Romance Novels With Unhappy Endings

In most historical romance novels today there's a set formula. Boy meets girl, the electricity crackles in the air, various obstacles and villains arise to keep them apart, but they triumph at last and wind up happily ever after in each other's arms. Twenty or thirty years ago the conflict would have been more personal, and many of these romances included an element of "Taming of the Shrew" as the hero found ways of gentling his headstrong lady. Nowadays, much of that "Hollywood romance" has been removed from historical romance novels and the tension is due to outside forces, society, or other circumstances that conspire to keep the lovers apart.

Two of the famous historical romances of the past, however, did not conform to this pattern. Written around the same time, "Gone With the Wind" and "Forever Amber" contain many of the elements of historical romance but end in a defeat or apparent defeat for the heroine. What's more, by the end of both novels, the heroines have a great deal of the villainess about them.

"Forever Amber" is the story of a country girl who falls in love with a Cavalier and follows him to London. She endures many hardships in the beginning but as she gains 17th century "street smarts," she learns to manipulate people to her own ends and rises higher and higher, eventually becoming mistress to Charles II. She grows more unscrupulous as she rises and allows nothing and no one to stand in her way. Yet she is also defeated, because try as she might she cannot win the love of the man she adores, Bruce Carlton.

In a similar vein but an entirely different era, "Gone With the Wind" chronicles the adventures of Scarlett O'Hara during and after the Civil War. Scarlett and Amber would have been a formidable team as both are unprincipled and care only about getting what they want. Of course, if they both wanted the same thing (or man) the cat fight would have been spectacular.

Scarlett takes control of her life and defies Southern mores to see to it that she and her family survives and thrives. She earns the scorn of many but she doesn't care so long as she achieves the security that the war took from her. But she is defeated twice, first when Ashley refuses to run away with her even though he acknowledges that he "wants" her, and then again when her real love, Rhett, tells her his love has worn out and he no longer gives a damn.

Apparently although both books enjoyed enormous appeal, readers must have clamored for happy endings, because I can hardly think of any other historical romances that end unhappily. Today, no matter what obstacles the lovers must face, we can be assured that at the end of the book they will be together, passionately in love and either married or about to marry.

Both Amber and Scarlett are down but not out at the end of their stories. Scarlett vows to win Rhett back and concludes defiantly, "Tomorrow is another day!" Amber has sailed for America on the false information that Lord Carlton's wife is dead. Although it's not likely that she will receive a pleasant reception from Lord Carlton, she is a character of enough wit and guile that she might somehow survive and thrive in the colonies.

The modern sequel to GWTW, "Scarlett," was a pale imitation of the original. Ms. Mitchell would have been disappointed to learn that Scarlett somehow turned over a brand new leaf and became a kind and charitable Southern lady. I wonder if anyone will ever try writing the story of Amber's adventures in America. I hope if they do, she will continue to be up to her old tricks.