Bravo! Fantastic tribute to Denys, bodice rippers & readers.
While the Silver Devil captivates me, I've always preferred the Flesh and the Devil--it's one of my all-time favorite romances-- simply because that happy ending is more believable than the Silver Devil, as Duke Domenico was such a crazed megalomaniac I couldn't see his people tolerating his rule for much longer.
And I second what you said here:
"It’s a patronizing sentiment that buys in to two lies: that progress is linear, and that depiction can only ever equal endorsement."
It disheartens me when I hear people who rightfully oppose book banning then turn around and denounce these types of romances. Fiction is not a facsimile of reality, like dreams it functions as a method of recollecting and analyzing what we observe. In fiction we are free to go to the darkest depths that we would never conceive of in real life. And in doing so, it is cathartically therapeutic. Really fantastic article that I'm going to bookmark.
On my blog I reviewed The Silver Devil and have a page dedicated to Bianchi. I found some information from the Romantic Novelists Association, which wasn't much admittedly, but it gave me more insight into her life. She was a brilliant woman by all accounts with a great sense of whimsy. Thank you so much for writing this up. I'm delighted to have found your Substack!
Thank you so much! I need to check out your page on Bianchi, I think she's absolutely fascinating!
I started as being more partial to The Silver Devil (I will never, ever, forget the scene with the dogs as long as I live), but I only recently finished The Flesh and the Devil and I can't stop thinking about it! Felipe gets some really memorable lines like, "You will come to like the deed, if not the doer" that has just been rolling around in my brain.
I love the way you write
Thank you! 🥰
Bravo! Fantastic tribute to Denys, bodice rippers & readers.
While the Silver Devil captivates me, I've always preferred the Flesh and the Devil--it's one of my all-time favorite romances-- simply because that happy ending is more believable than the Silver Devil, as Duke Domenico was such a crazed megalomaniac I couldn't see his people tolerating his rule for much longer.
And I second what you said here:
"It’s a patronizing sentiment that buys in to two lies: that progress is linear, and that depiction can only ever equal endorsement."
It disheartens me when I hear people who rightfully oppose book banning then turn around and denounce these types of romances. Fiction is not a facsimile of reality, like dreams it functions as a method of recollecting and analyzing what we observe. In fiction we are free to go to the darkest depths that we would never conceive of in real life. And in doing so, it is cathartically therapeutic. Really fantastic article that I'm going to bookmark.
On my blog I reviewed The Silver Devil and have a page dedicated to Bianchi. I found some information from the Romantic Novelists Association, which wasn't much admittedly, but it gave me more insight into her life. She was a brilliant woman by all accounts with a great sense of whimsy. Thank you so much for writing this up. I'm delighted to have found your Substack!
Thank you so much! I need to check out your page on Bianchi, I think she's absolutely fascinating!
I started as being more partial to The Silver Devil (I will never, ever, forget the scene with the dogs as long as I live), but I only recently finished The Flesh and the Devil and I can't stop thinking about it! Felipe gets some really memorable lines like, "You will come to like the deed, if not the doer" that has just been rolling around in my brain.