Eloisa James knows her dukes, her earls, and her lords and how to surprise her readers.
(Never fear, its spoiler-free.)
The whole idea of theWildeswas because romance themes have to come out of whats going on now.
Credit: Bryan Derballa
These days I was really thinking a lot about celebrity culture.
Hes a self-made business man.
Is this the first time youve written a non-white hero or heroine?Yep.
Avon
Specifically, there were plenty of people of color in England in the Georgian and Regency periods.
Ive looked up all the scholarship.
Ive read the primary sources on it.
So I use aristocracy as a shorthand for money.
They kind of all turn into versions of me.
My men grovel much longer than most men I know would do.
I feel its more like a research read.
I needed the background.
I needed the research, and I needed to figure it out.
Because I did venture to write a short story with an Indian heroine once.
I got about halfway through, and I was like, This is just not working.
I cant have a colonialist aristocratic white guy with her.
The Wilde family allows for so many great punny titles.
How much fun are you having coming up with those?
Because you know the Steppenwolf album cover?
My dad had one of those.
But we decided no one really remembers Steppenwolf very much.
I dont even know what the music is like.
So thats a statement about adoption as much as anything else.
But yeah, its fun.
We came up with some really stupid ones.
Ive read his plays over and over and over and over.
My favorite thing about your books is your use of literary allusions, specifically Shakespeare-related things.
Do they sneak up on you more often than not?It just sneaks up.
Im trying to create a situation where people are walking and talking on the page.
Their knowledge of Shakespeare was incredibly thorough.
People dont think of Shakespeare as a popular author for the masses anymore, but he was.
What would he think about romance novels?Shakespeare was nothing if not a pragmatist.
He was an absolute pragmatist.
He understood very much that you go to the edge so that get a best-seller.
I think he would look at genre fiction overall and he would completely understand the parameters of it.
Writing genre fiction has helped me enormously in the classroom because I can see the challenges that he faced.
You have to make it exciting and different and surprising.
There has to be that moment where the reader thinks maybe this wont work out.
At the same time, you deliciously know that it will.
He would steal them.
They called him a plagiarist, but we wouldnt because he didnt steal words, he stole plots.
Overall, we look to literature to find out ways to live.
Literature can change the way a nation thinks about war; it can change huge ideas.
Romance in particular is more about how you live.
Youve said before that you kept your pen name/identity as a writer secret until you had tenure.
Do you feel theres been any shift since then?
Its being taught everywhere.
Princeton and Duke have had conferences on romance fiction.
People would rightly think maybe this person is more interested in writing than being a professor.
I mean, its nice to get attention, but it doesnt really matter.
More power to them.
Romance novelists have been talking about consent for a long time.
And I love governess novels.
Theyre so much fun.
But Im talking about a hierarchal employment situation, and it took a really long time to negotiate that.
It was an interesting paradigm.
I handled it for the first time withSeven Minutes in Heavenbecause I was going to have a kidnapping scene.
Thats not fun and sexy anymore.
But thats the thing about writing, it changes all the time, its a constant learning process.
She had squeaked, but not screamed, after a close encounter with an exceedingly large bear.
Perhaps bear was an exaggeration.
Screaming would not have been uncalled for.
There was also the time she had waded into a lake rumored to be inhabited by leeches.
She had shuddered but soldiered on every time something soft bumped her legs.
Hovering in the corridor outside a gentlemans bedchamber?
This was a whole new level of uneasiness.
Shed prefer to swim in a leechy lake up to her neck than knock on the door before her.
Drumming up ones nerves to propose was terrifying.
Thats what she was about to do.
A silent shriek went through her head.
How in heavens name had she come to this?
She shook off the unhelpful thought and tried to muster her courage.
After not seeing her for two years.
Bring on the leechy lake.
You have no choice, her cousin Diana had fiercely insisted, not ten minutes ago.
You must marry Parth.
Lavinia took a deep breath, forcing herself to stand still and not dash down the corridor.
Hands clenched at her sides, she firmed her lips and took a step closer to the door.
Problems of all sorts.
The thought stiffened her backbone, and before she could stop herself again, she knocked.
A swooning sense of relief came over her when no one opened the door.
He was
He was standing in the open doorway, staring at her there in the dark corridor.
She managed a wavering smile.
Jesus, he barked, and then looked both ways.
What in the hell are you doing out here?
But faced with Parth?
He looked like a pirate.
She herself would have said a king.
I find myself in a predicament, Lavinia said, the words tripping over each other.
Well, more than a predicament, a problem.
Yes, problem is the right word for it.
It must be an appalling sort of problem, to bring you to my door.
His voice wasnt chilly, precisely, but she caught a distinct ironic edge.
Oh God, her sins were coming home to roost.
I used to call you Appalling Parth, she said, clearing her throat.
