Remembering Jo
Beverley
(September 22, 1947-May 23, 2016)
An Overview by Janga
There are many
talented romance writers who are skilled in their craft and who earn the
admiration and loyalty of their readers, but only a few may legitimately be
termed legend or icon. Jo Beverley is in that group. Check any online biography
of Ms. Beverley, and you will find that she was a five-time Rita winner and a
member of a select group who are members of the RWA Hall of Fame. But that is
just part of the story. The five Rita wins do not include the additional six
times she was a Rita finalist. Naming her as a Hall of Famer doesn’t say that
she was one of the earliest inductees into that group of sixteen nor that she
joined the august group relatively early in her career after winning the Rita
for Regency Romance three consecutive years: Emily and the Dark Angel, 1992; An
Unwilling Bride, 1993; and Dierdre
and Don Juan, 1994. She won two Ritas in 1994; the other was for My Lady Notorious (Historical Series).
The fifth came in 2001, a golden lady for best novella for “The Demon’s
Mistress.” She also won two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times, and the Sapphire Award for Best Science
Fiction Romance, short form, in 2004 for her novella “The Trouble with Heroes.”
Among the keepers on
my bookshelves is a tattered paperback copy of Lord Wraybourne’s Betrothed. I bought it in 1990 because I had
already read a hardcover library copy and knew that it was a book I would
reread. I was right. I have been rereading it for almost thirty years. I didn’t
know when I first read the novel that it was Jo Beverley’s debut. I only knew
that I loved the characters who were so fully creatures of their historical
moment and that I wanted more from this gifted writer. That paperback is
twenty-seven years old now, and my Jo Beverley shelf is filled with her
traditional Regencies, Georgian and Regency historicals, Medievals, and a few
fantasy novellas. I cherish them all, but, of course, I have my favorites.
Emily and the Dark Angel is my favorite Beverley traditional
Regency—or classic Regency, to use the term Jo preferred. Her choice is more
accurate since her books were never exactly traditional. I can’t count the
number of times I have read Emily and the
Dark Angel nor the number of times I have read a reader’s comment avowing
love for the book and known I had found a friend. Certainly there are many
romance novels that feature a high-achieving spinster and a rake, but none so
lively, so engaging, so delightful as the story of Emily Grantwich and Piers
Verderan. And I always feel a bit smug when I come across references to Melton
Mowbray in books, confident that I learned all I need to know about Regency
England’s hunting mecca from Jo Beverley in Emily
and the Dark Angel.
Readers entered Jo Beverley’s Rogues World for the first
time with the publication of An Arranged
Marriage in 1990, although the author had been writing about her company of
Rogues for more than a dozen years by then. The Rogues are a group who band
together as schoolboys at Harrow under the leadership of Nicholas Delaney.
Their friendship endures through the years, and as An Arranged Marriage opens in 1814, Nicholas calls upon some of
them for help. In later books, Nicholas is often the one his brother Rogues
turn to for help. One of the things I have always liked best about this series
is that as the Rogues marry, their wives become part of the company. The series
includes books for nine of the Rogues: An
Arranged Marriage, the Honorable Nicholas Delaney, 1991; An Unwilling Bride, Lucien de Vaux,
Marquess of Arden and heir to the Duke of Belcraven, 1992; Christmas Angel, Leander Knollis, Earl of Charrington, 1992; Forbidden, Francis Haile, Lord
Middlethorpe, 1994; Dangerous Joy,
Miles Cavanagh an Irishman and heir to the Earl of Kilgoran, 1995; The Dragon's Bride, Con Somerford,
Viscount Amleigh, 2001; Skylark, Sir
Stephen Ball, lawyer and a reforming Member of Parliament, 2004; Rogue's Return, Simon St. Bride, the
Rogue who has been in Canada for the War of 1812 and its aftermath, 2006; To Rescue A Rogue, Lord Darius Debenham,
younger son of the Duke of Yeovil, 2006. The story of a tenth Rogue (Major Hal
Beaumont) is woven through the other books, and two of the Rogues were killed
in battle and are only mentioned in the series. The remaining eight books
feature various relatives, friends, and connections of the Rogues.
I could write a thesis on what I love about the Rogues
books. They
are comfort reads for me; I turn to them when I need to escape my
world or when another romance novel disappoints me. As a reader, I embrace them
wholeheartedly; as a writer and reviewer, I am particularly impressed with the
heroes. Jo Beverley created some of the most memorable heroes in romance
fiction in her original Rogues, and she did so by taking considerable risks.
Nicholas Delaney, perhaps her most charismatic hero, chooses love of country
over love of spouse. He is unfaithful to his wife after they fall in love
because his affair with a despicable female villain is part of a government
plot to trap a dangerous spy. The Marquess of Arden strikes his wife in anger. Lord
Middlethorpe is a virgin who is seduced by a more sexually experienced heroine,
Hal Beaumont lost an arm in war, and Lord Darius Debenham is an opium addict.
None of these men fits the common view of romance heroes, and yet I accept them
as just that and keep falling in love with them again and again.
