Sunfire Romances and Scholarly Projects

Caroline - a Sunfire RomanceWere you a Sunfire romance reader? I totally was. And even after I cracked the code of the cover art – whomever the heroine was pictured with in the cover art was usually NOT the dude she ended up with – I still read them.  

Roxanne - Long blond hair, bright pink sweater... wow!

I loved Caroline, and read that book so many times I looked up the author, which led me to one of my msot favorite YA reads ever, The Girl with the Silver Eyes.

And I had a particularly love for Jennie, which was about the Johnstown Flood, one the greatest clusterfucks of a natural disaster in American history.

I remember searching for more of these in the library and the bookstore when I was in middle school. I thought Roxanne was the most glamorous woman on a cover I'd ever seen – I think it was the bedazzled “R” on her sweater. 

It seems I'm not the only one with fond memories of the Sunfire series.

Victoria Wu is a graduate student in history, and she contacted me because she's writing her thesis on the Sunfire series. She's hoping to talk to anyone who was a fan – and I think there are many of us who found the Sunfire series a gateway drug into romance. For me it was the one-two combination of Sunfire and then Sweet Valley High which ultimately led me to Midsummer Magic.

I asked her about her project, and this is her narrative sketch of her thesis: 

My thesis is partially historical (where I situate the text within context of 80s teen fiction, romance fiction, and Reagan conservatism) and partially literary (where I analyze the texts themselves). I have the texts, I have contemporary reactions to the texts, I even have one of the authors kindly providing me with information on how the series came about.

 

Scholarly literature both from the 80s as well as the present focus on the notion that 80s romance series for girls was a step back from the “problem” fiction of the seventies, as well as a step back for feminism (see Linda Christian-Smith in particular), because these books were about girls falling in love with boys and not much else (yep, same argument leveled against adult romance).

 

 

However, the Sunfire series was really markedly different. It always featured a girl “daring to be different,” seeking careers, and choosing men who valued them for their independence and not their ability to be homemakers. These books were also really progressive, especially in context of the 80s Reagan conservatism that did permeate much of romantic fiction of this time.

For example, one protagonist is arrested for being a suffragette, and another participates in a labor strike at the Lowell Mills, and so on. They also always featured girls playing prominent roles in important historical moments–persuading Jean LaFitte to help out in the Battle of New Orleans, for example, or working as a reporter during a major flood to get the news out.

The crucial piece of information I'm missing is on readership. I would be interested in talking to members of the Bitchery who may have read these books, and hearing about their experiences: Where did they buy these books/who bought these books for them? Did their friends read them?  What did the appreciate most about the Sunfires? What other books were they reading? Did Sunfires affect their later reading habits?

Who was reading these books when they first came out? How old were they? How did they get hold of the books? Were they spending their own money, borrowing from friends or siblings, receiving them as gifts from parents? How did the Sunfire compare to other books they were reading? And of course, what did they see in the Sunfires that compelled them to read the books–was it the historical setting, the heroine, the hero, the romance, etc.?

I was a bit late on the scene, since I grew up in the nineties and the Sunfire was out of print by then. Being a reader of endless voracity, my mom always took me to buy books at the used book stores (cheaper to feed the habit than at Barnes and Noble), and I could always find a Sunfire or two. My two favorites were Candice Ransom's Sabrina and Jane Claypool Miner's Margaret.

Sabrina was set during the Revolutionary War, about a Patriot girl torn between a Loyalist and a Patriot spy. For one, I thought the spy was incredibly hawt and deliciously arrogant, but I also remember loving the heroine, because she was brave and she seemed so powerful to me. She was only sixteen, but here she was changing the course of a war–playing a significant role in American history! It was thrilling to my 12 year old self. “Girls being important” was a major requirement in the fiction I read at the time, probably because I always felt so unimportant in my own life (sixth grade was a bleak time).

Margaret was a Nebraska schoolteacher, and I loved the frontier setting, the rawness of it, and I really felt her excitement of being on her own. I loved that she was smart and that her smartness was admired. Also, for some reason, it seemed incredibly romantic to me that she taught her manly but illiterate love interest how to read and write. Dunno what that says about me.

