Grey aka Robert Fordham
c/o Joanna Bourne
The Spymaster’s Lady
Dear Robert,
Thanks for not being a dillweed. I apprecitate that. I don’t know if you’ve noticed (you probably have. You are very observant.) but romance novel spies tend to be intensely retarded. By intensely retarded I mean, if they were actually spies they would be dead by now on account of failing to 1) comprehend human behavior 2) not noticing the holy fucking obvious and 3) generally acting like a 14 year old boy having a hissyfit, although that is probably quite insulting to 14 year old boys.
My point, Robert, is that you behaved like a spy. Early on you had some wacky ideas about Annique but you didn’t let these notions override what your senses observed, as a good spy ought. You noted the behavior of this woman and then concluded (correctly) that she was not the sort to do the kind of killing you had initially thought she had. Moreover, you realized that as a French operative she was duty bound to try to escape and you didn’t hold that against her. In fact, you admired her for that. I appreciate you Robert Grey Fordham. I appreciate the fact that you aren’t an asshat. Well done, sir, well done!
I am not a spy. I could never be a spy because I have all the delicacy and diplomacy of a mack truck speeding into a strip mall. Yet even I, ill-equipped as I am for the spying game, know certain basic facts about spying and, yes, the world in general, that seem to escape other romance novel hero spies who, for no discernible reason, get all pissy that not everyone’s loyal to England. The adolescent naivite is shocking! Then they get all huffy and gruffy and start smacking around their beloved because they blame her for making them want her (yeah, that’s her fault, right?) nor can they discern love from lust. What it constitutes, I think we can both agree, is a total failure of imagination. If I had fellows like that in my spy cadre, I would take them out back and shoot them myself because that kind of rocking, shocking idiocy just endangers everyone.
In any case, Robert, you are an all around terrific fellow. A true gentleman. A man of sense and with a sense of humor. Very underrated qualities.
Best wishes on your campaign against Bonaparte (Hint: you guys win!)
Angela
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Is this really that common of a romance novel trope? And do the authors engage in historical research or have romance novels created their own fictional England?
The spy thing? Well, that’s actually a hard question to answer. Within European Historical Romances set in the Napoleonic period having the hero be a spy is not uncommon although I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is a trope.
As for the second part, the answer is both. Some romance authors do very extensive and percise research. Some romance authors use the historical period the way a fantasy author uses a world. And some romance authors just use the period as wallpaper. It really depends on the book.