Three years after Beverley’s Rogues first captured the
hearts of historical romance readers, My
Lady Notorious introduced a Georgian series featuring the Mallorens:
Beowulf, third Marquess of Rothgar and his half-siblings: Cynric (My Lady Notorious, 1993), Arcenbryght “Bryght” (Tempting
Fortune, 1995), Elfred, twin sister to Cyn (Something Wicked, 1997), and Brand (Secrets of the Night, 1999). (Another sister, Hilda, is married
before the series begins.) The Mallorens are all different and all intriguing. My Lady Notorious with the adventurous
Cyn and his scandalous lady, its crossdressing, and a deliciously sensual food
scene is my favorite of the first four books, although tender beta, Brand is my
favorite hero among Rothgar’s brothers. In each of the first four books,
Rothgar is an inescapable presence—ruthless, powerful, determined to manage the
lives of his siblings as well as the affairs of government and yet capable of
immeasurable love. Readers were enthralled with him. To say they were eager for
his story is an understatement, and in 2000, Beverley gave them what they had
demanded in Devilish. In a five-star
review of the book I wrote of its hero:
The reader is prepared for his
physical and mental prowess, for his near omniscience, for his brilliance in
execution of his plans, for all the qualities that have made him such a large presence
in the first four books of the series. But in his own book, Beverley moves
beyond the larger-than-life Eminence Noir to reveal the
essential loneliness and sorrow that make up the character of this man whose
life has been shadowed since early childhood by the heinous action of his
mother and who, at the age of 19, inherited his title with all its
responsibilities, the well-being of his younger half-siblings paramount among
them. Early in Devilish, Bryght thinks of Rothgar
as “fascinating and admirable, but at times . . . scarcely human.” What Beverley does in this fifth
book is render Rothgar human, to show his fears and frustrations, to
reveal a man vulnerable to love. The result is an even more complex character.
Devilish remains
one of Beverley’s most popular books and Rothgar, her most famous hero. I still
think it is too bad no one has ever brought Rothgar to the screen, large or
small.
Following the pattern of the Rogues World books, between
2003
and 2013, Beverley set another eight books in the Malloren world. A lesser
author might have found it difficult to maintain the standards set by Devilish, but some of Beverley’s finest
work can be found in the books that followed. Winter Fire (2003) is my favorite. I reread it every December for
the joy of experiencing Christmas at Rothgar Abbey with all the English
traditions plus an Italian touch with the presepe (creche) belonging to the
heroine Genova Smith. A Most Unsuitable
Man, which is a true sequel to Winter
Fire, is also excellent. (The hero, Octavius Fitzroger, is a
descendant of Imogen of Carrisford and FitzRoger of Cleeve, the protagonists of
Beverley’s Medieval, Dark Champion,
1993.) I also love A Lady’s Secret
(2008). How can you not love a book that opens with a cursing nun and ends with
a father-daughter reunion? I call this one Jo’s secret-baby book.
In addition to Dark
Champion, Beverley wrote three other medieval romances: Lord of My Heart (1992), The Shattered Rose (1996), and Lord of Midnight (1998). I’m not a big
fan of this sub-genre, and I read very selectively in it. It is a measure of my
respect for Jo Beverley that I have read all four of these books as well as her
three novellas set in the Medieval Period. Both Lord of My Heart and Dark
Champion were Rita finalists, but my favorite in this group is the novella
“The Wise Virgin” from the anthology The
Brides of Christmas (1999). It has feuding families, mistaken identity, a
Golden Lion of a hero, and an ending that resonates with Christmas meaning.
With Merely a Marriage,
her posthumously published novel, Jo Beverley ended her career in her Rogues
World where she began it. I delayed reading my ARC of the book because I was sad
that it was her last book. I waited for Rothgar (eight years, I think) and
joined the Dare’s Alive bandwagon. Every time the subject of unwritten stories
romance readers long to see written arose, I shared my hopes for the story of
Kevin Renfrew, the Daffodil Dandy, one of my favorite Beverley creations.
Before the word “autobuy” was in my vocabulary, Jo Beverley was all I needed to
see on a book cover to buy the book. Jo Beverley and her books are woven
through my history as a reader of romance fiction. I am having a difficult time
imagining a year with no new book to add to my Jo Bev collection. But I am
grateful that I can reread the forty-one novels and more than a dozen works of
short fiction she left us.
I will remember Jo Beverley for more than her books. Although
I never met her, I had contact with her in various ways online. She was always
gracious and generous. Several years ago, I was part of the Romance Vagabonds
blog. Jo had agreed to be an author guest on our site. Several months after we
had scheduled her visit she emailed me saying that she would be traveling on
the scheduled day but she would find a way to read and respond to the comments.
How she did it, I’ll never know, but she did. The Vagabonds were elated as were
the fans whose questions she answered. A classy lady who respected her
readers—that’s also the Jo Beverley I will remember.
On “Jo’s Media Page” on her website, she shares some
highlights from a speech she gave in 2002 to romance readers in Portland,
Oregon. The following is one of those highlights:
Yes, Virginia, love exists and
men and women can have healthy lives together. You only need to look around you
to see the evidence. Romance novels carry the flame of this essential truth.