I have the same memories about my favorite Sunfires, and am surprised at how much I remember about some of them. I recall scenes from Jennie, who had to report about something horrifying and tragic that was happening to her home, her town, and people she knew. And Caroline clearly had an impact on my reading because cross dressing! I love me some cross-dressing heroines, even if I don't believe for one minute an 18 year old can fit in a 12 year old boy's trousers.

I feel a bit of hesitation about introducing y'all to people who are doing studies of reader groups, because I don't ever want you to feel obligated to participate. You're absolutely not obligated! Please do not feel as if you are! But if you'd like to contact Victoria, you can email her.

Either way, if you have many fond memories of the Sunfire series, please tell me which is your favorite. 

I'm so wishing they were digitized because I would re-read the hell out of them. Time for a trip to the used bookstore, I think! 

Categorized:

Random Musings

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  1. Kate Noble says:

    OH MY GOD CAROLINE!  I completely forgot about this book until I saw the cover posted and it zinged itself back into my memory.  I remember reading this, loving it, but not really any other Sunfires.  I’m pretty sure I got it out of my local library, but I jumped from Babysitter’s club books to Amanda Quick pretty fast, with few inbetween.  This was one of those inbetweens.

  2. Angela says:

    A friend sent me a link to this, and I’m so happy she did.  I grew up in the 80s and read every single one of these I could find.  My favorite was Susannah, and that (and the North and South miniseries) inspired my love of the Civil War and eventually led to me getting a PhD in antebellum history.  I’m 36, and I have every single one of the Sunfire books on a shelf in my bedroom.  I somehow managed to have all of them but six, and I tracked those down on ebay five years ago in order to complete my series.

    And for kisah…Jacqueline, Marilee, Emily, and Nora are the names of books that go with the time periods you mentioned.

  3. The Other Susan says:

    I’m sorry I’m too old to have read these at the time – they sound really good.

    Maybe somebody will study Jane Aiken Hodge.  Her books were among my favorites in jr. high and high school.  I still reread them!

    Captcha rod:  control79 Creepy, since I graduated from HS in ‘79….

  4. Cicely says:

    Wow, I had to click on this post when I saw the Caroline cover. I LOVED Caroline!! I read about a dozen of these back in the day; I think I got started at the library and then began buying them for myself. My parents used to buy books for me without question when I was young but when my mom saw me buying what I suppose she thought was trashy romance fiction, she said I’d have to spend my own money (from allowance). And I did!

    I thought I had read everyone that came my way, but now I see there were so many more! Too bad Amazon didn’t exist back then. 😛

    My absolute favorites were Caroline and Marilee. I loved the speech at the end of Marilee, where the young man who had suffered so much as an indentured servant came back and made this bittersweet speech to her, I think because he had falsely accused her of something. I can’t remember exactly, but it still gives me chills – isn’t that weird? I got rid of these books over the years, but those two were the last to go.

    On the second tier of books I liked pretty well were Gabrielle (the tightrope walker), Nicole, Cassie.

    It’s funny how these books you read when you’re young make an impression of you. I still periodically remember how Veronica’s mom corrected her to say “Certainly” instead of “Sure,” which I didn’t even realize was an issue. Also, it was fascinating to me that it was a big deal for her to wear shorts.

    I also read one with a black heroine which was one of my least faves – ironic, since I’m black. I find that historical fiction is just depressing for black characters.

    Agree that these were a gateway drug into racier romance fiction (next: Johanna Lindsey!). I wasn’t typically that into historical fiction, but I think that it occupies a greater proportion of children’s books because people figure it’s educational. So I really loved things like The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Johnny Tremaine, and I remember some book about Eleanor of Aquitaine.

  5. Lisa Tamura says:

    I loved Rachel, about the Jewish girl who worked at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory when it caught on fire. And Jessica, about the girl on the frontier.
    Do you know how many American history courses I passed because of these! I would love to talk with her

    Confession time: I have them all. Still. I have a four-year old daughter and I am hoping maybe she might love them as much as me. And pass her American History courses of course.

  6. Rachel says:

    Sunfires were my gateway to romance novels, too.  Laura was by far my favorite, and inspired my interest in WWI, which is still going strong.  I also loved Joanna, Kathleen, and Rachel (natch).  And did anyone else immediately flash back to Nicole when you saw Titanic?  I got a lot of them out of the library, and bought some at B. Dalton at the mall.  But I lost track of them somewhere along the way, so several years ago my husband tracked most of them down used on amazon for a Christmas present!

