Читать книгу American Quaker Romances. Building the Myth of the White Christian Nation онлайн

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Notwithstanding the lack of proper critical attention, the popularity of Christian or inspirational romances in the past few decades, especially of novels featuring Amish protagonists (amply studied by Valerie Weaver-Zercher in her 2013 monograph, Thrill of the Chaste: The Allure of Amish Romance Novels), is undeniable, as is, to a lesser extent, the appearance of various subgenres spawned by the Amish craze, that is, romances with Mennonites, Moravians, Quakers, etc. (Weaver-Zercher 2013: 3). Given those circumstances, there is a need to further analyze the reasons that have led, and continue leading, countless readers to these so-called “sweet” or “clean” romances. This book will therefore palliate that lack of scholarship on Christian romances to some extent, though, as mentioned, it will focus on Quaker romances regardless of whether they are Christian or secular. Besides, only historical romances (often referred to in the romance community as “historicals”) will be taken into account. Many Christian romances are indeed historicals, and that also happens to be the case when Quaker characters are portrayed. According to Barrett-Fox and Donnelly, “[t]he setting of the books in bygone days allows for readers dismayed at contemporary culture to run to a romantic (and rural) past in which they imagine life—including gender roles and ideas about romance, love, and sex—was simpler” (2021: 196). Barrett-Fox and Donnelly also point out that historical details in these novels are intended “as evidence for the authenticity of the story and the expertise of the author” (2021: 196). More poignantly, Lynn Neal’s assessment of Christian historicals leads her to state that these narratives “transform history from a series of random events into a carefully ordered design that demonstrates God’s romance with humanity” (2006: 184). To be more precise, given my exclusive concern with American historicals, they demonstrate God’s romance with America, and a White America at that, as will be proved.