Genres of Power: Femininity from Gothic to Paranormal Romance

Julia Priu (2025)

 

Introduction

This report follows three award-winning and bestselling romance authors within the gothic and eventually paranormal romance subgenres, analyzing how they depicted femininity across a broad time span from the 1960s to the 2010s. Specifically, I will explore how Victoria Holt, Shannon Drake, and Kresley Cole each represented femininities in ways that were unique from one another, whether through the feminine representations of their character’s themselves or the way these traits manifested in their relationships, while still exhibiting some areas of overlap. I will discuss how these three authors showcased different models of femininity through their works, by revealing different types of female characters and power dynamics both in their story and relationships using the following evidence: the female character’s agency, whether the male of female character displayed more physical or social power, and how they demonstrated sexuality within the conventions of their subgenre, which could include anything from increased intimacy (comparatively) to the sexualization of violence. I will provide this evidence through a careful examination of works, including reviews, cover materials, interviews, advertisements, profiles, and even appearances on bestseller lists. By focusing on these elements, this report will illustrate how Holt, Drake, and Cole showcased different dimensions of femininity within the landscape of gothic and then paranormal romance fiction.

 

Characteristics of Female Protagonists

Holt, Drake, and Cole are all authors that boast New York Times best selling works—Victoria Holt’s The House of a Thousand Lanterns landing at spot 6^[1], Shannon Drake making the top 35 paperback bestsellers with Deep Midnight^[2], and Kresley Cole’s multiple appearances including Dark Sky at 5^[3]—and yet their novels and promotional materials all portray femininity in different ways. These authors create different types of female protagonists, from Holt’s classic gothic tales to Drake’s paranormal thrillers, and Cole’s modern take on supernatural romances. Holt, Drake, and Cole all portray heterosexual couples in their works, but the characteristics of their leading ladies differ. Holt’s heroines were often trapped in passive roles of duty and respectability, while Drake and Cole’s protagonists often embraced more agency and assertiveness, which sometimes resulted in power struggles within their relationships. Holt’s more modest portrayals resonated with many readers, while Drake and Cole’s heroines captured an audience eager for more assertive female protagonists^[4].

Holt’s heroines tend to be passive, especially when compared to the other authors included in this study. While often tasked with solving a mystery or figuring an unusual circumstance, like in Snare of Serpents or Mistress of Mellyn, these same protagonists are criticized for their lack of wit, weakness, and extreme naivety^[5]. A publisher’s weekly of Snare of Serpents even went so far as to say the protagonists naivety “bordered on a learning disability,” suggesting Holt’s heroine’s are left without a strong sense of autonomy^[6]. There were positive traits of Victoria Holt’s heroine’s as well, however; they often displayed positive feminine attributes including demureness, respectfulness, and all-around likeability^[7]. Davina of Snare of Serpents, though naive, shows a dedication to finding justice for her governess who is accused of a murder, emphasizing Holt’s heroines’ ernesty and commitment to doing what is right.

The marketing and presentation of her works further reinforce this restrained, yet earnest vision, standing in contrast to the more assertive, sexually charged representations found in Drake and Cole’s novels . Unlike many of the book covers chosen by Drake or Cole, the standard Holt cover, like the first edition cover of Mistress of Mellyn didn’t display any dramatic or sexual imagery^[8]. Holt’s marketing and cover designs adhered to a restrained and subtle representation of femininity, whether showing the heroine from behind, where you cannot see her body, face, or expression, from a distance or not including the heroine on the cover at all. To me, this leaves the impression that Holt’s heroines operate as a vector through which the story is told, rather than a protagonist who might claim more agency within the story. However, on the occasion you can see the protagonist’s expression, like in some editions of Snare of Serpents, it shows determinations, which I interpreted as dedication to the task at hand^[9]. This provides a stark contrast with the bolder, more sensual depictions seen in later works by Drake and Cole. On Drake and Cole’s covers, the protagonist is often pictured with her male counterpart, with heavy contact and close positioning, or even animalistic posing, where they look like they might bite each other^[10]. The result is a heavily suggestive cover design. While not against the idea of a sexual heroine, it was not something Holt advertised in any promotional materials surrounding her novels that I studied, including the Ladies’ Home Journal^[11], Mistress of Mellyn cover materials^[12], and the author interview with BBC^[13]. While Holt didn’t portray graphic sex, and followed a naive, or demure model of heroine, she did state that the “virtue^[14]” of the heroine might not necessarily need to remain intact, as long as other aspects of the character made her someone audiences would resonate with, and root for^[15]. Holt herself said “Well, the heroine doesn’t have to remain pure, but she must have the right ideas about life^[16],” which correlated with the broader themes of femininity—respectability, kindness, and even demureness—within her novels.