  7. Dee says:

    Wow, flashback! I loved Caroline- what a great adventure story. Sunfire cover art should inspire a whole post of it’s own! The Caroline one is a little OTT and doesnt really reflect the character. well.

    I think I read this back in late elementary/ early jr high. And, maybe another one or two (the Triangle Shirtwaist plot sounds familiar). I won’t say it was my gateway to romance- personally I think fairy tales are that. I read Nancy Drew in part for the romance (yes, laugh now). And, I hung out pretty heavily in the sci fan section in pre-/teen years (lots of romance there). I do know I would have loved to read more of these Sunfire books but I didn’t because they weren’t maternally approved (would have been censored and/ or teased for the choice which still annoys me as my mom is romance fiend) and had to be read on the sly. But, hated Sweet Valley High (gag me) which was also popular at the time – what an obnoxious soap opera that was. Course maybe part of the appeal of the Sunfire was the historical settings as I went on to get a history degree. Interesting comment from an earlier poster about this series preceding American Girl, which I think is generally well done (merchandising evil empire aside).

    Still, from what I recall of the plot of Caroline she was still a pretty passive protagonist/ heroine. Yes, she runs off after her brothers, cross dresses etc but a lot happens to her and it takes her beau to force the big changes so I think it still fit into the 80s era pretty well.

    And, loved Girl with Silver Eyes which explains why I loved Caroline. Will have to track down a copy of both, now. Y’all don’t outbid me on a book auction site.

  8. Jemma says:

    Oh, I absolutely loved the Sunfires—I saved my allowance every week until I had enough and then I’d raid the B.Dalton shelves to buy them. I never had the full series, unfortunately, but I remember a few more clearly than others, especially Cassie and Roxanne.

    The millworker one is still the only reason I have any idea where Lowell, Massachusetts is and what they used to do there. It’s funny all the little details that pop out, too, even twenty years later. I was probably 11 or 12 when I read them; I didn’t actually leap right into romance, though, veering off into sci-fi and fantasy by way of McCaffery and Lackey and then back around to romance when I hit high school and got sucked into one of my mom’s old paperbacks out of boredom on a long road trip.

    I guess what I loved best about them was how real they felt, girls struggling to grow up and do the right thing through adversity. They were very easy to relate to, even with the disparity between modern life and the various historical periods.

    Now I might have to go track these down on eBay too. 😀

  9. Eli says:

    I glommed onto these, but my “gateway drug” was actually the Williamsburg Series by Elswyth Thane.  This Sunfire series came out about the time my grandmother had sent me the Thane series and it helped ease the disappointment at reading the last of the Williamburg books. My copies of the Sunfire books didn’t survive extended storage while we were overseas for a few years, the box was one of several that went missing.

    It’s no accident that I ended up with a degree in History since these books, and other historicals, sparked an interest in learning more about so many different periods, usually meant checking out books from the non-fiction section of the library that got dubious looks from the occasional librarian.  I can clearly remember my mom defending one of those choices when the librarian at the check-out desk questioned whether the reading material would be above my head.  I was about 12 or so. The best memory, while reading the one about Lowell, was talking to my grandmother (the other one) during a visit about what I was reading and she went and pulled out a “do it yourself” photocopied book put together by her sister of family letters written home to Maine by some of their Great-Aunt’s while they worked in the Mills.

  10. Susan F. says:

    I loved The Girl with the Silver Eyes too!  Also, Willo Davis Roberts wrote a great romance/literary fiction novel that I have read numerous times.  To Share a Dream about three sisters who move to America and get accused of being witches.  Find a copy, it’s awesome!

  11. Joanna S. says:

    Yes, these were my gateway drug into romance, particularly historical romance!!  I also can’t remember which “name” was my favorite novel, but I remember that it was about the fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory at the turn of the century.  It had all the things I love most in this world: romance, major event in history, issues of social justice & equality, and romance (I know I said it twice, but I know that you know that it bears repeating!).

  12. JenH says:

    I’m fairly certain I read all of them, but my favorites were Kathleen, Caroline and Laura.  I still think of Kathleen every time I have soda bread or have to peel vegetables with a paring knife!

