Speaking of romance: today's guest post comes courtesy of Alison Wright, of Fort York branch, and concerns the one and only Barbara Cartland. For those unfamiliar with Dame Cartland's oeuvre, she was the most prolific author in the English language, having published 723 novels over her 77-year career. She famously dictated her novels to a secretary while lying on a couch (presumably eating bonbons?), and was often able to finish a novel in two weeks. A brief perusal of her novels (of which we have 121 in Overdrive) reveals that they tend to focus on the romantic travails of counts and marquesses, and it's not unusual for them to employ kidnapping by pirates as a plot device. 

Alison

Fort York Branch

The Romance Novels of Barbara Cartland

Why am I recommending Barbara Cartland’s novels?

They hearken back to a time when femininity was quantifiable and a certain kind of delicacy was seen as feminine strength, and this fascinates me.  They are a throwback to the classic Gothic novel filled with evil uncles with wicked intent. They are a glimpse into the past, a peeping peek into one woman's brain's never-changing social world order and fantasy land. 

What you're really getting with these books are interesting questions.  You question yourself, you question the role of women in society, you question Babs Cartland and what her ideals and fantasies were.  Was she invested in these? What was her life like? And while perhaps you could get answers if you Googled her, it's more fun to imagine the answers by piecing things together from these weird stories.  

A Duel of Hearts

by Barbara Cartland 

"Just seventeen, Lady Caroline Faye is already the toast of the Season and accustomed to the ways of genteel Society. So when notorious cad Sir Montagu Reversby offers to drive her in his phaeton from London'to Sevenoaks, she innocently accepts – little knowing that he is planning to fake a broken axle so that she will be forced to spend the night alone with him at a remote country inn. But Lady Caroline is made of sterner stuff than the predatory Sir Montagu imagined. Escaping his lecherous clutches, she finds refuge in the imperious Brecon Castle only to discover that her new-found haven and its master, Lord Brecon, harbour dark and terrible secrets. A murderous plot is afoot and Caroline's innocent mistake will come back to haunt her as heartbreak and humiliation in the dark, foreboding castle turn to hope and then ardent, all-consuming passion."

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Love's Dream in Peril

by Barbara Cartland

"The beautiful Adella May is filled with joy as she sees Digby Dryden, the man she loves, walking towards her. But why does he turn away, refusing to look at her? Humiliated and hurt and her golden dream of love in ruins, what can Adella do now and where can she turn? Will she be forced to give up her hopes of seeing Digby again and obey her tyrannical Uncle Edgar and accept the proposal of the rich and suitable aristocrat, Lord Ranulph Fowles, a man she cannot love?"

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The Pretty Horse-Breakers

by Barbara Cartland

"Innocent young Candida is almost destitute after the death of her beloved father. Resolving to keep up the family's modest Elizabethan manor house in Hertfordshire and support Ned, the family's faithful servant, she sees no alternative but to sell her beloved pitch-black stallion, Pegasus. So, when the worldly Major Hooper offers to take her and her mount to Hyde Park where she will undoubtedly find a high price, she agrees, though with a heavy heart. Little does she suspect that Major Hooper trades in young women as well as horseflesh – and soon she finds herself and Pegasus 'sold' to the dashing but awe-inspiring Lord Manville…"

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The White Witch

by Barbara Cartland

"The Marquis of Wynstanton was involved with one of the beauties of London Society – Locadi, Lady Marshall –  and when her husband died unexpectedly, the Marquis set out on a long journey to India and Nepal, as he wished to avoid any gossip arising about their liaison. After his return, he resumed the affair, staying on in London for some time when he should have gone straight to Wyn Castle and his country estate. Then he began to suspect that Locadi was using black magic to entice him to her… Almost in a panic the Marquis returned to his estate, where he met Flora Romilly, known locally as the White Witch, because she can heal ailments with plants and leaves from her herb garden and has worked wonders with his grandmother's rheumatism…"

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