Guest Blogger, Sarah Tanner
by sue on Jan.15, 2010, under Book Chat
Sarah Tanner from Monkey Bear Reviews - http://www.monkeybearreviews.com/
“My love affair with romance stories began at the age of eight. I received a copy of M.M. Kaye’s wonderful children’s fairytale, The Ordinary Princess, as a Christmas gift. Although I’d enjoyed the classic fairytales, I always found myself frustrated at the portrayal of the princesses. Their perfect beauty was not something that my gangly eight-year-old self could aspire to. They did tedious things such as hang around in towers waiting to be rescued, or sleeping for one hundred years until Prince Charming deigned to put in an appearance. The Ordinary Princess, on the other hand was, well, ordinary. 
Princess Amethyst is the beautiful seventh princess of the Kingdom of Phantasmorania. When her mother insists on inviting all the fairies in the kingdom to her Christening party, one of them bestows a gift upon the baby which she says will make her the happiest of all: ordinariness. From that moment on, Princess Amethyst is distinguished by her shocking normalcy. She soon becomes known as Princess Amy – a name more befitting her homely appearance. When her parents fail to find a willing suitor for her, they decide to hire a dragon to attract young noblemen to fight for Amy’s hand in marriage. Disgusted by the scheme, Amy swaps clothing with her maid, Griselda, and runs away to live in the forest.
Amy’s life in the forest is happy for a time, but with winter fast approaching, she realizes she needs money with which to buy warm clothes. She walks to the nearest city and finds employment as a kitchen maid at the local palace. Here she meets the handsome Peregrine, man-of-all-work, who, of course, turns out to be a king. Needless to say, Amy and Peregrine fall in love and live happily ever after – after a few twists and turns, of course!
In Princess Amy, I found a romantic heroine with whom I could identify. Princess Amy had adventures, wasn’t afraid to get her clothes dirty, and still found a handsome king to marry. As a gawky little girl, she inspired me to hope that I, too, could find happiness even if I never metamorphosed from an ugly duckling into a swan.
Which books inspired you as a child? What was the first romance you ever read?” Love to hear your comments below . . . 
Happy Romance!
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January 16th, 2010 on 11:23 pm
I really enjoyed The Little House on the Prairie books as a child. I vaguely remember having discovered Harlequin Presents before the YA versions and moving on to all romance after that.
January 16th, 2010 on 4:49 pm
The first book I can remember reading as a child was Heidi. I started reading Emilie Loring and Glenna Finley and then worked my way to The Flame And The Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss and of course then I had to read The Wolf And The Dove. My first historical romances were Barbara Cartland.
January 16th, 2010 on 4:40 am
Two stories that i love most when i was kid, Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella.
The love story will never end
January 15th, 2010 on 8:45 pm
What a wonderful post! It’s given me a book to track down, as well as reminded me of my favorites.
My favoritest book ever is A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett — not a romance, of course, but for anyone who likes their heroines to endure a thing or two before the HEA, this is a wonderful book.
A Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge — definitely twee and very British, but it’s magical in a realistic enough way that it almost (sort of) could be true.
Daddy-Long Legs by Jean Webster — the classic orphan makes good story (Dickens would be so proud, don’t you think?), in this case getting a scholarship to Smith (a women’s college back then, now 100 years ago) as long as she writes letters to her mysterious benefactor. As an epistolary novel, it’s not entirely satisfying as a romance (one would like to read a bit more about the HEA) but overall, delightful!
More recently, I adore Robin McKinley (she mentioned my hometown, Schenectady NY, in her most recent novel, Sunshine — it was like we were best friends!) and can recommend all her books, many of which are retelling of fairy tales. Like your Princess Amy, these characters work for their HEA. Sunshine is a vampire book I don’t hate — that should tell you how good it is.
Lastly, Mercedes Lackey — who normally writes more SF/fantasy books — has a series called the Tale of Five Hundred Kingdoms, starting with The Fairy Godmother. Not entirely suitable for children (there’s even sex!), but so wonderful to read. She turns all the fairy tales on their heads.
