Monday, March 16, 2015

Pulp Romance

These novels from the 1940's were surely aimed at stirring the libido of the reader with brazen titles and covers dripping with innuendo.  Scanning through the books, they seem pretty tame, at least compared to something like Cocoa Blades.  

"It was even rumored that she believed in free love."





She "married the one man they said she could never have."




"Having once had her wings singed, dreads the flame."  Based on that cover, I don't think the first thing to reach the flame would be her wings.



"She had able assistants in her efforts to distract Robert's thoughts from Higher Things."  I think he's looking at her "able assistants" on the cover.




"Renegade whites, who were trying to lay rapacious hands". 

Okay, that sounds more scandalous than it really is.  I think that line and the cover and binding tricked the buyer into thinking this book was something more than a boring fictionalized history lesson.




"...the ending will leave you richly satisfied."  'Nuff said!




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4 comments:

  1. FrankOMarch 17, 2015 at 12:07 AM

    you KNOW that pulps are one of my big continuing obsessions. i have never heard of any of these, but they are great finds. some interesting stuff here:

    • curiously (or hilariously), if you look up “Triangle Books” on wikipedia, you get redirected to an entry for the “Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge” — i’m gonna guess that this imprinter is a different outfit, unless these books were REALLY aiming broadly.

    • apparently donald henderson clarke was actually a writer of some note. as indicated in that one bio, he did indeed write screenplays for hollywood. his book “Born Reckless” was made into his first movie, as was “Millie,” “Female,” “Pilgrimage,” and “The Housekeeper’s Daughter” — and apparently the director John Ford (as in “Grapes of Wrath”) directed many of his screenplays, as did Hal Roach.

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    Replies
    1. TomMarch 17, 2015 at 6:52 AM

      I did see the Hollywood connection while researching these. I was just noticing the book on the back cover of "Hollywood Wife", "The Razor's Edge". Is that the movie Bill Murray made some time ago? Looking... Yep. It was also made into a movie in 1946.

      Delete
    2. FrankOMarch 17, 2015 at 10:20 AM

      ohh, good catch -- i missed that one. wow.

      Delete
  2. Mr. KarswellMarch 17, 2015 at 5:45 PM

    Love the spine art on Unconquered! Wow

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