Victoria Holt’s work reached extreme popularity in the 1960s, where it was featured in many different forms of publication, including an issue of Ladies’ Home Journal published in April of 1960. Beyond her literary works themselves, the promotional materials surrounding them were intricately tied to her representations of femininity. In Ladies’ Home Journal, the portrayal of femininity in her novels was closely aligned with the ideas of femininity displayed in advertisements in the journal—a strong emphasis on housework, marriage, and child rearing is reflected by the advertisements and captions. Nearly every advertisement in the journal was connected to home-making in some aspect; there are no advertisements for cars, work clothing, or any other goods that might be representative of female independence or autonomy. This magazine shows women existing exclusively within the context of their families. Mistress of Mellyn, Holt’s debut novel, was serialized in this issue, and starred a governess as the protagonist, which reflected the same feminine ideals of home-making and child rearing as the surrounding advertisements^[17]. The models of femininity reflected in her work, Mistress of Mellyn and the Ladies’ Home Journal advertisements themself provide further evidence for the demure, passive, and care-focused female protagonist Holt often wrote.

 

Drake and Cole’s works tell a different story of feminine power. Operating within the paranormal genre allowed Drake and Cole to include elements that were missing from Holt’s work. In Drake’s work, When Darkness Falls, the heroine, Jade MacGregor, is a travel writer and publisher who survives a brutal vampire attack and later faces a series of disturbing events, including the deaths of other survivors and her boyfriend being left dying in a hospital. She is also visited by dreams of a sensual, amber-eyed stranger who once saved her life. Within this plot, Jade is surrounded by violence, mortality, and desire. While the Publisher’s Weekly review I examined critiques the novel’s dialogue, plotting, and graphic gore, it nonetheless presents a scenario where the central female character survives life-threatening events and even fights back—this presents the heroine as someone with more agency within her narrative that would not be typical of Holt’s work^[18].

However Drake did not always follow the same model when it came to her protagonists. In other of her novels, Drake represented femininity more similarly to the way Holt did, with one novel even titled Damsel in Distress. In this novel, the female protagonist was the titular “damsel in distress,” showing a dynamic of a female protagonist who required saving by her male counterpart, as was frequent in Holt’s works, like the aforementioned Snare of Serpents. This could have something to do with Drake’s background—promotional materials, including two separate Romantic Times excerpt, paint Drake as a mother of five children, first and foremost dedicated to her family^[19]. The other Romantic Times piece focuses more on her love of the craft, even showcasing a desire to connect her relationship with her children to her craft, when she discusses bringing baby Chynna to her first writer’s conference^[20]. These personal details emphasized in a professional context reinforce how femininity was not only represented within the novels but also projected through the author’s persona. It also connects back to Drake’s devotion to romance readership, signaling her ambitions to shape and sustain audience the romance industry, starting with her own children^[21]. The idea of feminine devotion is one that does actually parallel with the characters in her novels, be it Jade’s determination to get to the bottom of the case, or Maggie’s determination to save her soul. While the femininities displayed in Drake’s bios—home-making, love, and family—could be seen as a counterpoint to the femininities displayed in her work—independence, power, and authority—I believe that they are just layers of a more complicated story, showing a very real, very human, Drake.

