Curatorial assistant Elizabeth Arterberry highlights acclaimed romance author Johanna Lindsey, who was featured in the Lilly Library’s Love in the Library exhibition!
Regardless of their level of familiarity with the romance genre, it is almost certain that frequent browsers of libraries or bookstores will have at least a passing recognition of the most common tropes that grace the covers of romance novels. A man—often in some state of partial undress, usually shirtless—passionately embracing a woman, a pose that is now referred to in the community as “the clinch.” Their expressions are intense, typically completely focused on one another, the background often employed to impart even more tension to the scene, be it in the form of some spectacular, vivid sunset or tempestuous storm. This formerly ubiquitous cover cliche gained popularity in an interesting way—in great part because of a prominent 1980s romance author, the artist behind the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s movie poster, and Fabio (more on that later).
Johanna Lindsey began her writing career in 1977 with Captive Bride, deciding to publish it, in her own words, “on a whim” (FictionDB). She would go on to write fifty-six novels over the course of her life, and eleven series, the longest-running of these being The Malory-Anderson Saga, which spanned the course of twelve books and ran from 1985 to 2017 (FictionDB). She was a versatile and multi-talented historical romance author, her works taking place in a multitude of different time periods and settings. Her novels were “often noted for their accurate portrayal of historical periods and foreign settings. Critics have commented favorably on the author’s attention to historical detail and her ability to evoke her exotic locations” (Encyclopedia.com).
Most of her novels employ variations on a theme, the consistent theme being the “enemies to lovers” trope, to create chemistry and tension. Some are more recognizably toxic than others, as they involve power imbalances between the male and female leads–with the men occupying loftier positions, sometimes even owning the female leads or taking them prisoner–and some (typically initial) through coercion. Such an approach caused contention within the romance reading community with regard to individual tolerance for such tropes in fiction: some recognized the problematic nature but fully expected to encounter it based on plot synopsis, while others defended Lindsey’s characterizations of her more forceful male leads and the sometimes questionable development of the main pairing’s romantic relationship. Yet another group of readers took umbrage with the dubious consent or non-consensual elements present in many of the ‘spicy’ portions of her novels or their other more objectionable elements (such as the harmful and stereotypical characterization of the male lead in Captive Bride).
That said, she is also notable for having many female leads who conduct themselves with some degree of personal agency, even if they do have a tendency to take more submissive roles within her books’ set relationships. Sarah McLean, another notable romance novelist, called them “heroines who captained their own fate… They lived fearlessly, fought passionately, and loved with abandon. And they inspired millions of us to do the same” (Sweet Savage Flame). Moreover, the nature of the romances she wrote helped to revolutionize the genre, being a part of the normalization and evolution of unapologetically steamy romance. And the particular style of sensuality in her writing was extremely well-represented by her novels’ first-run covers.
Arguably, the first cover of Lindsey’s novels in which “the clinch” occurs is her 1978 release “A Pirate’s Love,” but the beginning of the truly iconic covers with the dramatic, attention-grabbing art of her main leads begins with Fires of Winter (1980), which also– to me, at least–seems to better speak to the intense nature and dynamic of her particular style of romance. From 1978 to around 1991, several of Lindsey’s covers were illustrated by Robert McGinnis, who is best known for his work on cover art and promotional poster art for early James Bond titles, as well as for his 1967 poster design for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. McGinnis’ work in the romance genre was easily identifiable due to its provocative and sensual nature, being incredibly detailed and boasting a complex and visually interesting composition. Fires of Winter features such a construction, displaying the novel’s female lead laid out across a carefully disheveled white rug, firmly held in her love interest’s embrace–with him hardly seeming to be wearing anything at all, having been arrayed carefully behind her so as to not overtly flout decorum. (However, that hadn’t been the artist’s concern when he first composed the cover; apparently, in the first mock-up, the heroine had been naked as well [Hazlitt].) His covers are further distinguished by their diversity in staging, never settling into one specific pose or color palette, though his style is easily distinguishable as his by the effortless sense of motion and life his brush infuses in his subjects.
The artwork evolves into a more archetypal “clinch” pose in So Speaks the Heart (1983), one of Lindsey’s McGinnis covers, the novel’s featured couple clinging fervently to one another, though the careful positioning of the unclothed male lead for “modest nudity” is significantly more daring in this cover’s staging, as is the female lead’s: his bare buttocks are exposed to the viewer, and the female lead’s unclothed breasts are just barely censored by the angle of the couple’s embrace. The cover was controversial enough in its time that some booksellers complained to the publisher, putting gold stickers over the aforementioned “worst offenders” as if doing such would make the cover more modest or, in their view, inoffensive (Hazlitt). This wasn’t even the most audacious of the cover designs–that award goes to the original cover for A Gentle Feuding, the extent of the nudity and bolder posing of the male lead considered so scandalous by American publishers that they would not run it without changes (Sweet Savage Flame).
