tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post6976888768490335327..comments2024-03-27T22:25:42.129-05:00Comments on Reading the Past: Tackiness extraordinaireSarah Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-36125371540318614092010-02-13T19:37:53.711-06:002010-02-13T19:37:53.711-06:00Thanks to everyone for stopping by!
The lusty cap...Thanks to everyone for stopping by!<br /><br />The lusty captions all come from the back cover blurbs or the first page. And yes, that font does look like the one from Nancy Drew!Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-35083163150472574702010-02-13T11:02:47.357-06:002010-02-13T11:02:47.357-06:00Those covers are fantastic! And I love the captio...Those covers are fantastic! And I love the captions under each oneWhitneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05929468785993424955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-69084686492433649512010-02-12T20:16:20.702-06:002010-02-12T20:16:20.702-06:00The covers of the Angelique series by Sergeanne Go...The covers of the Angelique series by Sergeanne Golon were illustrated in the same outrageously brash and wonderful way. Rakish reading and a rather good grounding in the world of Louis 14th. Wonderful blog!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-19507798827385868032010-02-12T19:14:20.437-06:002010-02-12T19:14:20.437-06:00THE RAKE'S PROGRESS looks like the old Nancy D...THE RAKE'S PROGRESS looks like the old Nancy Drew font. Hilarious.Donna Gambalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00317767593205769881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-26376633282459123762010-02-12T16:52:53.783-06:002010-02-12T16:52:53.783-06:00I've read the Philip Lindsay. He wrote some gr...I've read the Philip Lindsay. He wrote some great books. <br />But I want to read the rest.lynneconnollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10687025766573756077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-22435722080377417392010-02-12T15:49:17.549-06:002010-02-12T15:49:17.549-06:00My grandma used to always have a good stash of his...My grandma used to always have a good stash of historical romances at her house, with some of the tawdriest covers. When we teased her, though, she'd sniff and say, "They're not romances, they're HISTORY. I read them because they're educational."Jessica Brockmolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05333664969192588015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-84196039060288850732010-02-12T15:14:17.828-06:002010-02-12T15:14:17.828-06:00As a professional belly dancer, I'm struck by ...As a professional belly dancer, I'm struck by the number of these covers in which the women are wearing cabaret dance costumes. I want to paper my walls with these!Keri Stevenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13958093932654844690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-39437505873888859622010-02-12T11:39:35.835-06:002010-02-12T11:39:35.835-06:00Good points, Frances. Cleo's Nights in partic...Good points, Frances. Cleo's Nights in particular looks like a movie poster (is that a Jane Russell lookalike on the cover?). They do invite curiosity about what's inside. For me, I'd want to know if the content matched the art in terms of cheesiness. With the exception of the Marshall and Ross, which are way over the top, it really doesn't.<br /><br />That said, someone like me isn't the audience the publishers were marketing to back then -- male readers of adventure fiction, that is. The content may be perfectly enjoyable, but I look at these covers the way I imagine many male HF readers today look at the headless women in their jewel-encrusted gowns - with curiosity and a little bemusement, and a desire to hide them behind a plain wrapper if they read them in public :)Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-87314110783510360732010-02-12T09:25:52.021-06:002010-02-12T09:25:52.021-06:00I have an old book with the following blurb on the...I have an old book with the following blurb on the cover: <br /><br />"Trashing makes Harold Robbins read like Homer." - Abbie Hoffman<br /><br />They just don't make blurbs like that anymore. <br /><br />You know, these covers are so cheesy, making fun of them is hardly worth the effort. I'm just barely old enough to remember when all books looked like this, and you had to hide them inside of magazines if you didn't want people to think you were "low-brow" (now there's a concept that's gone out of style).<br /><br />But it's worth noting that these improbable images screams "Buy This Book!" They're making a two-fisted attempt to compete for your entertainment dollar with movies and television. Today, the publishing industry is in full-scale rout on that front. <br /><br />Why? Among the many reasons is the discarding of distribution channels that enabled publishers to reach new readers, readers who might be persuaded to pick up a book by a fun and exciting cover just like these. <br /><br />These covers are awful to be sure, but they also bristle with sex, violence, humor, and energy. Could you resist picking up these titles and seeing what was inside? I know I couldn't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-75473893295304545592010-02-11T11:02:52.861-06:002010-02-11T11:02:52.861-06:00Priceless!Priceless!Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-55635648053624240532010-02-11T10:44:24.939-06:002010-02-11T10:44:24.939-06:00I'm intrigued now to read the General's We...I'm intrigued now to read the General's Wench!Elizabeth Kerri Mahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07763642809052430107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-38716333919781903012010-02-10T21:27:30.571-06:002010-02-10T21:27:30.571-06:00Wow. Very high on the tackometer scale! I'll...Wow. Very high on the tackometer scale! I'll give them points (pun sort of intended) for lack of subtlety on those two :)<br /><br />Susan, what's funny is I hadn't looked at those bookshelves for years. I had no idea so much tackiness was residing there unbeknownst to me.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-36971581034685944252010-02-10T20:37:45.539-06:002010-02-10T20:37:45.539-06:00Aren't they fabulous?