Cole’s works take the idea of an assertive, independent heroine even further, portraying characters who stand their ground, sometimes to the point of violence. A Hunger Like No Other features a fated-mates romance between a vampire and a werewolf, with power struggles including an imbalanced sexual desire where Lachlain is more outwardly lustful than Emmaline. Cole takes these struggles a step further by eroticizing violence to heighten emotional stakes central to the story^[22]. Lachlain wants Emmaline to consume his blood and consummate their fated-mates bond, but Emmaline, the vampire and protagonist, physically and emotionally holds her ground against his desires towards her, even asserting some pseudo-dominance against him later in the story, to the delight of readers^[23]. In an interview with Cole covering another one of her series, Poison Princess, she discusses how she created different powers for the characters in her series, male and female alike, with Evie’s power (both supernatural and social) growing over the course of the novel^[24]. Evie, like Emmaline, also stands up to Death (the hero), although their relationship is less violent than that of Emmaline and Lachlain.^[25] Seeing readers leave positive reviews on romance novels that boast powerful female characters, who are often equally or even more powerful, socially and through physical powers, than their male counterparts, is interesting to observe^[26].

Ultimately, Holt’s female protagonists were marked by passive and demure behavior, especially in the way they navigated relationships and the plot, compared to Drake and Cole’s protagonists, who exhibit more active and assertive behavior, incorporating dynamics and actions specific to the paranormal romance genre.

 

Dynamics of Sex and Power

The portrayal of sex and power dynamics in Holt’s works reveals a complex interplay between feminine independence and submission, where her heroines, despite occasional moments of defiance, are often constrained by the societal and patriarchal structures surrounding them. Holt’s characters received backlash for being overly naive, often trapped in the “damsel in distress” narrative^[27]. Occasionally, Holt pushed back against this reputation, with some of her heroine’s like Marie of The Queen’s Confession being characterized as a bold young woman who held a certain disdain for social conventions^[28]. Holt did advocate for independence of her heroines in both their relationships and society, and yet, Holt maintained dynamics that enforced feminine submission^[29]. The “damsel in distress” narrative followed in Snare of Serpents portrayed Davina as someone in constant need of saving, while the dynamic of Martha as an employee of Alvaen in Mistress of Mellyn showed a different type of submission, wherein Marth was actively serving Alvaen^[30]. Even Holt’s heroines like Marie, who sought independence, were often constrained by the structures of power around them, which limited the full expression of their agency. For Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, and the protagonist of The Queen’s Confession, power was ornamental rather than operative. Marie possessed status and visibility, but Holt revealed that even as queen, she was forced to submit to patriarchal expectations, rendering her a queen in name but not in control^[31]. This portrayal highlights Holt’s difficulties with portraying truly autonomous female characters, as even those with the most power remained controlled by external forces. Holt’s works typically did not include explicit sex, so the sexual dynamics of her characters remain somewhat of a mystery.

 

Drake and Cole, on the other hand, very much used the sexuality of their female characters as a driver within their novels, often using paranormal or supernatural elements to emphasize this, whether it be portraying the idea of vampire-feeding as a sexual act^[32], or exploring reverse beauty-and-the-beast type dynamics through a sensual lens^[33]. Drake takes on this reverse beauty-and-the-beast dynamic in her novel Beneath a Blood Red Moon, where the heroine is a dangerous vampire, and the hero is an ordinary cop. In Beneath a Blood Red Moon, the relationship between the dangerous vampire heroine and her human love interest incorporates heightened sexual and emotional power dynamics, where the heroine’s dangerous nature is both a source of allure and dominance, further deepening the connection through tension and desire^[34].

This dynamic allowed for a more complex exploration of power and desire, than dynamics seen in Holt’s novels. Holt’s novels tend not to include explicit sex or violence, and fall within a dominant male, submissive female, dynamic^[35]. In Drake’s novels, on the other hand, the dynamics of dominance and submission were less structured, with sometimes the female character being the dominant, and the male submissive, or vice versa, while using supernatural elements—like mortality versus immortality—to amplify sexual tension^[36]. Drake’s novels explore sensuality, with an undercurrent of danger, adding additional layers to the sexuality of her novels. Some of her scenes are described as graphic, whether through sexuality, violence, or a combination of the two. This reflects Drake’s willingness to explore relationships with varying power dynamics, incorporating higher levels of violence and tension.

