First edition of this early Janet Dailey romance, the Virginia entry in her famed Americana series — in which the heroine housesits for a glorious oceanside mansion in Virginia Beach.
Near fine in very good jacket.
Price: $60.00
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, and the Americana series — recognized even by the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS — is an especially important moment in the American romance novel.
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.
London: Mills & Boon Limited, (1978). 7.25'' x 4.75''. Original red cloth, spine stamped in black. In original unclipped (£2.50 net) color pictorial dust jacket. Publisher's ads at rear. 186, [4] pages. Jacket with some edgewear, single tape repair to verso. Book with light bumping to spine ends, leaves toned.
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