Gothic Romance Novels

I was eleven when Gothic romance novels first captured my heart.

I've always loved to read. How could I feel otherwise? Living in my parents' home was like growing up in a library. My dad's extensive collection contained every worthy book on LDS church doctrine with a few Eugenia Price thrown in. My mom, on the other hand, loved mystery novels of every type and owned massive quantities of them. And then there were all the children's books! I loved getting scholastic book orders. Other kids were allowed to order one or two books, but I was allowed as many as I wanted, usually seven or eight. And if that weren't enough, we made frequent trips to the library. There was always a plethora of available reading material.

And then there was the value placed on reading. To my parents, few, if any activities, were as worthy, as productive, or as enobling as reading a book. So you see, how could I help but love to read growing up in such an environment?

As a young girl I would often venture downstairs to the guestroom wherein most of my mom's mystery novels dwelled. Few of them were of interest to me. However, two authors managed to capture my attention: Phyllis Whitney and Mary Stewart, both writers of gothic romance novels. From that point on, I was hooked on the genre.

I soon after became obsessed with books by Eleanor Hibbort, who wrote under the pseudonyms of Victoria Holt, Jean Plaidy, and Phillippa Carr. They were my favorite reading material during my teenage and young adult years. Thanks to my mother's frequent visits to used book stores, I now own all the Victoria Holt and Phillippa Carr books. Although the Jean Plaidy books do have some literary value, the others have absolutely none, yet I adore them all the same. I've always longed to be more like the strong, female protagonists of the stories.

A few years ago I came across one Madeleine Brent's books. She hasn't written many, but I love those I've read. I was surprised to learn that Madeleine Brent is actually a pseudonym for Peter O'Donnel, an English comic strip writer. These also feature a strong, female protagonist, and are usually set, at least partially, in some exotic location.


A few months ago my mother happened to acquire and pass on to me a book by Anne Maybury.
I read it, enjoyed it, and ordered three more from the library. They aren't the best gothic romances I've ever read, but I'm enjoying them all the same.