Wendilyn Emrys's Blog - Posts Tagged "self-esteem"
"50 Shades" series vs. "Angelique" series
I was watching the news last night, or the night before that, and saw that there was an event where E.L. James was signing her books near to me. Now, I have to honestly say that I have not read the '50 Shades' series. For a couple of reasons, first off when I am writing I try NOT to read anything that might even be close to what I am writing, so that I may not even subconsciously copy another author. Secondly, one of the reasons I love the 'look inside' feature on Amazon, is that I can do just that. I look inside at something, read the first few pages. Then I hit 'surprise me' a couple of times, and see if I like the work better or worse as it goes on. Ms. James' work was not to my personal taste, so I passed. Good on her, however, that she has a following and gets people to read.
I will not go into the whole programming of women to believe that there is a somewhat dark knight in shining armour who might 'save her' or that Sadomasochism and Bondage & Discipline is something that I personally do not find healthy for a woman's self-esteem -- no matter how they might delude themselves about it. I am neither squeamish, nor a prude, when my novel is finally out there you will really understand that! I cut my teeth on the collected works of the Marquis De Sade when I was eight -- my sister was at Uni and sent me her class books when she was finished... those were among the books I received. Luckily my sexual programming had already been in place before reading such things and I was not tainted by the reading. Thanks to movies like 'What's New Pussycat', the original 'Casino Royale' and 'Becket' ;) I was programmed for a type of sex that is ribald, innocent, witty and fun, but with an earthy pragmatic component to it.
Anyway, back to the news story. They were asking the people in line why they liked the story, and nearly all of them referred to falling for the concept of a billionaire taking a plain girl, falling in love with her, and whisking her away with him. I thought about that, and I remembered a book that I read, and still re-read on a yearly basis to this day that has a similar basic plot.
It is the Angelique series by the husband and wife team SergeAnne Golon. Frankly the best, in my opinion, historical romance series ever written. I am saying this knowing that I have read it in an English Translation is supposed to be inferior to the original in French. The difference in the Angelique series is that there is no sexual deviance or 'Power Over' concept in the love story of the protagonists. I would recommend this series to anyone who loves historical romance, and who wants to indulge in a little wish fulfillment. Oh, it is erotic, but erotic in a very intelligent way -- not the sort of erotica that we have become used to in this day and age of easily accessed porn.
You have a young woman, who is pretty to start out with, but not a raving beauty. She develops into an intelligent, driven, beautiful, charming, and self sufficient woman who will surprise you. You have a man who is basically one of the richest men in France, perhaps the World, at the time. He is older, and has had a scarred [literally SCARRED] life. He marries her to obtain some land, and she is married to him by her family for a vast dowry and to become a Countess. Their mutual seduction is wonderful to read. There is a bit of 'Beauty and the Beast' [as in the original French Story -- NOT the Disney version, LOL] to it, as well. The backdrop is the Court of Louis XIV, Paris, France, the Mediterranean, and the Americas of that time.
I will not say more, but this series is perhaps my Favourite Historical Romance Series of all time. Book One is a great setting up of the series, I love all the volumes, but Book Five [or Six depending on what publication seriese you read] - "Angelique In Love", is my all time Fav. Because in it you have two EQUALS falling in love, and it shows the compromises that REAL people [even though these are fictional characters they read REAL] have to make in life -- how to make love continue after the initial 'lust' wears off. As a person who has been married for nearly 28 years, I can tell you that reading this series gave me a better handle on the realities of love and lust, and perhaps even what matters to a person like myself in this life ;)
If you are interested, you can check out the Angelique website -- not only to read about the stories, but to read about Anne Golon's fight to get her author's rights back from the publishers.
http://www.worldofangelique.com/index...
Sadly, I have not read the last few books of the series, because they have not yet been released in English. I am SO waiting to read them! Hopefully they will be coming out soon.
An aside, I do not know about most folks, but I sometimes latch on to something in a book, usually about food, that will always stick with me. In the Angelique series it is this pot of bean and bacon/ham soup. I feel compelled to take out the book that it is written in every year, and read it. I then make the soup from scratch. Usually with leftovers from the Winter Holiday Ham. I suppose it is my expression of food porn. I sit and eat the soup and re-read the book again, in the warmth of my home. It is a little bit of paradise to me.
