tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post2675440838435969324..comments2024-03-27T22:25:42.129-05:00Comments on Reading the Past: Tacky TuesdaySarah Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-50987954984874387522009-12-09T12:36:45.734-06:002009-12-09T12:36:45.734-06:00And they got the Cardinal wrong - Queen Anne had a...And they got the Cardinal wrong - Queen Anne had an affair with a cardinal, but with Mazarin not Richelieu . . .Kate Quinnhttp://www.katequinnauthor.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-34227408418838807902009-12-08T15:52:48.775-06:002009-12-08T15:52:48.775-06:00I'm glad to hear you've been reading the b...I'm glad to hear you've been reading the blog! You're right, the UK cover is very much like Rome. It's great. Gotta love the red accents on both!<br /><br />I've read Cardinal and the Queen and must have put the trashiness out of my mind because I remember very little about the plotline... aside from a questionable implication about Louis XIV's parentage.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-23606109934649104532009-12-08T10:30:22.611-06:002009-12-08T10:30:22.611-06:00Yes, I caught your spring preview - it thrilled me...Yes, I caught your spring preview - it thrilled me to be mentioned here, since I've been a longtime reader of your blog. My English cover is just as good; I posted it on my website, www.katequinnauthor.com. It's very HBO Rome-cover-box!<br /><br />I think I remember dipping into the Cardinal and the Queen in high school; it was just as lurid as the cover suggests. I wanted to cover it with brown paper before reading it on the bus, as people used to do with copies of Lady Chatterly's Lover.Kate Quinnhttp://www.katequinnauthor.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-76873078616941534412009-12-07T11:26:33.868-06:002009-12-07T11:26:33.868-06:00Hi Kate - I think the cover of Mistress of Rome is...Hi Kate - I think the cover of Mistress of Rome is gorgeous! It was included in one of my occasional "visual preview" posts for spring 2010, <a href="http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/2009/09/visual-preview-of-spring-season-part.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. And yes, cover art has greatly improved. I'd have been embarrassed to be caught reading many of these.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-37458503034313545242009-12-07T11:07:19.249-06:002009-12-07T11:07:19.249-06:00What astoundingly tacky covers. Thank goodness co...What astoundingly tacky covers. Thank goodness covers for historical fiction have gotten much better now. I'm the author of the forthcoming "Mistress of Rome," and I held my breath while my cover was being designed. Fortunately, it's lovely - but I gave myself nightmares imagining a bodice ripper cover in which historically inaccurate buildings were on fire while bosomy women cling to a Fabio gladiator.Kate Quinnhttp://www.katequinnauthor.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-46857128268385142822009-02-19T14:11:00.000-06:002009-02-19T14:11:00.000-06:00Great stuff - love The Purple Quest!Great stuff - love <I>The Purple Quest</I>!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-23263861213282161602008-11-19T14:28:00.000-06:002008-11-19T14:28:00.000-06:00I know I read the book about Jezebel. I read a LOT...I know I read the book about Jezebel. I read a LOT of Frank Slaughter in my younger days. That's what was in the library. I also read a lot of Frank Yerby. One of those Franks had a lot of medical books... But yeah, I remember those covers. And we're not talking 80s, people. We're talking late 60s, early 70s, because I read Jezebel in high school, and I graduated in 1972. (Dating myself here.)Gail Daytonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12799083467910831241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-10099954699682646462008-11-18T18:09:00.000-06:002008-11-18T18:09:00.000-06:00They all look quite retro and deliciously thrillin...They all look quite retro and deliciously thrilling to me lol - if I saw them in a bookshop now I would buy!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-31624728163949844482008-11-18T09:39:00.000-06:002008-11-18T09:39:00.000-06:00Oh no, not death by crabs!I'd known The Viking was...Oh no, not death by crabs!<BR/><BR/>I'd known <I>The Viking</I> was a popular novel at the time of its first publication, but hadn't realized it was made into a movie. The dialogue quoted on the IMDB page - um, wow.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-32611292581767341942008-11-18T07:02:00.000-06:002008-11-18T07:02:00.000-06:00My first copy of "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand, n...My first copy of "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand, now considered a classic, had a scantily clad woman lying supine, thrusting her ladyparts into the air, and a man in a suit, hand to chin in classic Sean Connery as James Bond pose looking at her. I wish I still had that cover! I think it was a Pan paperback, and I might not be remembering it entirely because I lost it years ago. But the woman is seared on to my eyeballs!lynneconnollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10687025766573756077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-91952694454994011812008-11-18T01:42:00.000-06:002008-11-18T01:42:00.000-06:00God, aren't they just fab!I am sure my mother had ...God, aren't they just fab!<BR/><BR/>I am sure my mother had some with covers just like this!!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00735060834697894548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-73231430804205227152008-11-17T21:58:00.000-06:002008-11-17T21:58:00.000-06:00'The Viking' was made into an action movie with To...'The Viking' was made into an action movie with Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas -- rapes and mutilations and death by crabs, oh my!