Lori A. Paige

Fans of gothic romance will appreciate this in-depth look at the genre, which experienced its heyday in the 1960s and 70s. Lori Paige, professor of English at a small private college in Western Massachusetts, is a huge fan of this genre. In The Gothic Romance Wave: A Critical History of the Mass Market Novel, 1960-1993, Paige focuses on the mass produced paperback novels of the gothic romance genre. She takes an academic approach to gothic romance and explores the roots, popularity, marketing, appeal, and demise of the genre. Known for its somewhat formulaic story-line; an independent heroine, sometimes an orphan, maybe a long-lost family member, possibly a new bride, goes to live in a castle or manor house, solves a mystery, encounters a sinister servant, and meets and falls in love with the hero who is always wealthy and powerful.
Unlike the romance genre in general, gothic romance rates low on the steamy scale for sex scenes. The stories are chaste, as the author points out. Intimacy is hinted at but never detailed. Paige describes the gothic romance formula as, “…sturdy, dependable, and instantly recognizable: a gloomy house or castle filled with sinister family members and frightening servants, a heroine the reader can identify with, a thread of romance that usually that usually goes no further than a few stolen kisses, and an abrupt declaration of love or a marriage proposal near the last page.”
Easily identified by their cover art, known as the “women running from houses”, the heroine is often pictured wearing a long white night gown, barefoot, long hair flowing, while she flees the dark castle (or house), pictured in the background, where a single light shines in an upper window. Publishers even used the “woman running from houses” cover art for contemporary stories about a modern, short-haired, blue jeans wearing heroine. The cover art was a huge part of the “branding” of gothic romance and fans of the genre love the cover art almost as much, or maybe more than the stories themselves. There are several websites and Pinterest boards are devoted to gothic romance cover art.
In her book, Paige traces the roots of gothic romance back to 18th century, specifically to Anne Radcliffe, author of The Mysteries of Udolpho, published in 1794. The second wave in gothics came when Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte was published in 1847 under the pen name of Currer Bell. Paige ties the popularity of gothics with spikes in the feminist movement. First wave feminism began around the same time that Bronte’s Jane Eyre was published, with the beginnings of the suffragette movement. The second wave of the feminist movement, began in 1963 with Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, which was around the same time that the gothic romance mass market paperback, with its independent heroines, was beginning to gain popularity among women readers. The genre became so wildly successful and popular in the late 60s and into the 70s that publishers were struggling to meet the demands. Writers now known for other genres, such as Deane Koontz, wrote gothic romance novels in the beginning of their writing careers.
The Gothic Romance Wave: A Critical History of the Mass Market Novel, 1960-1993, also serves as a future reading list for fans of the genre. Throughout the book, Paige discusses key authors such as Victoria Holt, Dan Ross, (aka Marilyn Ross), and Phyllis Whitney to name a few.… (meer)