January 15th, 2010 on 6:34 pm
I’ve never read any of Mary Stewart’s books! I know she’s considered one of the classic gothic romance authors. Which one would you recommend starting with?
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Nine Coaches Waiting or Airs Above Ground.
Great post, Sarah.
January 15th, 2010 on 4:33 pm
You’re never read Mary Stewart?? I think you would definitely like her. My personal favorite is The Ivy Tree, and my mom’s favorite is Nine Coaches Waiting–that’s more of a traditional Gothic romance. The Moonspinners is also really good if you’re in the mood for romantic suspense.
January 15th, 2010 on 4:23 pm
Lovely post, Sarah - I’ve never heard of MM Kaye before this.
Re Mary Stewart (who’s popping up quite a bit!), I only discovered her year before last, and pretty much glommed her entire backlist. I LOVED The Ivy Tree, but Nine Coaches Waiting was a very close second. Definitely worth checking out.
January 15th, 2010 on 4:38 pm
To Li and Heidenkind: You ladies are costing me money! I’ve just ordered ‘Nine Coaches Waiting’ and ‘The Ivy Tree’. Thanks for the recommendations!
January 15th, 2010 on 2:44 pm
The first romance book I ever read was Gone With the Wind when I was a teen ager!
January 15th, 2010 on 4:36 pm
I loved the book of ‘Gone With the Wind’. I’m probably one of the only people who was not wild about the movie!
January 15th, 2010 on 12:34 pm
Hands down, Cinderella. It’s all about the talking mice and knowing my prince charming would come and sweep me away to the enchanted castle.
January 15th, 2010 on 1:19 pm
I’m waiting for Disney’s ‘Cinderella’ to be available here on DVD again. I know it’s not considered PC anymore but I adore the singing mice.
January 15th, 2010 on 11:43 am
Sarah, thanks to you now, ORDINARY PRINCESS is now on my to-be-bought list. I hadn’t known about M.M. Kaye and her books.
My first M&B was when I was ten. I read it, because all the older girls in my neighborhood giggled over it and shushed up when I showed up. It didn’t seem all that interesting. Jane Ausen, Louisa May Alcott, Alexandre Dumas, et al, the so-called classics were the romantic tales that I loved reading then. I read Heyer in my mid to late teens. By then I was ready to captivated. And I was.
January 15th, 2010 on 1:17 pm
I think your daughter might like it. It’s such a cute story.
M.M. Kaye also wrote a couple of saga-style books for adults. I think her most famous is ‘The Far Pavilions’. It’s about a British officer who falls in love with an Indian girl.
January 15th, 2010 on 11:05 am
I personally love Stewart’s “The Moonspinners” — and it was one of my first romances. I read a lot of fairy tales, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Helen MacInnes, and of course Heyer. I love romance today because the stories are so deep and rich: more of what I probably wanted way back when. Great blog!
January 15th, 2010 on 11:26 am
I must have been about 14 when I read my first Heyer. I was hooked. Thanks for the Mary Stewart recommendation. I’ll see if I can track it down.
January 15th, 2010 on 10:25 am
I vaguely recall a story that was read to me in grade school called, “The Princess and the Pea.” But my first forays into romance were the Sweet Valley Twins series from the early 80’s. I also loved the Sweet Dreams line that targeted pre-teens.
My first heroine though was Laura Ingalls Wilder from the Little House books. I loved how she fell in love with her hubby. So sweet.
January 15th, 2010 on 10:53 am
That’s right! I loved the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ books. I’d completely forgotten them. A trip down memory lane!
January 15th, 2010 on 10:19 am
When I was a kid it was all of the disney fairytales. I loved them all and still do. Another one of my favorites and the movie the Princess Bride growing up that was for sure my favorite fairytale.
January 15th, 2010 on 10:54 am
I know I read the book of ‘The Princess Bride’ but I don’t think I ever saw the film adaptation. Wasn’t there an 80s heartthrob in it? Cary Something?