They make up a rich and deep world of voices, a world of choices, with a story
for almost everyone. And that's why romance is the most popular form of fiction
today.
For twenty-eight
years, Jo Beverley gave us stories in her inimitable voice, stories like those
she described. She helped to make romance “the most popular form of fiction.” If
you have never read a Jo Beverley book, what riches await you. If you have,
isn’t it time to reread one and remember Jo Beverley?
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| Jo Beverley, Cara Elliott/Andrea Penrose, Joanna Bourne |
Postscript: Other
Dishes Remember
Manda
Way back in 1992,
when I started college, I was still not very open about my romance reading
habit. But I took a few books with me when I moved into the dorm. One of them
was Jo Beverley's EMILY AND THE DARK ANGEL, which I shared with many college friends, as it happened. Over the years, I've read hundreds, possibly thousands of
romances. And of all of them, this story about Emily Grantwich and the darkly
dangerous rake Piers Verderan, has stayed with me. Scented powder reminds me of
Violet Vane's Poudre de Violettes. Anyone dressed in all yellow brings to mind
Kevin Renfrew, the Daffodil Dandy. And any mention of Melton Mowbray reminds me
that Jo Beverley mentioned (maybe in the author's note?) that she grew up
nearby. Jo Beverley's books have been part of my life--an important part--for twenty-six
years. I distinctly recall reading the first Company of Rogues book, AN
ARRANGED MARRIAGE, on a family vacation at the beach. I spent many happy hours
in the hammock beneath the house on stilts breathing the salt air, but going in
my imagination to Regency England. (Though anyone who truly knows me would say
that Francis, Lord Middlethorpe is my favorite Rogue, I remember reading
Nicholas's story most vividly.)
I was lucky enough,
after so many years of admiring her writing, to meet Jo Beverley at the 2007
RWA conference in Dallas. I told her I'd been a fan for years and that I'd
admired some set-down she'd delivered online. She laughed and made a
self-deprecating remark. I wish I'd written it down. I'm sure it was witty. But
I'm content with the memory of her in the peak of health, and laughing. RIP
JoBev. You made an impact on this little Alabama girl's life, and I've got the
published novels to prove it. You are missed.
Santa
What I
loved most about Jo Beverley's writing was how easy it was to slip into the
worlds she created. Medieval, Georgian or Regency - you were guaranteed
families, comrades, friends loyal and true to one another; all at the core of
who they were and at the base of what their worlds were all about.
The characters in her books were multidimensional both as heroes, heroines and villains.
She wrote both the alpha and beta hero with such finesse. Intricate.
Intriguing. Page turners all.
And her villains. Ah, written as such ruthless, depraved characters from all
walks of life. Jo Beverley wrote one of the most heinous villains and - she's a
woman. Therese Bellaire is as vile, ruthless and heartless as they come. We are
introduced to her villainy in the first book of her Company of Rogues series
and her talons dig into more than one of our heroes.
I could list some of my
favorite Jo Beverley books but I fear that list would include all of them. Her
traditional Regencies hold a special place in this reader's heart. I will say
that Emily and the Dark Angel is an all-time
favorite of mine. Once again, her hero's moniker of dark angel for his looks
and temperament comes to nothing when his better half proves to be more than
his equal in every way.
The book will make you laugh out loud and sigh with such contentment. Actually,
all of her books will effortlessly take you away and leave you so much the
richer for it.
PJ
I don't remember which of Jo Beverley's books was my first but I do remember that each of them was special, transporting me to Regency, Medieval, or Georgian England and introducing me to characters who became treasured fictional friends. I'd be hard pressed to name a favorite book, series, or character. Many of her books populate my keeper shelves, characters like Dare, Rothgar, Simon St. Bride, Brand, and, of course, Emily and her dark angel, Piers Verderan linger in my mind still, some more than 20 years after reading their stories. That, my friends, is powerful storytelling.
But, while I cherish the books she wrote, it was the woman behind the pen who made the greatest impression on me. I had the opportunity to meet Jo at several RWA national conferences. This NYT Bestselling, multiple award-winning legend of romance was unfailingly gracious, greeting readers with a smile, kindness, and appreciation. No pretenses or diva behavior for Jo Bev. She always took a minute to chat with me, pose for a photograph, and thank me for reading her books. I have many photos of her taken at conferences over the years. She is smiling in every one of them, even the candid shots. I mourn her passing but I celebrate her life, her achievements, the memorable characters she introduced us to, and the journeys we traveled with them...and her.
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| Anne Gracie, Jo Beverley, Cara Elliott/Andrea Penrose |
Tell us about your favorite Jo Beverley books, characters, or memories.
One randomly chosen person leaving a comment before 11:00 PM (EST), May 25th will receive a print copy of Jo's final book, Merely a Marriage. (U.S./Canada only)
Note: The Word Wenches Blog, of which Jo Beverley was a part, is celebrating their 11th anniversary today and sharing their floral tributes to Jo. Stop by today or tomorrow and leave a comment for a chance to win books from the Word Wenches authors.
