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Preferred time period in Gothics
#1
The majority of modern Gothic Romance novels (to overstate the obvious) tend to take place in the 19th Century, but I wonder if other readers have preferences for specific time periods.

It seems that many authors tend to favor the mid- to late 1800s, the Victorian era. There are a few I've read which take place in the Edwardian (1900-1910 circa), and American authors in particular seem to have the present (at the time the books were written, the 1950s through '70s). Obviously there is a great range of time in which these novels may be set.

For myself, I wish there were more Gothics (by modern authors) set in the Regency period, particularly the British Regency (1811–1820). This age saw the bloom of Romanticism in art, literature and music, as well as new gracefulness in architecture. And of course the fashions at this time were beautiful and flattering for both sexes. Men looked especially dashing in their tailcoats, and women's attire was more flowing and classical and hadn't yet acquired the stiffness and exaggeration of the Victorian era with all its crinolines and bustles and rib-crushing corsets.

If anyone wishes to revisit the colorful elegance of Regency fashion, I recommend this magnificent gallery of Allan Kass cover art (which also includes some Gothics and contemporary fiction):

http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php...=&view=all

I do also enjoy novels set in the Victorian, especially the late Victorian during the "gaslamp" era. But of course, in the hands of a gifted author, any period can be made evocative and rich.

I suppose the only period that seems unfit for Gothics would be the actual present. The present can never seem as romantic as the past, I admit. But it's more than that: today's technology would get in the way of a Gothic. Our age of cell phones and Twitter and GPS and portable communication is great for talking about Gothics, but not for being their setting.

Any other thoughts about this? I'd love to hear other readers' ideas about their favorite time periods, and why they prefer what they do.
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Messages In This Thread
Preferred time period in Gothics - by Penfeather - 07-30-2010, 02:03 PM
RE: Preferred time period in Gothics - by bronte - 07-31-2010, 01:40 PM

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