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

Ever since I was first introduced to Dark Shadows by my mother when reruns aired in the early '80s, I have been fascinated by the gothic genre.  Perhaps it was my early days of reading the Nancy Drew mysteries that gave me a hint of that genre (what with the haunted mansions, the dark and foreboding atmosphere, and the female protagonist determined to solve the mystery) and whetted my appetite for more.  Whatever the reason, I fell in love with this whole idea of an innocent young girl being thrust into a dark world of mystery and the unknown, forced to gather her wits and strength to face the dangers before her and navigate the labyrinth of lies surrounding her.  As I got older, I began to look beyond those children's series (although, admittedly, I still read and collect those as well) and search for adult gothic tales with darker, and sometimes more "real" supernatural elements.  Authors like Dan Ross (under a variety of pseudonyms such as Marilyn Ross, Clarissa Ross, W.E.B. Ross, and others), Phyllis A. Whitney, Willo Davis Roberts, and others began to attract my attention, and I started picking up and reading these adults novels - and found myself enthralled.  What surprised me, though, is the lack of reference material for these novels that seemed to boom in the 1960s and '70s.  Until I cam across this book.

The Gothic Romance Wave is a study written by Lori A. Paige that takes a literary look at the mass market paperback gothic novels that were published from 1960 through 1993 (and, honestly, I hadn't realized they continued into the '90s - I had always assumed they pretty much died out by 1980 or so).  Paige, who is a professor at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, takes an in-depth look at pretty much every aspect of the era - the authors, the publishers, the covers (and oh, how I love those covers!), the characters, the plots, and the history of the genre itself.  This was definitely what I wanted to know more about!  I mean, I took a class on Gothic literature when I was in college, but it was focused on the late 18th Century and early 19th Century works, such as Walpole's Castle of Otranto and Lewis' The Monk, as well as more recognizable works, such as Dracula and Frankenstein.  We never touched on more modern gothic tales.  So, I was thrilled when I came across Paige's book on Amazon.

I learned considerably more about the genre and the period of publication that I never knew, and it has only increased my desire to delve further into these novels.  Yes, Paige does address the 18th/19th Century beginnings of the genre, but she quickly jumps into that explosion of gothic novels in the 1960s and '70s, when the market was flooded with paperbacks that depicted a young woman, usually in a loose, flowing gown, running in the night ... a dark castle in the background, usually with a light glowing faintly in one of the windows ... sometimes the shadowy figure of a man back in the distance.  Let's face it, we've all seen those covers, and quite honestly, I have joked over the years about how easy it is to spot a "gothic" romance novel, simply by the cover.  Little did I realize how much truth there was to that!  Paige discusses the possible reasons for those similarity in covers, and how they drew the intended audience into buying the books.  I had never realized just how much the market was flooded with these books back in the day (while I was not alive in the '60s, I was around in the '70s for a bit....), and to consider now just how much the various publishers were competing for sales.  In a way, it reminds me of what happened in the movies after the first Star Wars film hit it big - suddenly, the movies were filled with space films of all kinds, trying to compete and cash in on the success of that one film.  

But Paige goes further and looks at what it was that drew readers (mostly women) into these books.  She discusses how, despite critics thoughts to the contrary, the female protagonists were not insipid young women who put themselves into danger and needed men to rescue them; rather, in most of these gothic tales, the young ingenue manages to not only overcome her own fears and self-doubt, but she manages to tame the raging lord of the manor, reveal the identity of the true evil (usually a wolf in sheep's clothing), and cleanse the great house and thee family of its curse (whether figurative or literal).  And reading Paige's analysis made me realize just how right she is!  These young women may seem naive at first (such as Victoria Winters when she first arrives at Collinwood in Dark Shadows), but by the end of the book, they are always the ones who have overcome all of the adversity and brought everyone to the peace and happiness they have been searching for all this time.  

