Tag Archives: Joan of Arc

SWHM Guest: Katharine Ashe on Disguise or Truth

Hi friends! March has come to a close, so we say goodbye to another Women’s History Month. I’m very excited to welcome back Katharine Ashe, with this wonderful post.

Disguise or Truth?
By Katharine Ashe

The Prince by Katharine Ashe Cover I just wrote a historical romance in which the female protagonist, Libby, dresses as a youth to achieve her dream of becoming a surgeon, a profession prohibited to women in early nineteenth-century Britain. I based Libby’s story on a historical person.

Heroines disguised as boys are a staple in popular historical romance fiction. From the early days of Kathleen Woodiwiss’s Ashes in the Wind (1979) and Johanna Lindsey’s Gentle Rogue (1990), romance readers have adored heroines who are not only comfortable in breeches but revel in the liberty the costume allows.

Why do readers love these heroines? I think it is because they serve our fantasies about history. Continue reading