A Bit of ROMANCE NOVEL History

If there is a romance gene, I’ve got it. I know romance novels haven’t always had the best reputation, but they are the hottest selling genre, with sales of over a billion dollars annually. So when did this love of romance novels begin?

Before Gutenberg invented the printing press, making romance novels more accessible to the masses, romance stories existed. The ancient Greeks had them as well as many other cultures. The ones that weren’t copied over and over by hand were told by word of mouth and acted out as plays, as were other types of stories. There is a list of over twenty ancient Greek romance novel titles, most are but mere fragments of the original stories. Only five of them have survived in a nearly completed state.

The Native Americans of Mackinac Island, Michigan have a tale about Arch Rock on the Island. 

An Indian maiden was tied to the rock by her father when he forbid her to marry the brave she was in love with. Her tears melted away the gigantic hole in the limestone rock, leaving the arch we see today. Her warrior rescued her and took her with him to his people. Though this story is used to explain a geological formation, it’s interesting that the Native Americans chose to use a romance theme to explain it.

The first recognized modern romance novel is considered to be Pamela or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson in 1740. 

. . . and the first from the woman’s point of view. (Interesting that romance novels before this were from the man’s point of view or probably omniscient point of view.) It was one of the first best-sellers. Go romance!

Then in the early 1800s came Jane Austen and then Charlotte Brontë in the middle of the century. Romance novels became more popular after World War I. Walter Scott developed the popular mass-market version of the historical romance novels which is said to have begun in 1921 with the publication of The Black Moth.

Mills and Boon, British publishers, began publishing hardback romance novels in the 1930s, which were popular across England. In 1957, Harlequin Enterprises, a Canadian company, began releasing Mills and Boon’s category romances in North America. In the 1970s, Harlequin bought Mills and Boon and other companies published romance novels as well that were now being sold in mass-market stores and other places where women shopped like supermarkets.

I think of Grace Livingston Hill (1865-1847) as the forerunner to the current modern-day Inspirational romances, both category and stand-alone. She wrote over 100 novels and short stories. Her published works span from the 1870s until after her death in 1947. Her last novel, Mary Arden, was finished by her daughter Ruth and published in 1948.

Romance novels continued to change and adapt to the market and have continued to sell more and more copies. Romance novels have many, many sub-genres that contribute to the large number of sales. These vast sub-genres enable romance readers to find just the right fit for them.

This reader (and author) is happy romance novels are still going strong.

HAPPY READING!

NEW!

The MISSADVENTURE BRIDES Collection

Love Is One of Life’s Greatest AdventuresSeven daring damsels don’t let the norms of their eras hold them back. Along the way these women attract the attention of men who admire their bravery and determination, but will they let love grow out of the adventures?
Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure, a 1904 road-tripZola Calkin sets out on an adventure to be the first woman to drive across the country. Will the journalist tasked to report her presumed failure sabotage her efforts? Or will he steal her heart?

MARY DAVIS s a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her 2018 titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection (January), Courting Her Amish Heart (March), The Widow’s Plight (July), Courting Her Secret Heart (September), “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection (December), and Courting Her Prodigal Heart (January 2019). She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub

A BIT OF AMISH HISTORY

Historical Amish people didn’t dress or behave that differently from a lot of other farmers in the 1800s. 

 

    However, they did strongly adhere to religious beliefs like a lot of other religious groups did and still do, but there weren’t as many technological advances for them to abstain from to highlight their differences. Until the mid 20th century, children of the Amish attended public schools with the other non-Amish children. Some still do.

   A lot of people think of the Amish as an ethnic people group like Australian, French, or Greek, but Amish is a religion like Baptist, Methodist, or Catholic. Just because a child is born into a home with Christian parents doesn’t make the child a Christian. Same with Amish. There are no Amish children, per se, but rather, children of Amish. When a young person decides to become a church member, that is when they become Amish.
   So where did the Amish people and religion come from?
 
THE OLD COUNTRY
   The Amish religion started as a split (or schism) in the Mennonite movement which stemmed from the Anabaptist reform movement in Europe. Anabaptist was a new belief held by a radical Protestant sect that believed baptism should only occur for believing adults after they have made a decision to follow Christ Jesus.
   The Mennonite movement was a reform movement with origins in the Anabaptist movement based on teachings by Menno Simons (1496-1561). Within the Mennonites, Jacob Ammann’s (1644-1730) teachings became the basis for the Amish movement that took a version of his name. The word Amish was first used as a term of disgrace in 1710.

