Riding the tosh horse: women writers of popular romance between the wars

Concentrating on three primary authors: E.M. Hull, Berta Ruck, and Marguerite Jervis (writing under pseudonyms Oliver Sandys and Countess Barcynska), this thesis examines the production and distribution of popular romance between the two World Wars.  It identifies those women who, in contrast to experimental modernists, were writing to make a living.  By way of an introduction to the period, the highly popular desert romances are examined as a microcosm of a contemporary society that in the aftermath of war was justifiably under regeneration. Chapters progress to reveal the working methods and attitudes of authors negotiating a changing society that was questioning traditional patriarchy.  Supported by evidence from autobiographies, diaries, letters, publishing agreements, and romance narratives, the thesis examines how various relationships, both private and public, informed their texts.  Authors' personal experiences of love and marriage are explored alongside the more public influences of editors, publishers, and literary agents.  The relationship between authors and readers is also examined.  This thesis demonstrates how the authors in question pioneered what we now recognize as a predominantly female romance genre dominated by publishers Harlequin Mills and Boon and that their oeuvre contribute substantially to the canon of women's writing history.