<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052365/" REL="nofollow">The Vikings</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-5122293175752196452008-11-17T19:23:00.000-06:002008-11-17T19:23:00.000-06:00I love the Lady Godiva cover:"COULD NOTHING STOP T...I love the Lady Godiva cover:<BR/><BR/>"COULD NOTHING STOP THIS WOMAN?"<BR/><BR/>Hilarious!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-69918344937037182422008-11-17T18:22:00.000-06:002008-11-17T18:22:00.000-06:00...is it wrong that I actually kind of want to rea......is it wrong that I actually kind of want to read "The Cardinal and the Queer", if only it existed?<BR/><BR/>(And I do think a few of those have blurbs that could fit either a romance or... whatever you call the genre 'The Trojan' and 'Viking' sound like they fit in, I can't find the word right now. I'm pretty sure "misogynistic power fantasy" isn't a genre name. Personally I think Lady Godiva, Curse of Jezebel, Tisa, and of course The Cardinal and the Queen, could be seen as romances from what's posted here, even if they actually aren't.)<BR/><BR/>I think Sarah's right about the reason for the ugly men. It's like in (straight) porn -- gods forbid a guy watching might see a man who's actually good-looking and accidentally get turned on! Still, that doesn't explain all the ugly men on the covers of <B>actual</B> romance novels...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-32009731051871485102008-11-17T17:09:00.000-06:002008-11-17T17:09:00.000-06:00"Is it just me, or do romance novels have the wors..."Is it just me, or do romance novels have the worst covers EVER?"<BR/><BR/>What an interesting reaction. I didn't think any of these books could be considered romance. They seem to be geared towards male readers.GrowlyCubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01594220492288208656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-61138769454570906142008-11-17T16:50:00.000-06:002008-11-17T16:50:00.000-06:00With the ... thrust of spears, The Purple Quest bu...<I>With the ... thrust of spears, The Purple Quest builds to an exciting climax</I><BR/><BR/>Oh, yeah, baby. They know what the book's selling feature is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-10132855160295479342008-11-17T16:33:00.000-06:002008-11-17T16:33:00.000-06:00I love the scandalous exclamation (question) on th...I love the scandalous exclamation (question) on the cover of Lady Godiva and Master Tom:<BR/><BR/><B>Could nothing stop this woman?</B><BR/><BR/>Not that I have read it, so I don't know how the story turns out in this book, but instead of feeling scandalous, it makes me want to cheer her on. Darn right nothing could stop her!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-43093348644187336042008-11-17T16:02:00.000-06:002008-11-17T16:02:00.000-06:00Some of them are not just tacky, but disturbing. E...Some of them are not just tacky, but disturbing. Especially The Viking one with its back cover description of the "magnificent" days of rape...Erika Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16614971210603661902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-17938411606949269962008-11-17T15:39:00.000-06:002008-11-17T15:39:00.000-06:00Holy Hell.Holy Hell.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-72673824881038267052008-11-17T15:29:00.000-06:002008-11-17T15:29:00.000-06:00Is it wrong that some of these actually make me fe...Is it wrong that some of these actually make me feel a bit quivery?<BR/>Maybe that's why I write erotic romance LOLKate Pearcehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04079485861541059016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-58228959894969905532008-11-17T14:42:00.000-06:002008-11-17T14:42:00.000-06:00I recall reading quite a few of Frank Slaughter's ...I recall reading quite a few of Frank Slaughter's books during my late teens, and I'm sure I read this one about Jezebel, and I read the Cardinal and the Queen, too. I don't remember much about either of them, but they are the types of hf I cut my teeth on quite honestly. It's what there was way back then. : )Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-13083955688908470222008-11-12T18:01:00.000-06:002008-11-12T18:01:00.000-06:00Oh and my favorite cover is definitely Lady Godiva...Oh and my favorite cover is definitely Lady Godiva - as envisioned by LooneyTunes!C.W. Gortnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11881402758065602605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-71759973999704434552008-11-12T18:00:00.000-06:002008-11-12T18:00:00.000-06:00Okay, I confess: I've read The Cardinal and the Qu...Okay, I confess: I've read The Cardinal and the Queer - I mean, Queen :) I recall it being fun but I was a teenager and it's hard to judge now especially with hf having undergone so much transformation. What was considered cutting-edge then would no doubt make us guffaw now.C.W. Gortnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11881402758065602605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-69787266942012959402008-11-12T17:11:00.000-06:002008-11-12T17:11:00.000-06:00I still have some books with covers like these. L...I still have some books with covers like these. LOLPathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15717723698946651091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-56671855233087625842008-11-12T16:29:00.000-06:002008-11-12T16:29:00.000-06:00How funny are they now? I remember these kind of c...How funny are they now? I remember these kind of covers in my Mother's bookshop in the early eighties!AnneMarie Brearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12913093174855808979noreply@blogger.com