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Home > Blogs > Women's Life > Archives > 2009 > November > 05 > Entry
‘Bonnet rippers’ new kind of romance novel
There’s a new kind of romance novel out there and its plot includes forbidden love, a mysterious outsider and a heroine who has to decide between new love and her old life.
But these are not sexy Harlequin-like romances nicknamed bodice-rippers.
These are bonnet rippers.
Amish love stories are occupying many of the top spots in religious fiction.
The appeal of the books are their traditional, as well as secretive elements, said Susan Trollinger, professor of writing and rhetoric at the University of Dayton, as well as an expert on Amish life.
The traditional is that they are told in a format we all are used to: Woman meets man and has many tough choices to make as a result.
The secretive part are the players. Amish culture is one Americans seem fascinated with, but get very little real glimpse of. Trollinger, however, has. She has visited Amish households in Holmes County, observing people’s daily lives there and even has been invited to worship services and weddings.
“Very few people can just show up at an Amish household and be welcomed,” Trollinger said. “Amish people go through great pains to reject outside culture - not just technology - but also how families function as well as mainstream values and beliefs.”
But is it so different from the hopes of many non-Amish readers?
“And it seems like the Amish have a good secret which is how to live a life that is secure and based on community,” Trollinger said.
The books’ plots usually include a young Amish woman who falls in love with an outsider. The woman is young enough, however, that she has not yet officially entered the Amish church, so she still can make a decision to leave the community.
‘(The reader says), ‘See, the Amish woman wants to be more like, me,’” Trollinger said.
In most cases, the woman does leave with the community and the reader perceives a happy ending.
The books are marketed at conservative Christian readers, often showing up in devotional sections of bookstores.
The books are safe. Despite their sassy ‘bonnet ripper’ nickname, there is no sex, no physical expressions of love. The heroines are devoted to the idea of family an the structure of the home.
“The Amish are appealing because of their traditional, old-fashioned lifestyle,” Trollinger said. “There’s a sense of belonging, a feeling of family that many middle-class Americans perceive as the correct way of life.”
Get a free book
Marta Perry is a prolific novelist in the Amish romance genre. She’s written books like ‘Leah’s Choice,’ and ‘Twice in a Lifetime,’ starring heroine, Leah.
An e-book version of ‘Hide in Plain Sight’ which includes Amish characters is available for free. Go to http://tinyurl.com/ygsd75e to give it a try.
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By Marta Perry
November 6, 2009 10:25 AM | Link to this
I read the article on the popularity of Amish fiction with great interest, and I’m pleased that you mentioned by books. Just a quick clarifiction: the free e-book, Hide in Plain Sight, is a romantic suspense with some Amish characters, while Leah’s Choice, in bookstores now, is a more traditional Amish romance. Best, Marta Perry