The first of the Wyckerley trilogy, To Love & To Cherish came out on January 1, 1995. To borrow the subtitle from Middlemarch, it’s a study in provincial life. Set in 1854 in the fictional village of Wyckerley is alive with Dickensian characters and glimpses of heroes yet to star in their own books. Patricia Gaffney has said the favorite among her historical romances is To Love & To Cherish and it’s easy to see why. The romance centers on the vicar Christian Morrell and the wife of his childhood best friend Anne Verlaine. Anne’s husband Geoffrey, a man struggling with illness, doesn’t care for his wife and wishes to return to the adventure of soldiering. Anne piques Christy’s interest. Anne finds him equally fascinating and doesn’t think her marriage should be any impediment to a relationship between them. Join us for the first installment of the Reformed Rakes reading the Wyckerley trilogy.

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If you were to ask someone in the 20th century what a romance novelist looked like, they’d likely have visions of pink chiffon, bright blue eyeshadow, false eyelashes, and excessive costume jewelry thanks to one woman: Barbara Cartland, who was dubbed by the Romantic Times as the “Queen of Romance.” Cartland was larger than life, but like most outsized figures, the “self-publicizing juggernaut’ was also very controversial. From the 1920s until her death in the year 2000 she wrote over 700 novels, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Strap in as our resident himbo takes Emma and Beth through the highs and lows of Cartland’s life.

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What is an 'unforgivable act'? This week, the rakes explore one heroine's egregious behavior, and the lengths she'll go to to make things right. Peckham's The Earl I Ruined is a Georgian historical romance that's full of surprises: kisses in a wig closet, devastating reveals, and the fresh scent of a pining hero. Join us, sinners! It's bound to be a wild time.

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Indigo by Beverly Jenkins follows Hester Wyatt, a conductor on the Michigan Underground Railroad. Hester’s hands are marked by indigo, a remnant from her days as an enslaved person on an indigo plantation. When she hides the notorious Black Daniel as he recovers from injuries, he challenges her. Hester finds the man aggravating and attractive in equal measure. As he pushes for a relationship, Hester’s not sure she can make the jump. Her father sold himself into slavery to be with her mother, so to Hester, love is a dangerous thing. Beverly Jenkins famously leans on the historical part of historical romances. She’s written 18th and 19th century stories set in various cities and states in America.

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In Mistress of Mellyn, widower Connan TreMellyn hires Martha Leigh on as the governess to his eight-year-old daughter Alvean. Like many a governess before her, Martha finds mystery and murder at the Mount Mellyn estate. As she comes to know Connan she develops feelings for him but as the governess occupies the space where she’s not a servant but she’s not his social equal either. In this episode, the Reformed Rakes team up with Andrea Martucci from Shelf Love to discuss gothics of the 1960s, Eleanor Hibbert and her pen names, twin estates, and many references to Jane Eyre and Daphne du Maurier. (Spoilers for Wuthering Heights.)

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Gaywyck was published by Avon in 1980. Set on the Long Island estate of the wealthy Gaylord family in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Gaywyck charts an inter-generational terror born of abuse, madness, and unrequited love. We follow the protagonist Robbie as he arrives at the estate as the librarian. Like most gothic romances of the era, Gaywyck is a book that takes a microscope to cruelty. Please join the Rakes as we discuss people’s obsession with “good representation”, the Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde aspect of twins, cyclical violence, war profiteering, and Virga’s many movie references.

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The Rakes read the second book in the Lotus Palace series, The Jade Temptress by Jeannie Lin. Set during the Tang Dynasty in China in Chang’an, the capital, the series touches back to the Lotus Palace, a school and home for courtesans. Mingyu is one of the most sought-after courtesans, and she crosses paths with the constable Wu Kaifeng after her protector General Deng has been found murdered. It’s hard to convey through a plot summary how well Jeannie Lin builds sexual tension, but like Emma says in the episode, every scene between Mingyu and Kaifeng is charged.

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What exactly do the Reformed Rakes read when they don’t read historical romance? Okay, so half these books are historicals, BUT we recommended to each other what we want the other rake to read. Chels and Beth finally got Emma to read contemporary romance. Emma wanted Beth to try Mary Balogh again and Camille from Someone to Hold is important to both of them now. Emma and Beth recommended historicals to Chels lmao because they wanted Chels’ opinion on those books okay. It’s a good time.

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A clinch, if you’re unfamiliar, is the type of romance novel cover where the couple is embracing, seemingly in flagrante delicto. Gowns are hiked up, cravats are discarded, and hair billows from some unseen force. For this special episode, I got to interview Sharon Spiak, a former romance cover illustrator who currently costumes and styles photoshoots, and Shirley Green, a photographer who has shot many of your favorite book covers over the past few decades. Join us to find out what, exactly, goes into the making of a clinch cover.

You can find excerpts from this interview, with accompanying imagery, on The Loose Cravat.

Sharon Spiak has prints of her oil paintings for sale, and they’re stunning. You can find them here.

You can find Shirley Green on her website, and follow her Pomeranian Rocky on Instagram.

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Cheating is often regarded as the worst thing that a character in romance can do. Here at Reformed Rakes we love the meanies, so we try to get to the bottom of the knee-jerk disdain for cheating in books by dissecting historical romances that contain infidelity. We're joined this week by our first guest, Bayley, who you can find @bayleyreadsbooks on TikTok, and @bayleyreads on Twitter. 

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