January 15th, 2010 on 9:30 am
Hi Sarah! great post, im super impressed you remember a book from when you were 8 with such detail! and absolutely agree with your points about heroines with whom you can relate, luckily i feel like YA and romance novels both have come a long way in that respect. i was so into the Famous Five, Bobbsey Twins and Boxcar Children books when i was little that i was inspried to seek out trouble and try and solve mysteries! sigh, nothing exciting ever happened to me though, which im sure my parents were happy about.
January 15th, 2010 on 9:39 am
Although I re-read the book before writing this post, I have to admit I could probably have written the description from memory. It was one of those books I read and re-read as a child until I had to buy a new copy.
I also loved the Famous Five and many other Enid Blyton books. I know she’s considered terribly un-PC these days but The Five Find-Outers were among my favourite childhood books.
January 15th, 2010 on 9:21 am
Hi Sarah - thanks for being here — Cinderella was it for me — what a wake up to reality as an adult though to find how few princes there are! I got a good one though
Great post & thanks again,
Sue
January 15th, 2010 on 9:37 am
Thanks so much for having me! I had a lot of fun re-reading ‘The Ordinary Princess’ in preparation for this post.
January 15th, 2010 on 10:31 am
I think the shock is that not all men are princes, but I firmly believe that there are a lot of great men out there.
January 15th, 2010 on 1:14 pm
I agree!
January 15th, 2010 on 6:38 am
I was a boring kid because I loved the HEA of those fairy tales. Now as an adult, I can see how messed up they were, about helpless, dependent women who relied on a man to save them.
I read my mom’s romances around 12 years old, starting with the Harlequin Presents. Prior to that was a YA romance called P.S. I Loved You by Barbara Conklin, about a young girl who falls in love but lose him to cancer. Very bittersweet. But it made me fall in love with romance.
January 15th, 2010 on 9:41 am
My first adult romance was a Mills & Boon. I think it was probably similar to what’s called Harlequin Presents in the US. I remember being fascinated by references to the hero’s “manhood” and the place where the heroine “felt like a woman”!
January 15th, 2010 on 10:28 am
LOL, Sarah! I remember that feeling of titillation and true love all mingled together when I graduated from fairy tales to adult romances. I still love that feeling! That incredible heart-sigh that I get when two characters who have been at odds finally realize that they were meant to be together.
January 15th, 2010 on 2:43 am
I can remember reading Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella as a child and I loved the HEA, and all fairy tails. I also enjoyed the books written by Janet Lambert and some others that I can’t remember. Then I remember in the 7th grade I read Gone With The Wind. Had to read it for class. Really didn’t want to, but once I started I couldn’t put it down. From that book my love for romance grew and I went on to Moonstruck Madness, The Wolf and The Dove and so many others.
January 15th, 2010 on 9:43 am
I don’t think I read anything by Janet Lambert. ‘Gone With the Wind’ was an annual read for me as a teenager. Loved that book. Also one called ‘Forever Amber’ by Kathleen Windsor.
January 15th, 2010 on 2:17 am
i remember reading the ordinary princess when i was in the seventh grade! i loved that story too but around that time i was reading those teenage high school romance books (like the love stories series published by bantam in the 90s but these were published earlier in the late 80s/early 90s). i don’t remember what they were called but it’s a whole series of books probably close to a 100–those were my first romance books.
January 15th, 2010 on 9:45 am
I was a huge fan of the various Sweet Valley series. I must have read all the Sweet Valley Twins stories and most of the Sweet Valley High ones. I was allowed to read them on the condidtion that I interspersed them with “real” books! *ahem*
January 15th, 2010 on 1:50 am
The first romance I ever read? Hm, probably The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart. I read that when I was in the 3rd grade, I think. But even before then I was interested in romance, due to watching soap operas with my grandmother.
January 15th, 2010 on 9:20 am
OMG General Hospital was my fav — Luke & Laura era.
January 15th, 2010 on 9:46 am
Confession time: I’ve never read any of Mary Stewart’s books! I know she’s considered one of the classic gothic romance authors. Which one would you recommend starting with?