The Gothic Romance Wave: A Critical History of the Mass Market Novels, 1960-1993

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The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the birth of modern feminism, the sexual revolution, and the growth of the mass-market publishing industry as we know it today. Women were buying books and reading as never before, and popular Gothic fiction dominated the publishing market. Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and Phyllis Whitney emerged as giants in the industry, while the standardized paperback Gothic, affectionately known as the woman running from the house novel, sold in the millions. Pitched at middle-class women of all ages, Gothics paved the way for contemporary fiction categories like urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and vampire erotica.

Though popular Gothic paperbacks were soon eclipsed by steamy contemporary romance novels and the even more explicit bodice rippers, they retain a cult following and the books themselves have become collectors’ items. They were also the first popular novels to present strong heroines who served as agents of change, liberation, and transformation. The present study seeks to restore the missing chapters of the Gothic story, from the imaginative creations of Ann Radcliffe and the Bronte sisters to the controversial bestseller 50 Shades of Grey.