I’ve been a huge fan of 80’s romance novels and their heroines for as long as I can remember. Women who eat men for breakfast and take over empires, all while being immaculately glamorous, are irresistable.
Aside from that 80’s romance heroines were never afraid to play dirty and really get deep into their emotions. There was no restraint, no rules that could not be broken, and that has been a huge source of inspiration in my writing, especially in my latest novel The Golden Cage.
Where better to go for inspiration than 80’s romance novels when creating a character like Faye, a woman who had everything taken away from her, stripped of her dignity and hungry for revenge. To rise from the aches of her broken past and create an empire out of nothing but her brains and her beauty, that is the epitome of a great 80’s heroine for me. Sprinkle in some beautiful dresses and shoes as well as a villainous ex-husband and you’ve got the complete package.
The novels below feature some of my favorite literary heroines. Smart, beautiful and dangerous with a thrilling recklessness that is as inspirational as it is norm breaking.
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil by Fay Weldon
When Ruth Patchett discovers that her husband is having a passionate affair with the lovely romantic novelist Mary Fisher, she is so seized by envy that she becomes truly diabolic. Within weeks she has burnt down the family home, collected the insurance, made love to the local drunk and embarked on a course of destruction and revenge. I read it for the first time about 20 years ago and it’s a book that I have returned to several times since then. It’s a dark and delicious satire of the war of the sexes, where the fantasy of the wronged woman is made real.
If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon
This is a the perfect story of intrigue and revenge, a female “Count of Monte Cristo”. Tracy Whitney is young, beautiful and intelligent—and about to marry into wealth and glamour. Until, suddenly, she is betrayed, framed by a ruthless Mafia gang, abandoned by the man she loves. With intelligence and beauty as her only weapons, Tracy embarks on a series of extraordinary escapades that take her across the globe in her struggle to revenge herself.
Lace by Shirley Conran
Passion, glamour, suspense, and sensation all blend together in this story. Lili, a beautiful notorious film star, summons four women from Paris, London, and New York to her Manhattan apartment. Elegant, sensuous women, accustomed to power and luxury. Sharing a secret they dare not reveal—a secret Lili must finally know. As they unlock the past, the women remember the things that tie them together.
The Silken Web by Sandra Brown
A delicious tale filled with sarcastic comments, jealousy, sexual innuendos, secrets and lies. Kathleen is a smart and sophisticated woman on the verge of marrying the man of her dreams—but she’s in love with someone else. Someone from her past that she believed was lost to her for ever. When he resurfaces, she must choose between her family and the needs of her own heart.
Return to Eden by Rosalind Miles
Stephanie Harper has everything; wealth, power and a handsome fiancé. But on the eve of their wedding he betrays her with her best friend. Greg Marsden’s ruthless ambition knows no bounds and so, on their honeymoon, in the unspoilt paradise of Eden, he takes drastic steps to rid himself of Stephanie forever.
Scared beyond recognition, Stephanie had to lose everything—her husband, her children, her beloved home and her very identity—before she can exact her terrible revenge and Return to Eden. The ultimate 80’s revenge romance, with a satisfying rising out of the aches plot.
Scruples by Judith Krantz (pub. 1978)
Scruples is a sumptuous novel, widely acknowledged to be the very best-novel ever written about the staggeringly luxurious life of a Beverly Hills. Billy Winthrop and her glamorous life is that times best source of inside information about the worlds of high fashion and Hollywood. Judith Krantz takes her readers behind the scenes of the wealthy and famous to show the real people and the real emotions that exist at the core of even the most high-powered lives. Aside from that Billy’s makeover from overweight and overlooked to stunning Parisian beauty is delicious.
Lucky by Jackie Collins (1985)
Lucky Santangelo is the baddest boss b*tch that has ever lived. She has the strength and determination to accomplish anything and is a shrewd businesswoman to boot. When Lucky wants something, she gets it, no matter who she is up against. She’s a smart but reckless gambler, a hot-blooded beauty in love with power, hungry for pleasure and thirsty for revenge.
A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford (1979)
This story of the ambitious and hardworking Emma Harte is both epic and inspirational. Growing up as a maid in Yorkshire, Emma Harte has nothing but her shrewd determination and inner strength. With grit and passion she rises from poverty to unparalleled wealth and becomes a woman with a thriving international empire. Yet her past haunts her and she must dig deep to find the resolve to face the tragedies and betrayals of her old life.
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