Romance professor gives lesson on sex

Think you know who writes Romance Novels, think again. Eloisa James, bestselling historical romance writer, is actually Mary Bly, Shakespearean professor at Fordham University. She trails a long list of degrees by such prestigious institutions as Harvard, Oxford and Yale. She has recently given an interesting interview on writing about sex in the context of a historical romance.

Here’s the gist of the interview:

What I’m saying is that although eroticism is culturally, geographically and historically specific, we writers of historical romance sexualize history without regard for the specific epoch in which we set a novel.

No matter how historically accurate the details and language in our novels might be (and mine, in case you’re wondering, are pretty accurate), we write sex from the point of view of our own contemporary attitudes and mores.

So whether or not the sex is historically accurate, all I know is Eloisa James is vastly popular. And for all the romance snobs out there, it’s also amusing to note that my next romantic read is penned by a Ph.D.

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