  13. SB Sarah says:

    @Joanna: Did you know yesterday, 25 March, was the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire? It was in 1911 –  102 years ago. (http://bit.ly/WTndU1).

    I was thinking about it last night as we were doing readings about freedom and women at Passover. I remember that Sunfire very well. Scared the hell out of me, but it was memorable for all the reasons you mention – social justice, equality, and romance.

  14. SB Sarah says:

    Rachel! I remembered it – the Triangle Shirtwaist heroine was named Rachel in the Sunfire series. http://amzn.to/14smJJh

  15. Joanna S. says:

    @SB Sarah: No freakin’ WAY!!  I had no idea it was the anniversary of the fire, but I remember how much it affected me to learn about this event in history class, mainly because I had read ‘Rachel’ (thanks for her name btw!) before we studied this era in my history class in middle/junior high school.  So, my classmates were hearing about the fire and the absolutely deplorable conditions for factory workers for the first time, and I was thinking: “Dude!  I’ve read about this already in that book I really, really liked. I’m sooooo ahead of the curve.”  Just another way that romance advanced my education in unexpected, intellectually fulfilling ways before there was The Internets.  And, I also remember the fire scene itself being super-realistic and scaring the hell out of me as well.  Even though I knew the heorine HAD to make it out, I still remember my heart pounding as they got to the now famous chained exit door, thinking that she might not live…that settles it! Now I have to read it again. 

    **Off to order about a dozen Sunfires**

  16. Kate Hewitt says:

    I loved, loved, loved Sunfire romances—read them all. I have fond memories of scouring the B. Dalton bookstore at the King of Prussia Mall in PA on a Friday night for the newest release when I was about 13. Caroline was my favourite, along with Kathleen, Emily, Amanda, and Nicole. I’ve bought a bunch of them used for my daughter and she loves them too.

  17. SB Sarah says:

    @Joanna: Oh, yes, the portrayal of the fire scared the bejeezus out of me, too.

    Here’s something really amazing I found online: an artist named Ruth Sergel has an annual art project called “Chalk” where she and volunteers go and inscribe the names, ages, birth and death dates of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire victims in front of where they lived in New York.

    http://streetpictures.org/chalk/

    It is chilling and powerful and amazing – she’s done it every year since 2004.

  18. Joanna S. says:

    @SB Sarah:  Wow.  Just…wow.  That is indeed, chilling and powerful and amazing.  Thank you so much for sharing!

  19. adelissa says:

    I went out and actually collected all 32 of them, I dearly love each one. I love history and I think sunfire romances had a lot to do with that. I did one of my first term papers on labor laws, because of Rachel and the triangle shirtwaist disaster. I went through a traveling school teacher phase because of Margaret (Christy, Laura Ingalls Wilder, etc) I could go on an on, hard to pick a favorite. I did think Elizabeth and the witch of blackbird pond were kinda copycattish but loved both. I always said if I had to chose on dress alone I would like to live in Jennie’s era, love the shirtwaist/gibson girl looks and that book opened me up to one of my guilty pleasures, disaster movies 🙂 I believe Margaret was the first one I ever read at age 10 and the history stood out to me more than the romance but that quickly changed. I think Marilee has to be my favorite, (SPOILER ALERT)just because I love wolfhounds and sailors (wanted her to marry phillip but if it ain’t there it ain’t there, I can pretend I did haha)(END OF SPOILER ALERT) and of course the names! Did you know there are more J name sunfires than any other letter? When I was little and bored I used to come up with lists of my favorite 32 girl names but then I am giving my nerdiness away. Glad I came across this page. Even though I am american and love our history, I thought it a shame, we can only go back to pilgrims, would have been nice to see a series like this with european history but I suspect the bubonic plague and sack of rome and kings beheading half their wives might turn some children and parents off lol.

  20. adelissa says:

    I went back and read rachel last night. I actually cried and it reminded me in a way of 9/11 ( the chained exit, people jumping) I am amazed it didn’t bother me more when I was younger.

  21. MNBonnie says:

    I owned all of these!  Loved them all – some of my very favorite books as a pre-teen/teen.  I think my Mom helped me buy (I used to use most of spending money on books).  I also love some mystery/suspense authors, but overall still a mainly romance reader.  I totally agree that the girls were models for strong, independent women.  🙂

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