Cole’s works take these dynamics even further, particularly with their emphasis on violence and intensity. A Hunger Like No Other includes graphic scenes of forced seduction and intense sexual tension, often blending elements of violence and eroticism. The relationship between the vampire heroine Emmaline and werewolf hero Lachlain, is charged with aggressive passion, where the sexual interactions are raw and visceral, including both physical and emotional violence. These interactions include an undertone of ecstasy and pleasure, however, marking violent acts like biting as sources of sexual pleasure^[37]. This eroticization of violence plays into the themes of domination and submission that are often present in the works of Drake and Cole, where characters are pushed to their limits both emotionally and physically. These dynamics in both Drake and Cole’s works highlight the central role that sexuality, violence, and power play in shaping the relationships between their characters.

 

Conclusion

My three chosen authors showcased femininities in different ways, highlighting key themes of romantic fiction. The three showcased different types of female protagonists and varying power dynamics displayed through circumstance and sexuality in ways unique to one another that their subgenre allowed them to. Where Holt’s work emphasized passive femininity and romantic restraint, Drake and Cole’s novels experimented with volatile and assertive forms of female power, with sexuality and violence playing central roles in shaping the relationships at the heart of their stories. The varying portrayals of female protagonists and power dynamics in their works highlight how each author utilized their subgenre to explore different aspects of femininity and relationship dynamics. In the future, I think it would be interesting to explore the relationship between the evolving models of female protagonists and heterosexual relationship tropes, and their success on bestseller lists.

 

 

Bibliography

“Author Profile: Heather Graham (Shannon Drake).” Romantic Times, no. 76 (1990). Scanned image. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://romantictimesindex.weebly.com/uploads/4/5/6/0/4560933/076-graham.jpg.

“Author Profile: Heather Graham (Shannon Drake).” Romantic Times, no. 96 (1990). Scanned image. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://romantictimesindex.weebly.com/uploads/4/5/6/0/4560933/096-graham.jpg.

BBC Archive. “Victoria Holt Interview.” Facebook video, 2:31. Posted April 12, 2019. https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/376854507626776/.

“Best Sellers: Fiction.” New York Times, October 13, 1974. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1974/10/13/119464984.html?pageNumber=456.

Cole, Kresley. A Hunger Like No Other. New York: Pocket Books, 2006. Cover art, first edition. Accessed April 6, 2025.

Cole, Kresley. “Kresley Cole Interview: Poison Princess.” YouTube video, 2:45. Posted by Simon & Schuster, July 25, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RYQkQwHf48.

Danielle the Book Huntress. “Review of A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole.” Goodreads. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14384.A_Hunger_Like_No_Other.

“The Queen’s Confession, by Victoria Holt.” New York Times, September 8, 1968. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/09/08/90037979.html?pageNumber=182.

Drake, Shannon. Beneath a Blood Red Moon. New York: Avon Books, 1999. Cover art, first edition. eBay listing. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.ebay.com/itm/387128034079.

“When Darkness Falls by Shannon Drake.” Publishers Weekly, October 2, 2000. https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8217-6692-7.

Holt, Victoria. Mistress of Mellyn. London: Collins, 1960. Cover art, first edition. eBay listing. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295797735025.

Holt, Victoria. The Queen’s Confession. New York: Doubleday, 1968.

“Review of Snare of Serpents by Victoria Holt.” Publishers Weekly, August 1, 1990. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-385-41385-5.

Ladies’ Home Journal. Vol. 77, no. 4 (April 1960). Serialized version of Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt, including editorial content and advertisements. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://archive.org/details/ladies-home-journal-v-077-n-04-1960-04/page/n45/mode/2up?q=victoria.

“Mass-Market Fiction Best Sellers.” New York Times, August 24, 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2014/08/24/.

“Paperback Fiction.” New York Times, September 16, 2001. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/16/books/bestseller/paperback-fiction.html.

 

 

 

 

^[1] “Best Sellers: Fiction,” New York Times, October 13, 1974, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1974/10/13/119464984.html?pageNumber=456.

^[2] “Paperback Fiction,” New York Times, September 16, 2001, https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/16/books/bestseller/paperback-fiction.html.

^[3] “Mass-Market Fiction Best Sellers,” New York Times, August 24, 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2014/08/24/.

