It’s Hard To Find a Girl with Brains…
Original Post Date: Jun 4, 2021
I confess, I like Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander….
available HERE
Actually I like the idea of it. Time Traveling World War 2 nurse falls through a stone circle in Scotland and into the “British Empire” oppressed Highlands of 1740’s Scotland…
and into the arms of Jamie Fraser…
The time traveling series satisfies all the must haves for a Romance. A guy, a girl and the promise of an Happily Ever After. There has to be a HEA in Romance. My children know that I will get very angry if they suggest a movie, book or any form of fiction and someone important dies or walks away in the end. I am not a fan of harsh reality entertainment.
Saying that, my second requirement in Romance is the heroine can not be passive and Claire Randall Fraser in Outlander is no damsel in distress. She is a smart and capable older woman and well “bitchy” enough in the beginning to tell the rogues who are about to do irreparable damage to the “hero’s” dislocated arm to stop and fixes it herself. Of course Clara’s bitchy nature plus 20th century knowledge of anatomy and medicine in 18th century Scotland is a large part of the story and leads to her being suspected of being a witch, but the lady has brains and a mouth and uses them.
Sadly the Outlander series was published almost thirty years ago and I can’t say it has inspired many more “badass” heroine romance stories. Unfortunately they are hard to find, cause this is still the norm…
I mean she’s beautiful and she sleeps…. through most of the movie but still gets the Prince! What about the stories of the village girls, the cooks, the barmaids, the plain Janes? They’re harder to find, but oh so much more interesting, especially when they have a gun and know how to use it…
I would say that a more layered story line and non- stereotypical characters pushes the romance to the back of the tale, with more sexually tension then dropping down in the heather moments. And “girls with guts” seem to be segregated to only certain sub genres in Romance, westerns for one since the true West itself supported capable women, it had to, but one sub genre in Romance that has taken the lead lately with “girls with guts” is…. wait for it,
Georgian or Victorian Era Suspense Mystery or Sleuth Who Dun’ Its, “soft” mysteries, I could go on. Sub genres terrible confuse me. What’s the difference between Fantasy Romance and Romantic Fantasy?
The popularity of the Girl, Guy Sherlock Holmes genre has caught the attention of PBS whose series Miss Scarlet and the Duke is set for a second season…
But basically- most stories, like Miss Scarlet and the Duke go with a refined, well trained in society lady, who for some reason or another is down on her luck. Possibly her parents have died..
her marriage prospects have dried up, or as Jane Austen put it, “ she’s 27 and a burden on her parents” but she literally falls, and I mean falls into or falls over the body and with no other options and bored, starts solving murder mysteries much to the disgust of most of her male and female contemporaries….
Oh, but they all have a hunky side kick man connected to them to do the “heavy lifting”...
he can either be an on the fringe member of high society himself, or a disrespectable “rogue” or an accepted member of Victorian/Edwardian England’s Scotland Yard or a very much private investigators to the gentry whose job it seems to is to cover up messes for his employers as much as to solve mysteries.
What is consistent in all the series is at first- she and he do Not like each other, then slowly decide to work together, then romance comes in around the threat of danger and them figuring out their unique “his and her roles” and then, sometime in the 2-3rd season or 3-4 books is the HEA, the Happily Ever After. But many of the series continue with relationship conflict until well the “turnip of the storyline has run to the ridiculous”, i.e. Fox channel’s modern day sleuth romance- Bones which has the same story arc, just different time setting…
I’m sorry, amnesia should never, ever be used as a plot tool to repeat a romance!
I have great hopes for Miss Scarlet an the Duke, which is set for a second season, please, please PBS don’t disappoint!
But since TV series are not released anywhere near the pace of my romance consumption, below is a plethora of Romance sleuth teams in order of my endorsement for “Girls with Guts”!
Disclaimer: I don’t read books…
I mean I don’t hold a book in my hand and read it. Why- in my day job, I’m as an artist (highlighted Here) and won’t give up precious time working with my hands, plus I like to listen to audible.com while stitching. I also live in the middle of nowhere in the West and have many miles where an audio book fits the bills, plus love to cook, hate cleaning but an audio book does the trick to pass the time. Everything I recommend was found through audible, I know there has to be other series I don’t know about in print or ebook only. Leave those in the comments for other but I wont read ‘em until I can listen to them or they are on TV or a movie, fingers crossed soon!!