THE NEW COUNTRY
   Amish began emigrating to North America early in the 18th century. Like many other people, some of the Amish came for religious freedom, first to Pennsylvania, then spreading to other states like Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and others.
   As the Amish communities grew, they split to better accommodate the members. Some groups split due to religious differences. They disagreed over whether to permit things like social change and technological innovations into their communities.
   Most if not all of the Amish groups left in Europe assimilated into Mennonite communities.
 
DIFFERENT AMISH GROUPS
 

   As there are now, back in the 1800s, there were different types of Amish groups.
    ~Old Order Amish, the most conservative subgroups belong to this group, then and now.
    ~New Order Amish, less conservative and include some Amish Mennonites.
    ~Mennonite, most progressive.
   Most of the difference seem to be around which technology innovations are permissible to use, from indoor plumbing to electricity and machinery. The mainstays of the Amish way of life have long since been humility, family, community, and separation from the world.
 

   Each district (or community) has its own set of rules to follow. These rules are called the Ordnung. The Ordnung is why an Amish person in one area might have had a pump inside the house and another didn’t or whether to allow its people to make clothes with printed fabrics. In modern times, it would be the difference from pulling a plow with a horse while another might be using a tractor, or one Amish person riding a bicycle, while another uses a scooter.

   Though Amish determine to be separate from the world and not depend on it for living, they aren’t as removed and independent as they would like, for they sell their crops and homemade goods to the outside world. I believe in this day and age with technology running the world and farmland more and more scarce, Amish are finding it harder and harder to remain apart.

NEW!
COURTING HER PRODIGAL HEART

Mother-to-Be’s Amish Homecoming... Pregnant and alone, Dori Bontrager is sure her Amish kin won’t welcome her—or the child she’s carrying—into the community. And she’s determined that her return won’t be permanent. As soon as she finds work, she’ll leave again. But with her childhood friend Eli Hochstetler insisting she and her baby belong here, will Dori’s path lead back to the Englisher world…or into Eli’s arms?

(Book 3 in the Prodigal Daughter's contemporary series) 

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. Coming in January 2019, Courting Her Prodigal Heart. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:
Newsletter Blog FB FBReadersGroup Pinterest Amazon GoodReads BookBub

Baker City, Oregon...Where History Comes to Life

By Miralee Ferrell

Baker City, Oregon, at its Inception

During the early 1800s, the time my Love Blossoms in Oregonseries is set, Baker City, Oregon, grew from 300 people (in the 1870s) to well over a thousand in the early 1880s. By 1890 it crested 2600, with miners and hangers-on pouring in and hoping to make their fortune, to its present-day population of nearly 10,000.  Situated on the Powder River, Baker City was established as a result of the Eastern Oregon gold rush, beginning in 1864, and as a distribution trade center by Colonel Ruckles.  The advent of the railroad in 1884 helped the expansion of the town greatly, with only 

The interior of the Geiser Grand Hotel

stagecoach transportation available five-days-a week up until that time.

Something that took my husband and me by surprise when we visited was an old Chinese cemetery. Before visiting the town, I didn’t realize it had contained a sizable Chinese population that was brought in to work the mines, and included a one-to-two block-long section of town built specifically for the workers and their families.

One of the things I loved about Baker City was the diversity. You’ll find the beautiful, ornate Geiser Grand Hotel containing stained glass ceilings and ornate wood work, and then a few miles from town the valley contains expansive, rugged cattle ranches and barbed wire fences. The historic district drew my interest the most as it includes a wealth of businesses and old homes open for tour, and the local museum boasts a video of the area depicting many of the founding fathers and their homes. 

The Geiser Grand Hotel was built in 1889 at the height of the gold rush. It’s a magnificent building and the most elegant hotel in the Northwest. It’s still in use today, after going through an extensive restoration in the 1990s by a new owner, (it fell into total disrepair 

Grand Geiser Hotel at the turn of the century

and was slated to be demolished) who saw the historic value and poured a huge amount of money into saving the building. Boasting a corner turret or cupola with a clock tower, crystal chandeliers, and three stories above the original dining area that seated 200 is the largest stained glass ceiling in the Northwest. One of the fascinating aspects of this hotel is that, at the time of its creation, it had a working elevator, (one of three west of the Mississippi River) and electric lights. It cost a whopping $65,000-70,000 to build, a huge price at the time. Guestrooms feature 10 foot windows, many of which look out toward the Blue Mountains.