^[4] Danielle the Book Huntress, “Review of A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole,” Goodreads, accessed April 6, 2025, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14384.A_Hunger_Like_No_Other.

^[5] “Review of Snare of Serpents by Victoria Holt,” Publishers Weekly, August 1, 1990.

^[6] Ibid.

^[7] BBC Archive, “Victoria Holt Interview,” Facebook video, 2:31, posted April 12, 2019, https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/376854507626776/.

^[8] Victoria Holt, Mistress of Mellyn (London: Collins, 1960), cover art, first edition, eBay listing, accessed April 6, 2025, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295797735025.

^[9] “Review of Snare of Serpents by Victoria Holt,” Publishers Weekly, August 1, 1990.

^[10] Kresley Cole, A Hunger Like No Other (New York: Pocket Books, 2006), cover art, first edition.

^[11] Ladies’ Home Journal, Vol. 77, no. 4 (April 1960), serialized version of Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt, accessed April 6, 2025.

^[12] Victoria Holt, Mistress of Mellyn (London: Collins, 1960), cover art, first edition, eBay listing, accessed April 6, 2025, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295797735025.

^[13] BBC Archive, “Victoria Holt Interview,” 2:31.

^[14] Ibid.

^[15] “Review of Snare of Serpents by Victoria Holt,” Publishers Weekly, August 1, 1990.

^[16] BBC Archive, “Victoria Holt Interview,” 2:31.

^[17] Ladies’ Home Journal, Vol. 77, no. 4 (April 1960), serialized version of Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt, including editorial content and advertisements, accessed April 6, 2025, https://archive.org/details/ladies-home-journal-v-077-n-04-1960-04/page/n45/mode/2up?q=victoria.

^[18] “When Darkness Falls by Shannon Drake,” Publishers Weekly, October 2, 2000, https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8217-6692-7.

^[19] “Author Profile: Heather Graham (Shannon Drake),” Romantic Times, no. 96 (1990), scanned image, accessed April 6, 2025, https://romantictimesindex.weebly.com/uploads/4/5/6/0/4560933/096-graham.jpg.

^[20] “Author Profile: Heather Graham (Shannon Drake),” Romantic Times, no. 76 (1990), accessed April 6, 2025, https://romantictimesindex.weebly.com/uploads/4/5/6/0/4560933/076-graham.jpg.

^[21] Ibid.

^[22] Kresley Cole, A Hunger Like No Other (New York: Pocket Books, 2006), cover art, first edition.

^[23] Danielle the Book Huntress, “Review of A Hunger Like No Other,” Goodreads.

^[24] Kresley Cole, “Kresley Cole Interview: Poison Princess,” YouTube video, 2:45, posted by Simon & Schuster, July 25, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RYQkQwHf48.

^[25] Ibid.

^[26] Danielle the Book Huntress, “Review of A Hunger Like No Other,” Goodreads.

^[27] “Review of Snare of Serpents by Victoria Holt,” Publishers Weekly, August 1, 1990, accessed April 6, 2025, https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-385-41385-5.

^[28] “The Queen’s Confession, by Victoria Holt,” New York Times, September 8, 1968, accessed April 6, 2025, https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/09/08/90037979.html?pageNumber=182.

^[29] BBC Archive, “Victoria Holt Interview,” 2:31.

^[30] Victoria Holt, Mistress of Mellyn (London: Collins, 1960), cover art, first edition, eBay listing, accessed April 6, 2025, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295797735025.

^[31] Victoria Holt, The Queen’s Confession (New York: Doubleday, 1968).

^[32]  Danielle the Book Huntress, “Review of A Hunger Like No Other,” Goodreads.

^[33] Shannon Drake, Beneath a Blood Red Moon, accessed April 6, 2025.

^[34] Ibid.

^[35] Victoria Holt, Mistress of Mellyn (London: Collins, 1960), cover art, first edition, eBay listing, accessed April 6, 2025, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295797735025.

^[36] Shannon Drake, Beneath a Blood Red Moon, accessed April 6, 2025.

^[37] Danielle the Book Huntress, “Review of A Hunger Like No Other,” Goodreads.