So, if like me, the '50 Shades' series was not for you, give the 'Angelique' series a try. If you did like the '50 Shades' series, and like to work a bit at your reading, again, have a look at the 'Angelique' series. I hope that you, like myself, will fall in love with the World of Angelique.
Think about that, I have re-read this series at least once a year for 36 years. That is staying power!
I will not go into the whole programming of women to believe that there is a somewhat dark knight in shining armour who might 'save her' or that Sadomasochism and Bondage & Discipline is something that I personally do not find healthy for a woman's self-esteem -- no matter how they might delude themselves about it. I am neither squeamish, nor a prude, when my novel is finally out there you will really understand that! I cut my teeth on the collected works of the Marquis De Sade when I was eight -- my sister was at Uni and sent me her class books when she was finished... those were among the books I received. Luckily my sexual programming had already been in place before reading such things and I was not tainted by the reading. Thanks to movies like 'What's New Pussycat', the original 'Casino Royale' and 'Becket' ;) I was programmed for a type of sex that is ribald, innocent, witty and fun, but with an earthy pragmatic component to it.
Anyway, back to the news story. They were asking the people in line why they liked the story, and nearly all of them referred to falling for the concept of a billionaire taking a plain girl, falling in love with her, and whisking her away with him. I thought about that, and I remembered a book that I read, and still re-read on a yearly basis to this day that has a similar basic plot.
It is the Angelique series by the husband and wife team SergeAnne Golon. Frankly the best, in my opinion, historical romance series ever written. I am saying this knowing that I have read it in an English Translation is supposed to be inferior to the original in French. The difference in the Angelique series is that there is no sexual deviance or 'Power Over' concept in the love story of the protagonists. I would recommend this series to anyone who loves historical romance, and who wants to indulge in a little wish fulfillment. Oh, it is erotic, but erotic in a very intelligent way -- not the sort of erotica that we have become used to in this day and age of easily accessed porn.
You have a young woman, who is pretty to start out with, but not a raving beauty. She develops into an intelligent, driven, beautiful, charming, and self sufficient woman who will surprise you. You have a man who is basically one of the richest men in France, perhaps the World, at the time. He is older, and has had a scarred [literally SCARRED] life. He marries her to obtain some land, and she is married to him by her family for a vast dowry and to become a Countess. Their mutual seduction is wonderful to read. There is a bit of 'Beauty and the Beast' [as in the original French Story -- NOT the Disney version, LOL] to it, as well. The backdrop is the Court of Louis XIV, Paris, France, the Mediterranean, and the Americas of that time.
I will not say more, but this series is perhaps my Favourite Historical Romance Series of all time. Book One is a great setting up of the series, I love all the volumes, but Book Five [or Six depending on what publication seriese you read] - "Angelique In Love", is my all time Fav. Because in it you have two EQUALS falling in love, and it shows the compromises that REAL people [even though these are fictional characters they read REAL] have to make in life -- how to make love continue after the initial 'lust' wears off. As a person who has been married for nearly 28 years, I can tell you that reading this series gave me a better handle on the realities of love and lust, and perhaps even what matters to a person like myself in this life ;)
If you are interested, you can check out the Angelique website -- not only to read about the stories, but to read about Anne Golon's fight to get her author's rights back from the publishers.
http://www.worldofangelique.com/index...
Sadly, I have not read the last few books of the series, because they have not yet been released in English. I am SO waiting to read them! Hopefully they will be coming out soon.
An aside, I do not know about most folks, but I sometimes latch on to something in a book, usually about food, that will always stick with me. In the Angelique series it is this pot of bean and bacon/ham soup. I feel compelled to take out the book that it is written in every year, and read it. I then make the soup from scratch. Usually with leftovers from the Winter Holiday Ham. I suppose it is my expression of food porn. I sit and eat the soup and re-read the book again, in the warmth of my home. It is a little bit of paradise to me.
So, if like me, the '50 Shades' series was not for you, give the 'Angelique' series a try. If you did like the '50 Shades' series, and like to work a bit at your reading, again, have a look at the 'Angelique' series. I hope that you, like myself, will fall in love with the World of Angelique.
Think about that, I have re-read this series at least once a year for 36 years. That is staying power!
