Pamela Morsi’s books were different than the typical historical romance of the time. Writing stories set in rural America, with poor or working class characters, Morsi was hailed as the “the Garrison Keillor of romance fiction,” by Publishers Weekly. When demand for the Americana subgenre waned after 2000, Morsi switched over to contemporary romance and women’s fiction with 2002’s Doing Good. She continued to write through 2014, publishing 29 books in her long career. She died this past December. Garters, published in 1993, is one of Morsi’s most beloved books. Following Esme Crab, a poor hill girl who wants to marry up, and Cleavis Rhy, a storeowner with aspirations of being a gentleman, Garters is an unusual tale about class, love, and ambition that is goofy, tender, and at times heartbreaking.Support us on our Patreon!Visit our website for transcripts and show notes: reformedrakes.comFollow us on social media:Twitter: @reformedrakesInstagram: @reformedrakesBluesky: @reformedrakesBeth’s SubstackChels’ SubstackEmma’s SubstackThank you for listening!
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Chasing Cassandra
Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas is the sixth book in the Ravenel series. The Ravenels are the most recent series in Kleypas’ extended universe—going back to the Gamblers of Craven. The Ravenels are a family made up of two sets of cousins: Devon, Earl of Trenear and West Ravenel, then Helen Ravenel and her twin sisters Pandora and Cassandra. Cassandra’s main goal is to have a family and she feels particularly lonely on the day of her twin’s wedding. Tom Severin, an industrialist and sometimes friend to Devon and West and Ravenel, offers to marry her after he overhears her express her anxieties about ever getting married. He’s immediately taken with her beauty and pragmatic interest in running a home, two things he is seeking in a wife. But when Tom reveals to Cassandra that he can never love her because he insists he is incapable, she puts distance between them. This book is one of Kleypas’ more recent publications, from 2020. She has a long backlist and while this book definitely reads like a romance from the 2020s, there are many tell-tale signs of a Kleypas original.Support us on our Patreon!Visit our website for transcripts and show notes: reformedrakes.comFollow us on social media:Twitter: @reformedrakesInstagram: @reformedrakesBluesky: @reformedrakesBeth’s SubstackChels’ SubstackEmma’s SubstackThank you for listening!
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History of Obscenity & Literary Censorship
Emma uses her lawyer powers to teach Chels and Beth about the history of obscenity law in the United States. The impetus for this episode came about because sometimes well-meaning people misapply these laws or standards to current book banning resistance. Emma shows us how "but what about the children" has been there from the very beginning. How people in the past have talked about sex in books is Very Familiar unfortunately. (Even in current bookish spaces!) And, most importantly, how often suppressing sex in books is really hiding political motivations.Support us on our Patreon!Visit our website for transcripts and show notes: reformedrakes.comFollow us on social media:Twitter: @reformedrakesInstagram: @reformedrakesBluesky: @reformedrakesBeth’s SubstackChels’ SubstackEmma’s SubstackThank you for listening!
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In Bed with the Devil
In Bed with the Devil by Lorraine Heath is the first in the Scoundrels of St. James series. The series is Oliver Twist fanfiction, as it follows Fagin’s crew of child thieves as grown ups. The first book features Lucian Langdon, referred to as the devil earl as it’s common knowledge he murdered his supposed uncle. I say supposed, because Luke was adopted by the Earl of Clayborne. This earl is the father of the man who Luke killed. Because of Luke’s silver eyes, the earl believes him to be his long lost grandson who disappeared as a child. Luke struggles to believe he’s really his grandson, but says the right things to become adopted. The romance is between him and Catherine, the daughter of a duke. She’s looking for someone to murder on her behalf. She chooses Luke for his reputation and refuses to say who it is until he agrees to it and the time is right.Support us on our Patreon!Visit our website for transcripts and show notes: reformedrakes.comFollow us on social media:Twitter: @reformedrakesInstagram: @reformedrakesBluesky: @reformedrakesBeth’s SubstackChels’ SubstackEmma’s SubstackThank you for listening!
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Murmur of Rain
Murmur of Rain is a Gothic-tinged historical romance set in France and Haiti in the 1890s by Patricia Vaughn. Lauren Dufort is the daughter of a descendent of enslaved people in French Guiana and a white Frenchman. Her parents were deeply in love, but their marriage estranged them from society, so when Lauren is orphaned as a teen, she is raised by her paternal aunt, Claude, who runs a gentleman’s club, knowing that her mixed-race identity may keep her from ever making a love match in 19th century France. But when handsome Haitian Roget de Martier arrives at Claude’s club, Lauren is immediately smitten and he seems to reciprocate interests. There are hints of secrets about his past and family in Haiti, but when the rich gentleman proposes marriage instead of a mistress arrangement, Lauren’s head and heart both feel like this is her best chance at happiness.Support us on our Patreon!Visit our website for transcripts and show notes: reformedrakes.comFollow us on social media:Twitter: @reformedrakesInstagram: @reformedrakesBluesky: @reformedrakesBeth’s SubstackChels’ SubstackEmma’s SubstackThank you for listening!
Reformed Rakes is a historical romance novel podcast steeped in dissipation. Hosted by Beth, Emma, and Chels, this podcast is perfect for every pirate, second son, bluestocking, and viking who wants to hear more about the kissing books we love. We update every other Tuesday.
New Zealand