MY #1
From the back cover…
London, 1887. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime.
But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.
Butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell and her grumpy, Aristocratic drop out, wounded hearted, candy loving taxidermist, sidekick Stoker are as well formed as Clara and Jamie, with quirks and attitudes and in the series, novelist Deanne Raybourn brings to life the somewhat destructive naturalist pursuits of Victorian England. But boy, they sure bump into a lot of bodies, by accident.
#2
available HERE
From the back cover…
Scotland, 1830. Following the death of her husband, Lady Darby has taken refuge at her sister’s estate, finding solace in her passion for painting. But when her hosts throw a house party for the cream of London society, Kiera is unable to hide from the ire of those who believe her to be as unnatural as her husband, an anatomist who used her artistic talents to suit his own macabre purposes.
Kiera wants to put her past aside, but when one of the house guests is murdered, her brother-in-law asks her to utilize her knowledge of human anatomy to aid the insufferable Sebastian Gage—a fellow guest with some experience as an inquiry agent. While Gage is clearly more competent than she first assumed, Kiera isn’t about to let her guard down as accusations and rumors swirl.
When Kiera and Gage’s search leads them to even more gruesome discoveries, a series of disturbing notes urges Lady Darby to give up the inquiry. But Kiera is determined to both protect her family and prove her innocence, even as she risks becoming the next victim…
I enjoyed this series because Lady Darby is an artist and in the book is forced by her cruel first husband to illustrate the human body in secret off of blackmark cadavers. Definitely considered a vulgar pursuit in Victorian England. Unfortunately women drawing the human body is still a vulgar idea held by a few in my day, circa 2000’s, I was run out of a church for attending figure drawing sessions with nude models, but that is another blog post and a different blog… Moonflower Musings
As stated above, it took some time for Lady Darby to gain the respect and the interest of Sebastian Gage, who as an inquiry agent, was expected to not always solve but sometime sweep away the crimes of the rich and powerful in the very end of the Georgian period.
#3
available HERE
From the back cover…
The daughter of a baronet and minor heiress, Rosalind Thorne was nearly ruined after her father abandoned the family. To survive in the only world she knew, she began to manage the affairs of some of London society’s most influential women, who have come to rely on her wit and discretion.
So, when artistocratic wastrel Jasper Aimesworth is found dead in London’s most exclusive ballroom, Almack’s, Rosalind must use her skills and connections to uncover the killer from a list of suspects that includes Almack’s powerful patronesses and her former suitor Devon Winterbourne, now Lord Casselmaine.
Torn between her old love and a growing attraction to a compelling Bow Street runner, Rosalind must not only unravel the mysteries surrounding Jasper’s death, but the mysteries of her own heart as well...
Again, same format, young women on the fringe of society, falls into sleuthing a murder. This series is fun because it peels back the not so glamorous side of the mix of “blue bloods” and new money’ed London and what they did to climb the social ladder and the interference of the working class. Could of been more romance or interplay between the gal and guy in this one.
#4
available HERE
From the back cover…
"Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave."
These ominous words are the last threat that Sir Edward Grey receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he has retained for his protection, he collapses and dies at his London home, in the presence of his wife, Julia, and a roomful of dinner guests.
Prepared to accept that Edward's death was due to a long-standing physical infirmity, Julia is outraged when Brisbane visits and suggests that her husband was murdered. It is a reaction she comes to regret when she discovers damning evidence for herself, and realizes the truth.
Determined to bring the murderer to justice, Julia engages the enigmatic Brisbane to help her investigate Edward's demise. Dismissing his warnings that the investigation will be difficult, if not impossible, Julia presses forward, following a trail of clues that lead her to even more unpleasant truths, and ever closer to a killer who waits expectantly for her arrival.
Back to Deanna Raybourn, her Lady Grey Series is a little bit too refined for me and delves a little too much into mysticism, I know a big thing during the Victorian era but just not my cup of tea. And all presented at a little bit too slow paced for my liking. Guess Lady Grey is just not “badass” enough for me.
