Where are the Wealthy Powerful Historical Heroes?

erika · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 290

As a fan of historicals I've noticed a trend where heroes have to marry to fulfill a Will; is somewhat controlled by mother, father grandfather, grandmother and marries because of pressure from them; has to marry a heroine for money; are poor but titled.

I miss those older Brenda Joyce, Meagan Mckinney, Catherine Coulter novels with wealthy powerful larger than life heroes.

Wendy AAR · Joined: 22 May 2010 Posts: 319

Oh yeah, I love those. The guys that can do anything, have anything they want. Haven't read one in a long time, now that you've made me think about it.

Yulie · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 1045 Location: Elsewhere

erika · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 290

Eggletina · Joined: 06 Jul 2010 Posts: 340

Have you read any of the books in Jennifer Ashley's Highland Pleasures series? Oldest brother, Hart Mackenzie, is wealthy and politically powerful. Danelle Harmon's Lucien de Montforte (oldest brother in The Wicked One) might be another.

Sandlynn · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 1601 Location: Washington, D.C.

I don't read historicals as much as I do contemporaries, so I hesitate to make any general comments, but yes; I have noticed that more recent historicals often offer up heroes who are somewhat as vulnerable or under similar pressures as heroines. I guess this is a way of switching things up and making heroes more human and subject to the many forces of their world ... to which they probably were in reality. It also opens up new storytelling possibilities.

I'm sure that powerful, wealthy heroes are still being written, but I have so much reading to catch up with, I don't have to rely on it. Wink

I'm still working on the older historicals where those types of heroes are more frequent.

In fact, I'm reading one now ... which is out of print: Linda Francis Lee's Blue Waltz. It's really good, and I'll be talking about it in more detail in the reading challenge thread once I finish.

ChrisReader · Joined: 05 Sep 2009 Posts: 685

I don't read a ton of new historicals so you may have already encountered these:

Joanna Bourne- all her heroes are powerful and wealthy to some degree but not all are titled if that matters. I'd say the ratio is about half or more.

Lisa Kleypas - most if not all of her heroes are at least very wealthy with most of them titled as well.

Meredith Duran- I think all of her heroes are wealthy and powerful at the time the novels take place ( even if they were not in the past).

These are just the ones off the top of my head.

erika · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 290

erika · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 290

erika · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 290

erika · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 290

Forgot to mention the book which inspired this thread. Its Love Only Once by Johanna Lindsay. Obviously the hero ultimately succumbed to pressure but it was more the power that was the Mallory's and not his own family who had wanted him wed for ages. The hero's past affaires with virgins didn't even make him vunerable to marriage.

chris booklover · Joined: 12 Apr 2010 Posts: 281 Location: Florida

All the heroes in Judith McNaught's historicals are wealthy and powerful. In this respect you can't go wrong with her novels.

I can't think of any other historical writer (other than the previously mentioned Anne Stuart) for whom this is true. (Linda Howard and Lisa Marie Rice write contemporary romantic suspense). However, most heroes written by Gaelen Foley, Cheryl Holt, Julianne MacLean and Emma Wildes are decidedly alpha in terms of these characteristics.