It was merely in jest, and I apologize.
To be sure, a jest, he agreed, his voice indifferent.
Whatever the case, why are you here, Miss Sterling?
You used to call me Lavinia.
In fact, you did seconds ago.
Seconds ago I was shocked to find a lady standing at my bedchamber door.
It seems we were both guilty of a lapse in decorum.
Well, that was blunt.
Lavinia twisted her fingers together, trying to work out how to broach the subject of marriage.
This was a disaster.
She ought to leave.
She told herself to leave, quite firmly.
Her feet remained rooted to the carpet.
Parth raised a brow.
he said, when she had apparently stood in silence too long.
What can I do for you, Miss Sterling?
Before she thought twice, her eyes flew to his.
Yes, she had teased him.
But she didnt believe he hated her.
Lavinia, he corrected, his eyes softening.
That was graceless of me, because you are clearly in extremis.
What can I do to help?
The humiliating thing was that the mere sight of him made her heart pound.
Never mind that he was monstrously arrogant and would make a terrible husband.
From the moment shed first seen him, two summers before, hed done something to her.
Why in Gods name had she allowed Diana to talk her into this?
She cleared her throat.
I was wondering if you had made any plans for marriage.
Because, Lavinia said, propelled forward by the horrible narrative that she and Diana had devised.
I am…I am…
She couldnt do it.
Its just that I thought
Are you offering to marry me?
Bloody hell, Laviniaare you proposing marriage?
Something like that, she admitted.
She had imagined surprise, or blunt rejection.
She had not imagined…pity.
But she saw pity in his dark eyes, and a wave of humiliation made her stomach cramp.
Lavinia looked the same as she had two hours ago.
That showed just how deceiving an appearance could be.
She was no longer the Lavinia of two hours ago.
For one thing, she was no longer respectable.
A hysterical giggle rose in her chest at the thought.
In fact, hed rolled up his sleeves, revealing powerful arms.
No wig, no coat.
We arent from the same world, he said, catching her thought but not understanding it.
You dont want to marry me, Lavinia.
I cant imagine why you got that in your head.
Out of nowhere, a streak of blind stubbornness appeared.
Would you…may I know your reasons for refusing me?
He looked at her, incredulous.
Lavinia, are you feeling well?
Not particularly, she said in a burst of honesty.
Perhaps because Ive never done anything like this before.
She was confident around the men whod courted her; their attentions confirmed her desirability.
But something about Parth made her feel uncertain and defensive.
At the same time, everything in her prickled into life.
I gather you are saying no, she added.
I am indeed saying no, Parth replied.
His tone wasnt unkind, but it was unambiguous.
This wasnt the way this was supposed to go.
Who was precisely the sort of man who would never accept a bride he hadnt chosen himself.
She was such a fool.
I cant imagine why I ever had such an idiotic notion.
He stepped in front of her.
I have had a lingering infatuation, she said, the words pouring out before she caught them.
You dont believe I give every man pet names, do you?
She saw the muscles tense through the sheer linen of his shirt.
It was…
Im joking!
Its time I return to my own chamber.
You certainly dont want me to be caught here.
His hand whipped out and caught her arm.
Im not the first youve proposed to?
It was a growl.
As a matter of fact, you are.
Parth shook his head.
When you left England, you were the most desirable lady on the marriage market.
You have no need to woo a man, Lavinia.
Times change, she said lightly.
His gaze moved from her toes to her head.
No, they dont.
You look Then his eyes sharpened.
She pulled her arm free and began to back toward the door.
Why had she listened to Diana?
Everyone knew that her cousin was prone to wild ideas.
He took a step toward her, eyes intent.
Its not a disgrace, Lavinia.
There was gravel in her voice.
The word was small and ashamed.
Ill find him, Parth said, low and ferocious.
And Ill kill him.
The father of your child.
Parths large hands closed around her shoulders.
Tell me his name.
His eyes fell to her bosom, assessed the size of her breasts, descended to her hips.
Three or four months on the way, I would guess?
Lavinias mouth fell open, and then she snapped it shut.
Shed been humiliated before, but now… You believe Id deceive you so?
The words came out broken and aching.
I know you dont like me, Parth, but you think me capable of that?
His eyes went blank and his hands fell away.
You feel that Imthat I hadthat I would Her throat ached so much she couldnt speak.
She had known he disliked her.
But she hadnt imagined he thought she was loose.
Or worse, conniving.
That was the moment when, looking back, Lavinia decided that she could consider herself brave.
Because she didnt cry or scream.
She summoned the last dregs of her courage and drew herself upright.
She might have even given him a polite smile.
I apologize, Parth.
Excuse me, I meant to say, Mr. Sterling.
I intruded into your chamber and embarrassed both of us, for no good reason.
She skirted him and fled, somehow finding the discipline to end the door quietly behind herself.
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