Here are a couple of fa...Aren't they fabulous?<br /><br />Here are a couple of favourites from my collection of oldies <br /><br /><a href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/t/henry-treece/invaders.htm" rel="nofollow"> Henry's Treece's "Invaders"</a><br />Love those horns :)<br /><br />and highest of all on the tackometer scale!<br /><a href="http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/poul-anderson/rogue-sword.htm" rel="nofollow">Poul Anderson's "Rogue Sword"</a>Annishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02367569632016734415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-90968226573275779532010-02-10T18:53:06.283-06:002010-02-10T18:53:06.283-06:00Sarah, your corner office must be a rare and wondr...Sarah, your corner office must be a rare and wondrous place...Isabella Bradford/Susan Holloway Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00997375216314200469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-42453395189067117782010-02-10T16:50:26.494-06:002010-02-10T16:50:26.494-06:00These are wonderful! I was just a bit too young I...These are wonderful! I was just a bit too young I guess to read them the first time (judging from the covers, my straight-laced mother would have pitched a fit if I had tried)...thanks for sharing them; I need to start hunting thrift stores and used bookstores againLindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12794760097129715871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-21627137570581206912010-02-10T16:06:56.790-06:002010-02-10T16:06:56.790-06:00I'm telling ya - those would make an interesti...I'm telling ya - those would make an interesting wall display if you framed them and hung them in the foyer.N. Gemini Sassonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00561583704477654856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-38799226965973009232010-02-10T16:05:46.582-06:002010-02-10T16:05:46.582-06:00@ Julianne. Don't repeat it, but Noel de Vic w...@ Julianne. Don't repeat it, but Noel de Vic was a proto-fan of Mistress of the Revolution.Catherine Delorshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08737845394982542863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-44054316118234049172010-02-10T15:59:24.563-06:002010-02-10T15:59:24.563-06:00Heh, these are classics. Daphne couldn't do be...Heh, these are classics. Daphne couldn't do better.Misfithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05791628901417307647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-20415617835607112442010-02-10T15:27:23.061-06:002010-02-10T15:27:23.061-06:00Thanks so much, Jenny! :)
The only one I've ...Thanks so much, Jenny! :)<br /><br />The only one I've read of these is the Gedge, which is a perfectly good (non-trashy) historical novel.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-27989519860948962092010-02-10T15:21:44.046-06:002010-02-10T15:21:44.046-06:00@Lynn - I have a number of those older Lofts novel...@Lynn - I have a number of those older Lofts novels too!<br /><br />@Catherine - Poor Genoveffa. Awful!! And yes, it puts everything into perspective...<br /> <br />@Elizabeth - Child of the Morning <i>is</i> a great book. It's going to be republished soon with the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Child-Morning-Novel-Pauline-Gedge/dp/1569763240/" rel="nofollow">original retro cover</a> on it (different from this one). It is colorful and different but I'm not really a fan.<br /><br />@Julianne - Noel de Vic Beamish was apparently quite a character. Her real name was Anne O'Meara de Vic Beamish. From what I can find, she was an Irish-born playwright and actress who lived in Cannes with her Italian-born girlfriend and the Airedale terriers they raised, and she helped out with the Resistance during WWII. She also wrote a lot of biographical fiction. I have copies of some of them.<br /><br />@Laura - My grandmother used to let me read her collection of historical romances when I visited her on vacation. Some of them were pretty explicit!Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-34617402911789841952010-02-10T15:15:03.583-06:002010-02-10T15:15:03.583-06:00What cool covers! Have you read all of these? BTW,...What cool covers! Have you read all of these? BTW, I'm a fan of the Historical Novels Review. Keep up the good work!<br /><br /><a href="http://letthemreadbooks.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-second-award.html" rel="nofollow">I have an award I'd like to pass on to you over at my blog!</a>Jenny Qhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12912015732671970679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-29110278899929762412010-02-10T14:57:07.547-06:002010-02-10T14:57:07.547-06:00GREAT covers! How far things have changed in term...GREAT covers! How far things have changed in terms of covers. These remind me of the books my Great-Grandma used to give me in high school to read. My Mom would get a look and give me a look . . . but since they were from Grandma, what could she say? :-)Laura's Reviewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13904763940307902364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-24030262558115730002010-02-10T14:50:14.598-06:002010-02-10T14:50:14.598-06:00I love the author's name on the first cover: N...I love the author's name on the first cover: Noel de Vic Beamish??????!!!Julianne Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10190332417986785920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-90070118679207129642010-02-10T14:31:13.546-06:002010-02-10T14:31:13.546-06:00Oh my - those are priceless!Oh my - those are priceless!Daphnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12838072651419264066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-14723294368043233782010-02-10T14:18:16.461-06:002010-02-10T14:18:16.461-06:00I want to read every single one of these! They are...I want to read every single one of these! They are cheesy, but I love the cheesy old covers because they make historical fiction look like fun. I've rarely read an historical from that era that wasn't pretty good, or at least entertaining.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com