Sonja and Vanessa dip into a wonderful historical romance novel by Julie Ann Long, The Perils of Pleasure, Book 1 of 11 in her marvelous Pennyroyal Green series. We set up the first three chapters, but that’s just the premise of the book, and there are no spoilers. We discuss the literary lineage of regency romance novels, like this one, both to Pride and Prejudice and even to Tristan & Iseult. Sonja brings up some thought-provoking questions worth considering: What is the specific appeal of “Regency” romances? Are there essential elements that any good romance novel must contain? Is it disempowering to women to read romance novels? Along the way, we find out that Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennet share a crucial life moment, Vanessa finally learns what a “plot moppet” is, and Sonja discovers that she needs to write a Regency, Amish, vampire romance novel.REFERENCESJulie Ann Long’s The Perils of Pleasure can be purchased here.Julie Ann Long has a website that gives a good sense of her whole (very impressive) body of work.A Natural History of the Romance Novel by Pamela Regis can be purchased here. This was such a great resource! If you love romance novels, you would find Regis’s study fascinating. And check out the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books Website. Savvy and fun!

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