#IASPR18 session 7 is on 19th Century Legacies, chaired by Erin S. Young.
First paper is on “House, Home, and Husband in Historical Romance Fiction” - by Sarah Ficke @DameMystery (Marymount University) #IASPR18
Sarah is talking about coverture. Mentions Untamed by Anna Cowan, where the neighbour has to ignore than an illegal transaction has taken place. #IASPR18
Historical romance books have looked at darker side of coverture. Heroine's sense of violation as a result of a husband's legal power over their wife. #IASPR18
Two ways in which authors can mitigate coverture. One way is through labour/estate management rewards women with more responsibility and autonomy. In Austen, Charlotte Lucas gets satisfaction in domestic work. #IASPR18
But it doesn't always well - eg Persuasion. #IASPR18
A Lady Awakened by Cecilia Grant brings these elements together. Other novels amplify this idea of satisfaction from work by amping up (sometimes unrealistically) the heroine's productive work in the estate. #IASPR18
Love is represented as the best security that a woman has against her insecure legal position. #IASPR18
Not surprising that so many romances revolve around the house. In P&P, Mr Darcy's behaviour is constantly examined. Most important is how Darcy treats the people he's responsible for. << OMG YOU GUYS. 💡💡💡 #IASPR18 Also, Sarah flashed this graphic:
Here’s the anchor slide for Sarah’s presentation. #iaspr18 
Modern historical romances has to balance a lot of elements. They seem to have more contemporary concerns by making the heroine's labour concerns echo modern women's compromises around home and work. Only Untamed has a more unconventional solution/hero. #IASPR18
Another example of unconventional resolution is Courtney Milan's The Suffragette Scandal (I think! I couldn't type fast enough!). #IASPR18
Q on Tessa Dare's castle series where heroines inherit a castle and they have to figure out a way to keep it. Sarah: Not yet! Q on Venetia and Civil Contract. Sarah: More for the list. #IASPR18
Q on gothic romance that focus on big, deserted, haunted house. Sarah: The houses in gothic romances seem to symbolise psychological spaces & interior journey that heroine has to go through. In modern HR, house is more focused on reality of law and work. #IASPR18
That last question segues very well into the next paper, which on “Beloved Monstrosity: Romance and Romanticism in Frankenstein” by Steven Gil (Queensland University of Technology) #IASPR18
Frankenstein isn't a novel associated with romance or romantic themes, but if you look at the 3 main characters: Victor Frankenstein, the creature, Robert Walton (usually cut out of adaptations!). #IASPR18
Each has a female character: Elizabeth Lavenza (Victor's wife), the "bride", Margaret Walton Saville (Walton's sister). #IASPR18
Frankenstein originally published anonymously, with a preface by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Debate on how much Percy contributed. First reprint had Mary Shelley's name. #IASPR18
Revised edition in 1831 changes Frankenstein into a more morose character. This was the republished version until 1974. #IASPR18
Original Creature was eloquent, not bumbling. The creature demands a female companion. Victor nearly completes the task but never finishes out of sense of ethics and morality. Contrast to popular image of Victor as mad scientist. #IASPR18
Different interpretations of love fundamentally change the adaptations of the story, both in books and in films. #IASPR18
Comment on connecting the Creature with Beauty and the Beast tropes in romance, including Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale. #IASPR18
I read Frankenstein in high school so I can't remember anything about it & can't really follow the close reading discussions. (Sorry!) But Victor sounds like a douchebag, so there's probably room for a Frankestein retelling in romance. 😅 #IASPR18
Next paper is “Reader, I mirrored him: the recasting of romance tropes in Jane Eyre fanfiction” by Lucy Sheerman #IASPR18
Lucy is showing clips from various adaptations of Rochester falling off his horse, and the sexually suggestive interactions that provide inspiration for fan fiction. #IASPR18
Popular types of fanfic. 1. James Eyre (especially McEvoy/Fassbender) - when gender dynamic is removed, the focus is on power dynamic, class and social/moral impact. #IASPR18
Jane Eyre fan fic merges the Brontes' work, so Wuthering Heights bleeds into Jane Eyre fandom. #IASPR18
Fan fic subverts the author's vision while being simultaneously immersed in it. #IASPR18
Popular Jane Eyre scenes from fan fic: meeting scene, and the one where Rochester is injured, although in the films he's never maimed, just slightly bewildered. #IASPR18
The BBC adaptation of Rochester falling off his horse was the only one where he's placed physically lower than her (although I think the Hindi version did this also?) and it's the most popular for fan fic. #IASPR18
