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This weekend, I watched the Trevor Nunn version of Twelfth Night. I loved it. It’s fun and accessible Shakespeare, with great acting and an atmospheric Cornish setting. It also made me think about something Shakespeare did that romance writers often dabble in as well: the heroine masquerading as a man plot (let’s call it HMAM).

Georgette Heyer wrote some fun HMAM stories: MASQUERADERS and THE CORINTHIAN come to mind. Julia Ross wrote another excellent one in THE WICKED LOVER. I enjoyed all the things the heroine of that story learns about herself as she embraces some of the increased freedoms of maleness.

Usually in HMAM stories the heroine assumes the disguise for an external plot reason–to protect herself and/or perform some mission. Pam Rosenthal’s ALMOST A GENTLEMAN deals with this concept in a different way. I’ll avoid spoilers and just say that this is an intriguing story because the heroine has deeper reasons for going into disguise than most.

As you can probably tell by now, I enjoy HMAM stories and even have one in my idea file. I’ve also heard some people don’t care for them. Some people have credibility problems. I also once heard someone say she dislikes HMAM stories if the hero starts wondering why he’s attracted to another man. That part doesn’t bother me depending on how it’s handled. If I’m remembering correctly (wish I could find my copy in these stacks of books!) the hero of ALMOST A GENTLEMAN briefly wonders if he’s leaning in a new direction. He’s puzzled but not horrified. He figures out the heroine’s disguise pretty soon after that, so it’s an edgy riff but not the sole conflict of the story.

The one time a HMAM story didn’t work for me was when the hero, horrified by his seemingly homosexual desires, actually roughs up the innocent heroine. He also never penetrates her disguise; she reveals herself to him long after I thought he should have figured it out.

Which is another important matter to me. Exactly when the hero figures out what’s going on can vary, depending on how practiced the heroine is in the role and other circumstances. But if he gets fooled for too long, well, I begin to wonder if he should ever procreate…

So what do you think of HMAM stories? What makes them work or not? Do you have any favorites to share?

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

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I recently found out that a Dutch translation of LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE is being released!

It’s my first international sale. I’m delighted about the nice little sum I got from the foreign rights sale, which will help keep me in paper and print cartridges as I work on finishing mess-in-progress. But mostly I just think it’s very cool.

I googled around and found the cover and blurb at www.chasingdreams.nl. You have to scroll down about halfway to find it.

Though I wish it were larger I think I like the cover–better than most on the site which lean heavily (and I mean heavily!) toward man-titty. The dress looks a bit off but Livvy and Jeremy look right.

I used an online translator to figure out the title. “Reputatie op het spel” translates literally to “Reputation on the game” which I think probably means something like “Reputation on the Line” or “Reputation at Stake”. Either way it sounds right for the book, which I’ve heard isn’t always the case with translations.

Now for the part that drove me a bit crazy. In my googling I also ran across a Dutch message board where (I think) readers were discussing the book. I felt the temptation to run their comments through the translator but then decided I’d better not blow writing time to discover they hated the thing. Oh well, there were lots of emoticons of all sorts in one of the posts so at least the book sparked a reaction.

So anyway, friends, what do you think of the packaging? Which cover do you like better?

And do you think I should go figure out what those Dutch readers think of my book or just get back to my mess-in-progress? OK, I think I know the answer to that one!

Elena
LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE, RT Reviewers’ Choice for Best Regency Romance of 2005
www.elenagreene.com