 

But, and this is likely the most important point Paige makes in the book (as far as I'm concerned) - these books were not intended to be critiques on the human condition, nor were they written with the intent to convincing women to be subservient to their husbands or to believe the only way to find happiness in this world is to find a man who will rescue you and marry you - no, these stories were written for two purposes - for the readers to enjoy a good story and for the publisher, and author by extension, to make money.  Pure and simple.  These were not intended to be educational treatises.  And that is where a lot of critics likely make their mistake when looking at these books.  Just like those who criticize comic books, or horror films, or other media forms - not every form of entertainment is there to improve, teach, or otherwise promote some form of betterment for humanity.  Rather, it is simply to "entertain,"as the word says.  And for me, these books definitely entertain.  

Something else I learned in this book is how many authors with whom I am familiar wrote gothic tales during this period (usually under pseudonyms).  I was well aware of Dan Ross and his plethora of names (because of my love of Dark Shadows); I have all of his Dark Shadows books written under "Marilyn Ross," plus several of his other titles under that same name.  I also have his Dark Harbour series written under "Clarissa Ross."  I have books by Phyllis A. Whitney, Willo Davis Roberts, Katheryn Kimbrough, Sharon Wagner, and others.  But I did not realize that authors like Dean Koontz and Michael Avallone also wrote gothic novels back during this time, under pseudonyms, of course.  While I'm not a fan of Koontz, I am a fan of Avallone's work, so I'm going to have to track down his gothic books to see how they fare.

I was surprised to find that Paige makes a rather large reference to Hester Jane Mundis' Mercy at the Manor Manor (my review of that book can be found at Mercy at the Manor Manor), which is a wonderful parody of the gothic romance novel of that time.  I don't think Paige found it as enjoyable as I did, but she did devote a little over two pages of the book to discussing this parody and how it was a part of this period of gothic.  I was also surprised at the several references to not only Nancy Drew (I mean, let's face it, how could she NOT be referenced when talking about gothic stories!), but also to Cherry Ames, who she references in connection with the "nursies" (nurse romance craze that pre-dated the gothic romance invasion of the '60s).

Like with any good thing, though, if you over saturate the market, it's going to eventually peter out, and that's what happened to the gothic craze (only much later than I originally thought).  As Paige points out, though, it didn't really end, as much as it evolved and diversified (so to speak).  The stories became more sexual in nature, and the supernatural elements became much more prevalent - instead of hints of supernatural that were explained away by the end, vampires, werewolves, and such became more real and more important to the plots.  Today, we have stories such as Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey that are riding the waves of success, with copycats trying to catch on as well.  And let's face it - everything has its place and time, and apparently, gothic romance had its time during the mid- to late-20th Century.  And for me, that's okay - because it gives me the joy of hunting down these novels and reading many of them for the first time now.  So, thank you, Lori A. Paige, for raising the level of my excitement for these books to a whole new level!

(The only thing I wish Paige had touched upon, is the male audience of those gothic novels back in the day.  Her book seems to focus on the female readership, which I suppose was the intended audience, but I have no doubt there was a male contingent as well, who probably enjoyed those stories as a guilty pleasure just as much as the women.  Or, is it perhaps, the male fans are only now coming into the picture, decades later, when it is no longer seen as simply a "woman's" form of literature? Hmmm.....)

RATING:  10 issues of the Gothic Journal out of 10 for taking a look at gothic romance fiction with entirely new eyes, and giving fans the justification that they so richly deserve!

Anonymous True Accounts Told to Thom Bierdz (How Men Really Feel About Being Sexually Assaulted)

I have previously read actor Thom Bierdz' other two books - Forgiving Troy and Young, Gay & Restless - and found them to be raw, moving, and very personal in nature. The first was a journey of facing the most devastating news a person could face and finding a way to overcome it and forgive his own brother, while the second was a very open and revealing (in so many ways!) look back at the author's own life.  This third book, however, is something completely different, as it is not about Thom; rather, this book is an open and honest revelation about something most people don't ever consider - the sexual assault of men.