#5
available HERE
From the back cover…
“A feisty heroine hiding behind a mousy facade…”
England 1816
Twenty-six-year-old Beatrice Hyde-Clare is far too shy to investigate the suspicious death of a fellow guest in the Lake District. A spinster who lives on the sufferance of her relatives, she would certainly not presume to search the rooms of her host's son and his friend looking for evidence. Reared in the twin virtues of deference and docility, she would absolutely never think to question the imperious Duke of Kesgrave about anything, let alone how he chose to represent the incident to the local constable.And yet when she stumbles upon the bludgeoned corpse of poor Mr. Otley in the deserted library of the Skeffingtons' country house, that's exactly what she does.
I did not read much of this series, the “mousy façade” done in a “chick-lit” tongue in cheek sort away was too annoying for me.
All of the above series have at least three book and frankly, all have run the course of the story line. Just purchased the 6th book in the Veronica Speedwell mystery and only half listened to it. I soooo needing something else to read and would so love to get out of mystery-fantasy, any historical, modern so leave any suggestions.
I do know there ain’t a “girl with guts” sub genre in Romance, wish there was. Not a crazy independent woman who needs no one, I’m talking about somewhere between this…
and this…
’m sorry, but what did Scarlett Johansson’s character actually “Do” in that movie?
It’s way more fun, in my opinion, when the gal, well has some moxie…
mox·ie /ˈmäksē/
nounINFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN
noun: moxy
force of character, determination, or nerve.
"when you've got moxie, you need the clothes to match"
And it’s really fun when they have a gun…
From the back cover…
It is December of 1792. Elizabeth Middleton leaves her comfortable English estate to join her family in a remote New York mountain village. It is a place unlike any she has ever experienced. And she meets a man unlike any she has ever encountered—a white man dressed like a Native American: Nathaniel Bonner, known to the Mohawk people as Between-Two-Lives. Determined to provide schooling for all the children of the village, Elizabeth soon finds herself locked in conflict with the local slave owners as well as with her own family. Interweaving the fate of the Mohawk Nation with the destiny of two lovers, Sara Donati’s compelling novel creates a complex, profound, passionate portait of an emerging America.
From the back cover…
It is December of 1792. Elizabeth Middleton leaves her comfortable English estate to join her family in a remote New York mountain village. It is a place unlike any she has ever experienced. And she meets a man unlike any she has ever encountered—a white man dressed like a Native American: Nathaniel Bonner, known to the Mohawk people as Between-Two-Lives. Determined to provide schooling for all the children of the village, Elizabeth soon finds herself locked in conflict with the local slave owners as well as with her own family. Interweaving the fate of the Mohawk Nation with the destiny of two lovers, Sara Donati’s compelling novel creates a complex, profound, passionate portait of an emerging America.
available HERE
From the back cover…
1775, Boston Harbor. James Sparhawk, Master and Commander in the British Navy, knows trouble when he sees it. The ship he’s boarded is carrying ammunition and gold…into a country on the knife’s edge of war. Sparhawk’s duty is clear: confiscate the cargo, impound the vessel and seize the crew. But when one of the ship’s boys turns out to be a lovely girl, with a loaded pistol and dead-shot aim, Sparhawk finds himself held hostage aboard a Rebel privateer.
Sarah Ward never set out to break the law. Before Boston became a powder keg, she was poised to escape the stigma of being a notorious pirate’s daughter by wedding Micah Wild, one of Salem’s most successful merchants. Then a Patriot mob destroyed her fortune and Wild played her false by marrying her best friend and smuggling a chest of Rebel gold aboard her family’s ship.
Now branded a pirate herself, Sarah will do what she must to secure her family’s safety and her own future. Even if that means taking part in the cat and mouse game unfolding in Boston Harbor, the desperate naval fight between British and Rebel forces for the materiel of war—and pitting herself against James Sparhawk, the one man she cannot resist.
in book form and movie form, from the back cover…
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem.
As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton - and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers - and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Can she vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry?
Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to hear.
