FOR BITTER OF WORSE
First edition of this early Janet Dailey romance, the third book in the Cord and Stacy series that began Dailey's career in 1974 (with NO QUARTER ASKED).
Near fine in near fine jacket.
Price: $100.00
FOR BITTER OF WORSE
Dailey was not Harlequin's first published US author, or first published US romance author, but she was the first accepted by Mills & Boon in an era when their list determined the selections of North American juggernaut. Dailey quickly became a star, and her early novels are considered some of the best examples of category romances, used to typify the genre in Pamela Regis's NATURAL HISTORY OF ROMANCE — indeed, romance scholar Pamela Regis argues that "Dailey turned the popular romance into an American phenomenon" (155).
For more than two decades, Dailey was a powerful spokesperson for romance in the US. But in 1997, her brand was irrevocably damaged when a reader noticed similarities between her 1996 book NOTORIOUS and Nora Roberts's 1989 book SWEET REVENGE. Upon further investigation, Dailey admitted to plagiarizing from a number of Roberts's works; Roberts sued and won. This first edition dates from before the start of Roberts's career (1981).
All early Dailey romances are scarce in their original dust jackets; the Cord and Stacy series was the beginning of it all.
Read more: Regis, Natural History of Romance; Sonja Massie and Martin H. Greenberg, The Janet Dailey Companion: A Comphrehensive Guide to her Life and her Novels.
The Object
London: Mills & Boon Limited, (1978). 7.25'' x 4.75''. Original red cloth, spine stamped in black. In original unclipped (publisher sticker of £2.50 over printed price) color pictorial dust jacket. Publisher's ads at rear. 188, [4] pages. Ink owner name, dated year of publication, to front free endpaper; small ink notations to jacket front flap. Jacket with light edgewear, spine just a bit sunned. Book slight cracking to gutter of one early opening, still entirely firm; leaves toned.
The Fine Print
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