I discovered an interesting aspect about the hotel, not noted online, but known to many of the locals. At one time in its heyday, women of ill repute were brought in to entertain the wealthy miners and businessmen. Most of the bedrooms were on the second and third floor, and an open, circular hallway was visible from the ground floor. The circular railing curves around with rooms opening off of the hall. When the ladies of the town discovered some of their husbands were visiting the Grand for not-so-respectable reasons, they would sit in the dining area. There, they could keep a hawk eye on the hallways and doors, as the dining area is open all the way up to the stained glass ceiling three floors above. Finally, in desperation as his business was ebbing, the owner built an external stairway at the back of the building and snuck his customers up that way, thus avoiding the watchful eyes of the women. 

Portion of the historic district in the early 1900s

Another gorgeous historic building is the Baker City Hall, built in 1903, it stands as one of the most beautiful historic buildings in the Baker Valley and boasts its original copper-clad roof. We also loved the old fire station and the newspaper office that’s still open today. The first public school was a two-story frame building, later replaced in 1889 by a three-story brick building, due to the fact that fire ravaged the town more than once, burning many of the businesses to the ground. The most disastrous fire burned every structure on the east side of the 1700 block of Main in 1887. Before the year was out, every building had been replaced by one built of brick. Most still stand today, except for the ones on the south end torn down to make room for a gas station. 


All in all, Baker City was charming, and most of the 

Historic Home in Downtown Baker City

historic places open to tourists were a wonderful source of material as well as an inspiration. We found the people to be friendly and helpful, and stories about the area abound at every turn—truly a writer’s delight.

Miralee Ferrell is a multi-published, award-winning author of 20 books. She lives in the Pacific NW with her husband of 42 years, where they enjoy working in their yard and series, Love Blossoms in Oregon, was set in Baker City, Oregon, during the 1880s. Her fifth book, Rebel Horse Rescue in the Horses and Friends series, a set of horse novels for middle-grade kids, released three days ago. 

Forget Me Not---Book 2 in the Love Blossoms in Oregon Series

Can a Lost Love be Redeemed?
Baker City, Oregon, 1881

Seven years ago, Julia McKenzie rejected the man she loved, wanting to experience more of life. Now, at the age of twenty-four, she regrets that decision. What will Seth think of her, when they encounter one another hundreds of miles from home? Will the man she cared for understand the direction her life has taken and love her in spite of her choices?

Pastor Seth Russell has never completely forgotten the girl he once courted. When she shows up in his new home of Baker City, all those feelings return. But why is she sneaking around town late at night? Even more important, will she reject him and break his heart again, or can God heal the breach between them?

Forget Me Not is part of the historical romance, Love Blossoms in Oregon series, published by David C Cook. This book can stand alone, but is better enjoyed when reading the series and getting acquainted with the full cast of characters from the Love Blossoms in Oregon series.

This is historical romance that offers hope and healing to the deepest wounds in a woman’s past.

Autumn Book Extravaganza!

SARAH'S SURRENDER, Book 3 in the Land Rush Dreams series

by Vickie McDonough

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE




SHATTERED MEMORIES
by Debbie Lynne Costello

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE 

THE COWBOY'S BRIDE COLLECTION

By Nancy Farrier, Susan Page Davis, Miralee Ferrell,

Vickie McDonough, and More

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS BRIDES

by Susan Page Davis and Others

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

A HOUSE LOVE BUILT

by Martha Rogers

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

RAILS TO LOVE ROMANCE COLLECTION

by Susanne Dietze and Others

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

HIS PRARIE SWEETHEART
by Erica Vetsch

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE  

REBEL LIGHT
by Marilyn Turk

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

BEFORE THE SEASON ENDS

by Linore Rose Burkard

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

DAWN OF LIBERTY
by Amber Schamel

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE  

SOFI'S BRIDGE
by Christine Lindsay

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

RED IS FOR ROOKIE
By Anne Greene

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE




MESSENGER BY MOONLIGHT
by Stephanie Grace Whitson

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE




VALLEY OF THE SHADOW
by J.M. Hochstetler

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE




SUMMER'S SURPRISE
by Martha Lou Rogers

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE 




HIS STEADFAST LOVE
by Golden Keyes Parsons

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE




RESURRECTION OF HOPE
by Tamera Lynn Kraft

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

THE LEGACY LETTERS

by Alanna Radle Rodriguez and others

CLICK TO PURCHASE