originally posted on February 5, 2010
next library recommendations
The next romance author I remember getting handed routinely from librarians as a relatively young teen was Emilie Loring. I didn’t mind at all to tell the truth. Her books were actively published from the 1920s-1970s. That’s a tad misleading, however, since she died in 1951. She wrote and published 30 novels before her death. Then, after her death, her sons found a lot of unfinished manuscripts and notes. So they finished those into 20 more novels that were published under her name over the next 20 years. Considering she didn’t start writing until after she turned 50, it’s an incredible story of a dedicated romance author.
like Regency Romances
To me, Loring’s books are similar in tone to Regency Romances. Only set before, during or after WWII. And located mostly on the upper East coast of the United States. Many of her plots are as much novels of manners as Regencies are including anything from:
- arranged marriages
- marriages of convenience
- mistaken identities
- secondary romances
- spies and espionage
- and social seasons of the country club set
Sounds like Regency Romances to me. Some people have their Georgette Heyers to think back on and fondly remember reading from their early years. I have my Lorings.
Personally, I’m not sure I missed out. 😉
Emilie Loring’s novels are very cinematic in that carefully crafted scenes of sexual tension and high society glamorize a basically elitist existence of a debutante or heiress. Every Loring novel has a romantic “problem”, something keeping the magic twosome apart. The Loring heroine follows conventional rules of her societal order, such as charity, historical, or sports pursuits. The glamour of these to the average reader must have been palpable. These pure ideal cut across the sexed-up pulp romances made more popular later on.
via Emilie Loring – Associated Content – associatedcontent.com. (a site which no longer exists)
For one thing, they were contemporaries for their time and were about my own country, not some other. For another, the heroes were to die for and I’m not talking about alpha jerks here. I’m simply talking about honorable, gentlemen hunks all around and there were still balls and gowns and all that stuff. I mean, seriously, what was to miss? 😉
early romantic mysteries
She was definitely an expert on implying a lot but seemingly not letting anything happen at the same time. I liked her books but it wasn’t necessarily for the romance. Deep relationship development in many ways was next to non-existent, except for those little hints here and there. No, I liked her books for the very real mystery that was present in them. They weren’t always murder mysteries but they were mysteries that the heroine was heavily involved in solving. Her heroines weren’t so much doing the heavy lifting as definitely applying brain-power to solve things. She did usually end up in the classic damsel-in-distress role, though. Eh, it was a trade-off. But for a young teenage girl, trading off what might or might not be happening romantically for a real mystery wasn’t a bad deal at all.
a collector’s regret
If there is one thing I regret it’s that I unfortunately traded away most of my paperbacks of hers. So, I’m having to rebuild my collection. I’m not even sure I’d want all of them back. There are one or two that I’d truly like to find again. The Solitary Horseman being at the top of that particular list.
I just found your blog in passing while looking up Emilie Loring books. My mother found them for me when I was about 16 at our public library and since then I have been in love with the books. I have a small hardback collection of about 6 and several paperbacks, though what I love best are the hardback originals. I’m slowly trying to collect all my favorites, usually pre-1945 books. As Long As I Live and Here Comes the Sun are personal favorites. It’s actually because of Emilie Loring I became a writer, albeit unpublished. I love finding other people that love her books. ~Kate (katesbookshelf.wordpress.com)
I currently have 20 or so of hers, most of them paperback but I had to go check my shelves to see if I had those two and I did. I thought I did because the titles seemed very familiar. 😉 I remember Here Comes the Sun much more than the other though and it’s a great story. One thing that looking at the descriptions on the back of them brings back to mind is how many times she used a love triangle scenario and not in a bad way.
My mom first found the Emilie Loring ‘shelf’ at the library when I was 14. At the time, I was shocked she was handing me a romance novel. However, I fell in love with her books. Over the years I always return to her books as my comfort books. Here Comes the Sun was the first one I read of hers, and it is still my favorite. I’ve started collecting original hardbacks of my favorite ones, and I still am constantly rereading them from my local library. I always love to read about someone else who loves Ms. Loring. I’m so glad I stumbled upon this post!
I loved reading Emilie Loring books. The romance was chaste, no foul language and each story had danger & intrigue.
The Solitary Horseman is very much a story of forgiveness & how lives can be changed for the good.
I completed my collection about 15 years ago by going to a second-hand book store and finding those I was missing. I still reread these books occasionally & can remember the names of each couple.
One note: I was curious as to what the price of the paperbacks were at the time I was buying them as a teenager back in the 1960s. Cost: $1.35.
I was reading back through these posts again and realized I’d missed your comment, Bethany. Yes, the story of forgiveness is absolutely what stood out about The Solitary Horseman. There were many of her books that dealt with that theme, but none of them made the impression on me that one did.
I too, grew up with Emilie Loring, and I agree with all that you said about her books. I have collected most of her books, and am not ashamed to say I reread them frequently. The Solitary Horseman is one of my favorites for the story of forgiveness, and how it can change lives.