Anonymous True Accounts Told to Thom Bierdz: how men really feel about being sexually assaulted is not the type of book I would ever pick up and read.  It is not a topic I particularly want to think about, and not being a fan of non-fiction, it is not a book I would normally be interested in reading.  But, having read Thom's other two books, I purchased this one directly from Thom (he was even kind enough to sign it!) and figured I would face the difficult task of seeing how men truly feel about being sexually assaulted.  I can honestly say that I was not prepared for most of what I read!

One does not often think about men being sexually assaulted.  Even though reports of young boys being sexually assaulted are in the news, somehow, there is this misguided belief that men "cannot" be sexually assaulted, and if they are, it does not have the same impact that it does on women when they are assaulted.  Further, there is a misconception that slapping a woman on the behind is assault, while taking the same action on a man is not.  The simple truth is - when you force some kind of physical attention on another human being, whether female or male, without that person's consent, it is assault.  Period.  There are not extenuating circumstances, there are not excuses, and there are certainly no differences.  Assault is assault.  And, as this book shows, not everyone's reaction to assault is the same.  Just as people are different, so are their reactions.

I was utterly surprised to find that some of these anonymous accounts showed how some men found that what would constitute assault in many people's eyes was actually enjoyable and basically became the groundwork for what they enjoyed sexually and what they expected in a relationship.  In fact, one account found a man who had a incestuous relationship with his own father for decades and did not regret one moment of it!  That was probably the most difficult account of all to read, as incest is not something that is natural, and the fact that this individual found it to be satisfying and an important part of his life made me feel sorry that the father had taken away his son's innocence and destroyed his capability to understand right from wrong.  Thom made it clear in his book that he compiled these stories not for the purpose of judging anyone, but to show how abuse affects different people in different ways.  But it was evident from some of the questions Thom asked of this individual that even Thom had a difficult time understanding how this abuse had affected this now grown man.

The accounts within the book varied from men who recalled being abused as children by family members, by friends, by employers, by church members, and others to adult men who found themselves being drugged and taken advantage of and then left to be found unconscious in a parking lot or back room.  As I read one story after another my heart broke when I realized just how many men out there have suffered abuse and how it has affected so many lives (not just of them men themselves, but also the people around them).  While some men have shown the ability to overcome and move beyond the abuse to find healthy relationships and live normal lives, others have lived with the stigma of what was done to them and have been unable to fully deal with the trauma imposed on them by vicious, uncaring people (many of whom have gone unpunished for what they did!).  My heart broke and at times, I had tears in my eyes, as I read story after story of men revealing some of the most horrific moments of their lives - in a lot of cases, being told for the first time, as how many people would really believe that a "man" was sexually assaulted?

While difficult to read, I must praise Thom for providing men with an opportunity to share these stories, since a lot of them have been holding this in, keeping it secret for years, even decades, for fear of what others would say if they told the story of what happened.  Thom provided these men with a safe space to share their stories anonymously, to open up a discussion on how society views assault on men as compared to assault on women, and to hopefully allow these men to find a way to heal from their ordeal (because sometimes just talking about it is the first step of the healing process).  I will warn you, this is not easy reading, and in some places, it can be quite explicit - but it will definitely give you a much better perspective on just what kind of affect a sexual assault can have on a man, and that sexual assaults are just as real for men as they are for women!

RATING:  9 anonymous accounts out of 10 for daring to share honest, raw, and sometimes shocking stories of men who were shamed and forever changed by the assaults forced upon them.

Young, Gay & Restless - the Scandalous On-Screen & Off-Screen Sexual Liberations of Soap Star Thom Bierdz

Young, Gay & Restless
by Thom Bierdz
Publisher: Thom Bierdz Inc.
Publication Date (November 2018)
ASIN: B07HTRGMZC
398 pages of story

Let me start off by saying that I don't read non-fiction. I get enough reality in my life that I don't want to read about it in my books (I think I read enough non-fiction in 12 years of schooling and 8 more years of college). On top of that, I don't read biographies or autobiographies because I tend to see them (particularly autobiographies) as nothing more than publicity for the celebrity who is writing it or who it is written about. The books never truly delve into the subject's psyche or hidden/secret thoughts, feelings, dreams, wishes, and desires. They are normally superficial and give only what the subject wishes people to know. So, when a friend suggested this book to me, I was hesitant. Yet, the idea that a soap star (and I'll unashamedly admit I have loved my soap operas through the years - starting with General Hospital, then Dark Shadows, All My Children, One Life to Life, Santa Barbara, Passions, and even Loving when it was first on the air) was going to write about his so-called scandalous "sexual liberations" - well, I was intrigued.

