Amelia Earhart, Clara Barton, Susan B. Anthony, Dolly Madison, Sacajawea we recognize them all and numberless others as those ordinary women who dealt with extraordinary circumstances and who are known as heroines. Readers of romance novels may also recognize a few of these fictional heroines Eve Dallas, Maggie Winters, Scarlett O’Hara, Mina Wentworth, Heather Simmons, Virginia Brandon, Leonie Alistair. The fictional heroine from my June release, The Widow’s Revenge, has suffered extraordinary grief and loss. Her immersion in this extreme emotional state leads her to plot revenge that plunges her into even more extraordinary circumstances. She eventually rises to the challenges of those circumstances.In researching this article, I ran across stories about huge numbers of heroines fictional and not who are largely unknown. Many I found at Ancestry.com’s Heroic Women page. Of these, the one that stuck most vividly in my mind is Deborah Sampson. “Descended from several Mayflower passengers, Deborah served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War disguised "Robert Shurtleff". She fought in combat alongside the men, and went undetected until a malignant fever" sent her to the hospital where a doctor discovered her charade. After meeting with General Washington who gave her sufficient money for the trip home, she was honorably discharged and received a pension.” She was “the first known American woman to impersonate a man in order to join the army and take part in combat.” In a sense, she was the first American female soldier, spawning a tradition of honor, strength and courage that continues in today’s US armed forces where women lay down their lives on a daily basis for home and country. I am proud of the tradition begun by Deborah Sampson and carried on by countless others. I am most proud to let readers know of a small but growing community of author veterans known as the RomVets, founded by Merline Lovelace and Lindsay McKenna. Please check out the RomVets website and follow these authors who served to secure our freedoms. If you’ve read their books, please leave a comment and let me know, I’ll enter you in a drawing for swag. I will also enter anyone who can identify the author who created each heroine in the list above. Everyone who comments will be added to my mailing list and entered in a drawing for swag. Notice will be sent to the recipient on or before June 15, 2011.
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3 comments:
I have to be honest I had to look up all of the heroines but 2 of them. I knew Eve Dallas is JD Robb/Nora Roberts and of course we all know Scarlett O'Hara is the heroine in Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I didn't know Rosemary Rogers was the author of the heroine Virgina Brand aka Ginny or any of the others but here they are in the order you listed them. I have only read the two I knew. I only read one book by Rosemary Rogers and I don't even remember it sad to say.
The others I never read. I was reading Agatha Christie novels by sixth grade and was into suspense and mystery more than romance.
I discovered romance novels with Johanna Lindsey in the 1980's. I have no idea when I discovered Nora Roberts but when her JD Robb series came out I was there buying them. I also read Gone With The Wind at about age 11 or 12 and cried over it. I will admit to being 59 so you can see how it relates to the stories I read lol. :-)
Scarlett O'Hara - Margaret Mitchell, Eve Dallas - JD Robb/Nora Roberts, Maggie Winters - Rue Allyn, Mina Wentworth - Meljean Brook, Heather Simmons - Kathleen Woodwiss, Virginia Brandon aka Ginny Brandon - Rosemary Rogers, Leonie Alistair - Georgette Heyer
You're a brave woman Kathy. I was born in 1951 as well. However, we all come to romance from different paths. Ginny, Scarlett, Eve and the others are heroines I regard as classic in the genre. I could add a thousand or so others, simply because each author develops her heroines in a unique way. What does fascinate me is what all these characters have in common, different as they are. I'll put your answers into the drawing. Thanks for your support.
Great post, Sue. We are not always taught about the women who have had a part in making America great. I'm a RomVet so I write romance, but I also write for children and have the honor of writing for a series from Apprentice Shop books that is producing a series of 25 Women you should know, one book for each state. 25 extraordinary women per book. It has been a marvelous experience and an honor to learn about and write about women who are role models or who should be.
Best wishes.
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