her firstborn, and frankly none of them do it for her anyway. Unfortunately, she owns one of the best pieces of land in her small Ozarks community, and that community is full of busybodies. Instead of marrying to oblige them, she hires Jesse Best, a local man with cognitive disabilities, to help her out with her land. The arrangement satisfies them both--she likes his ideas for improving the farm, while he likes being treated as a capable person for once--but things get complicated as their mutual liking turns into something...sexier. Can it work out between them? Will the community, which refers to Jesse as “Simple Jess” way more than necessary, accept their love? And will Althea’s other suitors ever be able to put down their burdens of toxic masculinity and achieve true happiness?

Why I Like It: A book with this premise is either going to be great or a fucking mess, and Morsi hits it out of the park. Society has a bad habit of conceiving of “disabled” and “non-disabled” as two mutually exclusive categories; non-disabled people are “normal” and capable of doing everything they need to do without help, while disabled people are aberrant and generally incapable. Jesse has serious, life-altering cognitive disabilities; he has trouble remembering things, takes a long time to process things mentally, and often doesn’t pick up on when people are manipulating him. The people in his community see these disabilities and feel the need to “simplify” him into someone who has no intelligence, no sexuality, and no agency. Yet Jesse is capable of many things, and he knows what he wants. Meanwhile, the “normal” people of the community, including Althea, also need help from others: to farm land, to raise children, to be happy. The community is also well-drawn, sometimes infuriating yet always very human.

Favorite Scene: Althea sees Jesse’s farm improvements and is like “fuck yeah that’s some good shit” (paraphrase). I am also fond of the scene where Althea’s secretly gay suitor tells his asshole father to fuck off and moves to New Orleans.