So, how does Fabio factor into this? As “the clinch” continued to surge in popularity as the go-to arrangement for romance novel covers throughout the 1980s, another famous romance novel cover artist, Elaine Duillo, “discovered” Fabio and selected him as the model for the male love interest of Johanna Lindsey’s 1987 novel Hearts Aflame (Sweet Savage Flame). Duillo continued to feature him as her primary model for the love interests on the covers she designed for Lindsey on into the 2000s, when she retired from the field (ibid.). This continued exposure to a wide and dedicated audience helped boost Fabio’s popularity and further his career as a model, though his own innate appeal to readers did plenty to that effect as well, with publishers noticing that his presence on their romance novels’ covers increased sales by a significant amount (ibid.) Even decades later, though, he clearly had pleasant memories of having been a part of several of Lindsey’s novels, mentioning after her passing that she was, “an amazing person and an incredible author. […] I loved being featured on her covers. To this day, Man of My Dreams is still one of my all time favorites” (USA Today).
Though her impact on the romance genre has been a source of controversy and mixed opinions—and emotions—when discussed by the community of readers at large, Lindsey’s import to the history of the genre and her lasting influence are undeniable. Revisiting and discussing her work further opens possibilities for nuanced conversations about the problematic aspects of historical romances past and present, about the ideal balance to strike between historical accuracy and awareness of the mores and qualms of the modern audience that will read the work, as well as providing a ground for examining the undeniable appeal of some more unequal iterations of “enemies to lovers” to some readers, and the place for such in the genre. Fellow romance novelist Barbara E. Kemp perhaps summarized Lindsey’s influence and legacy best: “Although the explicit sensuality and frequent abusiveness found in Lindsey’s work may disturb some readers, her well thought out, fast moving stories appeal to many more. In her skilled hands, the standard battle of strong-willed individuals comes to life. Anchored by authentic descriptions and historical detail and focusing on the turbulent passions in the battle of the sexes, her books are among the best of the sensuous historical novels” (Encyclopedia.com).
About the author: Elizabeth Arterberry is a curatorial assistant at the Lilly Library, and a second-year MLS student at Indiana University Bloomington. Her undergraduate work centered heavily on philosophy, and the field remains a primary area of interest for her. When not lost in the stacks (or an Excel spreadsheet), she can most often be found attempting a new recipe, working on a creative writing piece, or falling down a provenance “rabbit hole.”
References:
“Lindsey, Johanna 1952– .” Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series. Retrieved May 2, 2024 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/lindsey-johanna-1952.
Alexander, B. (2019, December 24). Fabio pays tribute to ‘incredible’ romance novelist Johanna Lindsey, who died at 67. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2019/12/23/johanna-lindsey-best-selling-novelist-steamy-romances-dies-67/2737833001/
Diaz, J. (2022, April 29). Romance Cover Model: Fabio Lanzoni. Sweet Savage Flame. https://sweetsavageflame.com/romance-cover-model-fabio-lanzoni/.
Diaz, J. (2023, August 30). Johanna Lindsey. Sweet Savage Flame. https://sweetsavageflame.com/authors-2/historical-romance-writers/johanna-lindsey/.
Diaz, J. (2021, April 8). Robert McGinnis. Sweet Savage Flame. https://sweetsavageflame.com/romance-clinch-covers/artist-romance-covers/robert-mcginnis/.
FictionDB (n.d.). Johanna Lindsey Book & Series List. Retrieved May 2, 2024, from https://www.fictiondb.com/author/johanna-lindsey~4580.htm.
McGinnis, R. (n.d.). About Robert E. McGinnis – The Art of Robert E. McGinnis. Retrieved May 2, 2024, from https://robertmcginnis.com/about-robert-mcginnis.
Lessard, V. (2023, February 8). A Brief History of the Clinch. Hazlitt. https://hazlitt.net/feature/brief-history-clinch
Image Sources:
Fires of Winter: https://www.amazon.com/Fires-Winter-Johanna-Lindsey/dp/B00JW7DBFI
Hearts Aflame: https://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Aflame-Johanna-Lindsey/dp/0552132101
The rest are photographed by me.
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