This week: Gothic Romance Edited by: StephBee - House Targaryen  
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“Autumn has caught us in our summer wear.” – Phillip Larkin
“It is the summer’s great last heat, It is the fall’s first chill: They meet.” – Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt
September is here! While it’s still hot where I’m at, the first thing that comes to mind about the September is the Autumn Equinox. Fall starts on 22 SEP 22 this year in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s when the sun crosses the equinox on its way to the Tropic of Capricorn.
September is a month of change. The temperatures get a little cooler. The leaves start to change colors. Ah, the harvests are due. And usually with the harvests come fall festivals - the last outdoor events until spring.
Who doesn’t love a fall festival? Some popular festivals are themed around harvest festivals set in apple orchids and pumpkin patches. There are even balloon festivals. Perhaps the most remembered fall festival is Octoberfest, which grew out of a wedding reception between the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Theresa which was held in early October 1810.
Fall also strikes its own, low key romantic overtones, with brilliant colored leaves, crisp, cool air, and warm apple cider. Gothic romance also strikes similar low key, cooler, romantic overtones, with darker settings and old, possibly decaying buildings. That said, I thought I’d take a look at gothic romance in this newsletter.
Here’s a Word Search for you to enjoy. If you complete the word search and give it a review, I’ll send a merit badge your way.
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Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
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The Gothic genre has it’s roots in 1764 with the novel, “The Castle of Otranto,” by Horace Walpole. The genre uses the following elements:
An old, gloomy setting such as a castle or a mansion.
Mystery or suspense
An old prophecy
Our hero is more like an alpha male anti-hero (remember our alpha males?)
Our heroine is young and naïve
Visions and omens heighten the mystery/suspense
Supernatural-like events that ultimately have their resolutions in a natural explanation.
High emotion – crying, panic, breathlessness
Women in distress – (thus, allowing for the anti-hero to become the hero)
Metonymy of gloom – A metonymy is a type of metaphor where something stands for something else. For example, rain to communicate sorrow; lightning stands for anger.
It wasn’t until Ann Radcliffe wrote “A Sicilian Romance,” did the gothic genre develop in a romantic vein. While Radcliffe kept the same gothic tropes, she focused on the heroine fighting/working through the mystery/suspense elements to be with her true love. Our alpha male hero developed into a dark, brooding character, (think Heathcliff) who displayed anti-hero like characteristics. It’s the heroine’s distress and determined nature that brings out the best in him, compelling him to fight for her – and his – happiness.
A modern gothic romance author is Victoria Holt. I discovered her in the 1980’s as a young teenager. I was drawn to her stories as I felt I could connect with the heroine, who is young and has to struggle for what she wants – a better life and true love.
#1 Have you ever read Victoria Holt? Do you have a favorite story or novel? I’d love to hear your thoughts on her gothic stories. I’ll share your thoughts in my OCT 22 Romance/Love NL. Also,
#2 Victoria Holt is a pen for this highly prolific author. Write in and share her real name and I’ll send a merit badge your way and mention you in my October NL.
Reference: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2018/10/03/brief-history-gothic-romance
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Feedback from my last Romance/Love newsletter Dated 10 AUG 2022:
Monty 
Married to two wonderful ladies, lost both to Angel wings. Brought them flowers often.
((hugs)) thanks for sharing.
Bikerider 
Let's see. August is Romance Awareness Month. Hmmm. Could that be because we're all running around in bathing suits and bikinis? The extra exposure could inspire more passion, right?
Sure would! 
StephBee - House Targaryen is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. Her young adult romance, "Young Witchcraft" is now available as an Ebook. Joe and Rachel have known each other since grade school, but will a little young witchcraft bring them together or keep them apart? |
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Amazon's Price: $ 5.99
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Romance/Love: September 07, 2022 Issue [#11544]
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