So, I did some searching online to find out exactly what this book was about. WHOA! The descriptions I found, not just about the book, but about Bierdz and his life and what he has gone through - well, it was enough to convince me to buy the book. And while I have a shelf of more than 70 books that I still need to read at this point, Young, Gay & Restless moved up to the top of the stack. There were certain elements that I was curious about, as some of the content opened up some questions and thoughts about my own life...

WARNING!!  This book contains graphic and honest descriptions of Thom Bierdz' search for sexual identity, independence, and validation through the years, and it is explicit.  While my discussion and review below will not be anywhere near as explicit, in order to give an honest and thorough review, there may be some discussion on topics that may make people feel uncomfortable (even though it shouldn't, as you'll see in part of my review.....)

There are so many words that could be used to describe this book. Honest. Surprising. Open. Revealing. Humorous. Heartbreaking. Shocking. Explicit. Brave. Real. Blunt. Touching. And I could go on with just about every adjective in the dictionary. This book is not at all what I expected, and way more than I could have possibly anticipated.  I expected, based on descriptions I had read, that Bierdz would talk about his sex life in this book - but this is way, WAY more than that.

This book is a memoir. Bierdz looks back at his life, from his time as a child, the separation of his parents, his desire to become a famous actor, his jaunt to Hollywood to pursue his dreams, his acting gigs that lead to a role on Young and the Restless, the numerous jobs he took to survive for the years after he left the show until he returned, his search for love and acceptance, his art, and his ultimate move to Arrowhead for solitude and self-contentment.

This book is also a story of loss and tragedy.  The death of his mother at the hands of his own brother.  The search for way to heal and forgive his brother.  The suicide of his other brother.  The friends and lovers who have come and gone.

But above all of that, this book is about exactly what it says on the front cover - sexual liberation.  Bierdz grew up being taught that sex was naughty, that his penis was private and naughty, and basically taught to repress those feelings of sexual desires for others.  Growing up in church, becoming a Christian at an early age, I was taught the same.  And for a gay man, that creates such confusion, which Bierdz addresses in his opening chapters.  As a child, pre-teen, and even early teen, I didn't necessarily realize that my attraction for boys was what was called "gay." But when I became old enough to realize what it meant, I had already been taught and indoctrinated with the belief that gay + sex = evil/bad/wrong. So reading this book where another man not only shares his experiences, but also his insecurities, his fears, his thoughts, his feelings, his explorations, his discoveries, and his sexual encounters with absolutely no holding back - particularly when that man is a Hollywood star (and let's face it - most of us have this unspoken belief that Hollywood stars don't really have dirty thoughts or look at others with sexual desires or get instant erections at the most inopportune times because we are dreaming about someone) - well, it opened my mind to the fact that maybe those feelings and thoughts and desires I had growing up aren't necessarily so uncommon or odd or perverse as I first thought. I mean, really? If a Hollywood star had these same thoughts and feelings, how many others out there have had them and are just to afraid to admit it?

Let's take masturbation, for instance.  Unless the term is being used in a joke, it is something that men (particularly straight men) are very, VERY uncomfortable talking about, and almost no one will ever admit they do it.  Despite the fact that nearly all men do it, no one wants to admit to it.  Why?  Because society has deemed it as "unmentionable." As something that is not normal or good.  Why?  What is inherently bad about it?  I'm not saying it should be done out in public, but why are people so afraid to mention it, let alone talk about it?  Bierdz has no problem talking about it.  He not only admits to it, but he talks about how often and even how he has done it at times.  Did I find it uncomfortable reading about it?  No.  Did I find it a sexual turn on reading about it?  Honestly, no.  Because it was not written to be a turn on.  It was written as an admission, as a release (so to speak) to everyone that it is natural and not something to be feared, hated, or frowned upon.

