New Blogger Look

I shall be swopping over to the new Beta Blogger soon, which should not change the look of this site too much but is entirely for my convenience, as it makes posting messages and moving things about easier for me.

I apologise for not having made many posts to this blog in recent months. Other things holding my attention, unfortunately! But I do promise to post something up here before the end of November. I have an idea for a post entry, but am still researching it, as it's a little complicated and time-consuming.

Meanwhile, if anyone has any requests for particular Charlotte Lamb topics, do please leave a comment below.

Jane

Comments

  1. Hi, I am glad to see you updating this blog :-)

    I am a member of some online exchange programs and decided to check up on Sheila Holland books. Currently PaperbackSwap has 4 avail, including SECRETS (TO KEEP) as it is called on this side of the Atlantic as i mentioned before

    http://www.paperbackswap.com/book/browse_advanced.php?ti=&a=sheila+holland&i=&searcher=Search+Posted+Books

    Unfortunately, this program is only for US members if I recall.

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  2. i love the book the long surrender. it was one of the first romance novels i ever read and by far the best.. i still think of it once in a while.. but i can´t find it anywhere and i would love to read it again even just the back cover. It is the best romance book ever i think. I lost my copy.

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  3. Thanks for posting and please join the club! The club, that is, of people who wish they still had a copy of The Long Surrender. It does seem to be one of my mother's most sought-after titles, though long out of print, alas, and almost impossible to find secondhand!

    Perhaps if we all write a note, letter or email about this sad situation to Harlequin or M&B (depending on where you live in the world) they may decide to finally reissue it as a Romance Classic.

    Fingers crossed!

    Jane

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  4. I still have my copy of THE LONG SURRENDER. Dunno if its CL's best or not but pretty powerful just the same.

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  5. Good to know that, Seton. 'Best' is always a tricky word to use, isn't it? After all, so much of our response to fiction is about personal taste.

    The Long Surrender was certainly among Charlotte Lamb's most influential books though, breaking all those taboos about describing orgasm and a woman's response to sex, and paving the way for today's much racier and detailed sex scenes in Mills and Boon/Harlequin. Some might say the earlier books were better, because readers had to use their imaginations more. Others might see it as all part of the wonderful and much-needed sexual and gender revolution that started back in the Victorian age - in many instances still ongoing and unresolved, alas!

    Happy New Year!

    Jane

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  6. I love the classic Charlotte Lamb novels of the late 70s and early 80s but my favourite has to be "Frustration". It's emotionally intense yet never forced or contrived and the characters are believably flawed. The final chapter when Jake declares his love for Natalie has to be one of the best I've ever read. Authentic and satisfying. I've read it many times.

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  7. Was Jake the hero of Frustration? I love Jake - just one of my mother's finest creations, a real flesh-and-blood hero but without all that dark brooding that would make daily life with such a man a little difficult. Jake had an infectious sense of humour, a true sense of the ridiculous - so rare in a typical M&B hero. Humour and sex appeal - what a fabulous combination!

    Thanks for dropping by with that, it's nudged me into sorting out my next blog entry!

    Jane

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  8. I love your mother's books. She was unique amongst romance writers in that she could produce compelling emotionally intense books like the Long Surrender and Dark Dominion and also more humorous, light-hearted books. In this vein, I abolutely adore "Obsession". There are many very funny scenes in it, especially when the hero, Lang thinks he is ill. And yet the romantic intensity and passion is still there. One thing I particularly loved about Obsession was that it centred on the heroine's sexual reaction to the hero. The obsession of the title is, unusually, her obsession for him. The hero and heroine work together and the novel describes her looking at his body as he works and lusting over it - how refreshing! I have noticed that many of your mother's novels of this time - the late 70s and early 80s - are concerned with female sexual reactions - do you think this was a theme of particular interest for her?

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  9. Absolutely, JC. I have to admit, OBSESSION is a serious favourite of mine. Lang is just the most fantastic hero and definitely on the tasty side! I think my mother was concerned, amongst other things, to convey that slightly scary but delicious feeling of disorientation a woman gets when she knows for certain that she desires a man - even if she isn't quite ready to admit that to the man himself!

    Some women find that side of her novels problematic and disturbing. Others find such admissions from the heroine wonderfully liberating, especially in a sexual sense. I'm glad you're the latter!

    Jane

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