And what about the penis?  The male genitalia?  That is something that has been taboo, more so in America that anywhere else, for so long.  We see ads with scantily clad women constantly.  We see women baring their breasts and more in movies all the time.  Breasts are even acceptable in PG rated movies any more. But a man's penis?  No way!  As a society we are uncomfortable with it.  Why?  Because we are taught from an early age (as Bierdz was, as I was, and as I am sure many of you were) that the penis is a naughty thing and should be hidden away.  But why?  It is just another part of the body - skin and tissue and blood vessels.  Bierdz does not shy away from talking about this in his book.  From his own manhood to the joys (and not so much joys) he has experienced through the years with other men's manhoods (menhood?  LOL).  Again, none of his discussions about this made me feel uncomfortable or weird; rather, it actually made me feel relaxed and normal about it, and about my own body for the first time in God knows how long.  I am certainly not the Adonis that Bierdz is - a long way from that, in fact! - but Bierdz, throughout the book, admits numerous times to his own self-consciousness about his body not being what he wanted it to be.  We, as fans and viewers of Y&R, see this actor and think, "Man, I wish I had HIS body!" And yet, here he is admitting that he has had issues with his body for years, not liking what it looked like, comparing it to others, and wishing he had their bodies.  Fame and popularity?  Clearly it doesn't make a man any different than the rest of us!

And one thing I should point out is the style in which the book is written.  It is not formal and stiff (again, no pun intended); rather, it is very conversational in tone and format.  It is not linear, jumping back and forth between the past and present, depending on the particular topic being discussed. It sometimes hops off on rabbit trails while talking about one subject, then jumping over to another that is not necessarily related, but is of importance to the general topic.  Quite honestly, the book read like a discussion.  I could almost feel myself sitting with Bierdz, listening as he talked about these different aspects of his life, his sexual adventures, his time spent "in the closet," his fear of being outed and losing his career in Hollywood, his freedom and release in Arrowhead, CA, his friends and neighbors, his family, his art, his dogs.  It makes the book easy to read and definitely brings emotions to the surface as you listen to his story.  (When I read the part of the book where Bierdz talks about his mother's death, and how he prayed for so long to hear his mother again, to have her speak to him, to reach out to him - it brought up my own sense of loss at my mother's passing - she died in December 2017 - and how over the past year, I have longed to see her, to hear her, to hug her, to have her reach out to me. I have no problem admitting that I cried as I read those pages, as I would not wish that type of longing and loss on anyone, and my heart went out to Bierdz having to go through that.)

For me to really go into everything this book has to offer, it would probably take me a month to write.  Bierdz offers so much in this tell-all book - and I do mean, tell ALL!  There is nothing he holds back (so much so that he admits even his father did not want to read the book), and in so doing - in sharing his life experiences, his dreams, wants, desires, disappointments, losses, regrets, guilt, fear, and everything else - Bierdz managed to make this reader feel normal.  After reading this book, I realized that my own desires, dreams, fears, regrets, guilt, and everything else are not any less "normal" than anyone else's.  They may not be the same, they may not necessarily agree with or compare with others, but that doesn't make then any less real, nor does it make them any less valid or any less important.  What it makes them is mine.  Just like yours are yours, Bierds' are his, and everyone else's is theirs.  None of them should make us ashamed, nor should we let anyone make us ashamed of them.  Own them, live them, embrace them - they are what makes us who we are.

And for that, Thom Bierdz, thank you.  Straight or gay, I would highly recommend this book to just about anyone, as I think it speaks volumes to who we are as individuals, as humans, as men, as gay men, as a society.  Some may disagree with my assessments and thoughts on the book, and you know what?  That's okay - I honestly believe that different readers will likely get different things from reading this book - which, to me, proves just what a success this book truly is.

RATING:  10 Phillip Chancellor III coming out stories out of 10 for daring to go where no one has gone before and to share the unedited, unabashed, blunt truth of a celebrity's life, bared naked for all to see (literally!).