Johanna Lindsey

Johanna Helen Lindsey (née Howard, March 10, 1952 – October 27, 2019) [1] was an American writer of historical romance novels. All of her books reached the New York Times bestseller list, many reaching No. 1.

Johanna Lindsey
BornJohanna Helen Howard
(1952-03-10)March 10, 1952
Frankfurt, Germany
DiedOctober 27, 2019(2019-10-27) (aged 67)
Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.
Pen nameJohanna Lindsey
Occupationwriter
NationalityAmerican
Period1977-2019
GenreHistorical Romance
SpouseRalph Lindsey
Children3

Biography

Personal life

Her father was Edwin Dennis Howard, a soldier in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany, where she was born. The family moved about a great deal when she was young. Her father always dreamed of retiring to Hawaii and after he died in 1964, Lindsey and her mother settled there to honor him.[2]

In 1970, when she was still in school, she married Ralph Bruce Lindsey, becoming a young housewife. The marriage continued, the couple residing in Hawaii and producing three children; Alfred, Joseph and Garret, who already have made her a grandmother. After her husband's death, Lindsey moved to Maine and did not remarry. She died on October 27, 2019 at the age of 67 from lung cancer.[3]

Writing career

Lindsey wrote her first book, Captive Bride, in 1977 "on a whim".[2] The book was a success, as have been the forty-nine novels that followed. As of 2006 more than fifty-eight million copies of her books have been sold worldwide, and her work has been translated into twelve languages.

Style and reception

Owing to their diversity of settings Lindsey's work covers a number of romance subgenres, including medieval, Regency, western, Viking, and even science fiction. Her most popular books are a series of Regency sagas about the fictional Malory family (see Family Tree).

Lindsey's stories have been heavily criticised for what has been viewed as absurd and clichéd characterisations, poor structure and pacing, unrealistic plotting, and generally bad writing. They have also been accused of perpetuating outdated and problematic notions about sexual assault, the role of women in relationships, and other cultures.

In April 2017 popular YouTube book-vlogger LilyCReads reviewed Lindsey's 1989 novel Savage Thunder, one of three in the author's "Wyoming westerns" series. The video was called "This is literally the worst book i've ever read.."[4] and over the course of twenty minutes the titular Lily C derides almost every aspect of the novel, both in the writing and messages.

Messages challenged in the video include a scene where the hero, a half-white, half-Native American adventurer, sexually touches the heroine while she sleeps and, when she wakes up and questions him about this, tells her that she is his property and has been since she first allowed him to sleep with her. Meanwhile, scorn is also reserved for the heroine, an English duchess, who describes her seduction of the hero as a "rape" (even though he consented to sex) and heavily encourages him to dress less like a Native and more like a white man for her.

The covers of Lindsey's novels have been widely parodied,[5] fitting in as they do with a trend in romance publishing to use gaudy painted designs that feature a muscular male model (i.e. Fabio) with his chest exposed, towering above or otherwise dominating floridly dressed women.

Bibliography

By Reading Order

Viking Haardrad Family Saga Series
  1. Fires of Winter (1980)
  2. Hearts Aflame (1987)
  3. Surrender My Love (1994)

Southern Series
  1. Glorious Angel (1982)
  2. Heart of Thunder (1983)

Deep space/ Ly-san-ter Family Saga
  1. Warrior's Woman (1990)
  2. Keeper Of The Heart (1993)
  3. Heart Of A Warrior (2001) (Deep space - Earth)

Wyoming westerns series
  1. Brave the Wild Wind (1984)
  2. Savage Thunder (1989)
  3. Angel (1992)

Malory-Anderson Family Saga Series
  1. Love Only Once (1985) (Regina Ashton/Nicholas Eden)
  2. Tender Rebel (1988) (Anthony Malory/Roslynn Chadwick)
  3. Gentle Rogue (1990) (James Malory/Georgina Anderson)
  4. The Magic of You (1993) (Amy Malory/Warren Anderson)
  5. Say You Love Me (1996) (Derek Malory/Kelsey Langton)
  6. The Present (1998) (Christopher Malory/Anastasia Stephanoff)
  7. A Loving Scoundrel (2004) (Jeremy Malory/Danette "Danny" Hilary)
  8. Captive of My Desires (2006) (Drew Anderson/Gabrielle Brooks)
  9. No Choice But Seduction (2008) (Boyd Anderson/Katey Tyler)
  10. That Perfect Someone (2010) (Richard Allen/Julia Miller)
  11. Stormy Persuasion (2014) (Judith Malory/Nathan Tremayne)
  12. Beautiful Tempest (2017) (Jacqueline Mallory/Damon Reeves)

Straton Family Saga Series
  1. A Heart So Wild (1986)
  2. All I Need Is You (1997)

Medieval (Shefford's Knights) Series
  1. Defy Not the Heart (1989)
  2. Joining (1999)

Cardinia's Royal Family
  1. Once a Princess (1991)
  2. You Belong to Me (1994)

Sherring Cross Series
  1. Man of My Dreams (1992)
  2. Love Me Forever (1995)
  3. The Pursuit (2002)

Locke Family Series
  1. The Heir (2000) (Duncan MacTavish and Sabrina Lambert)
  2. The Devil Who Tamed Her (2007) (Raphael Locke and Ophelia Reid)
  3. A Rogue of My Own (2009) (Rupert St. John and Rebecca Marshall)
  4. Let Love Find You (2012) (Devin Baldwin and Amanda Locke)

Montana Series
  • One Heart to Win (2013) (Tiffany Warren & Hunter Callahan)
  • Wildfire in His Arms (2015) (Maxine & Degan Grant)
  • Marry Me by Sundown (2018) (Violet Mitchell & Morgan Callahan)

Single novels
  • Captive Bride (1977)
  • A Pirate's Love (1978)
  • Paradise Wild (1981)
  • So Speaks the Heart (1983)
  • A Gentle Feuding (1984)
  • Tender Is the Storm (1985)
  • When Love Awaits (1986)
  • Secret Fire (1987)
  • Silver Angel (1988)
  • Prisoner of My Desire (1991)
  • Until Forever (1995)
  • Home for the Holidays (2000)
  • A Man to Call My Own (2003)
  • Marriage Most Scandalous (2006)
  • When Passion Rules (2011)
  • Make Me Love You (2016)

By Setting

Middle Ages

Medieval Vikings

  • Fires of Winter (1980)
  • Hearts Aflame (1987)
  • Surrender My Love (1994)
Medieval England
  • So Speaks the Heart (1983)
  • A Gentle Feuding (1984)
  • When Love Awaits (1986)
  • Defy Not the Heart (1989)
  • Prisoner of My Desire (1991)
  • Joining (1999)

Early Modern Times

Arabian Dunes

  • Captive Bride (1977)
  • Silver Angel (1988)

Caribbean

  • A Pirate's Love (1978)

Modern Times

Regency England
  • Love Only Once (1985)
  • Tender Rebel (1988)
  • Gentle Rogue (1990)
  • The Magic Of You (1993)
  • Say You Love Me (1996)
  • The Present (1998)
  • A Loving Scoundrel (2004)
  • Captive of My Desires (2006)
  • No Choice But Seduction (2008)
  • Stormy Persuasion (2014)
  • Make Me Love You (2016)

Regency England & Scotland
  • Man of My Dreams (1992)
  • Love Me Forever (1995)
  • Home for the Holidays (2000)
  • The Heir (2000)
  • The Pursuit (2002)
  • Marriage Most Scandalous (2006)
  • The Devil Who Tamed Her (2007)
  • A Rogue of My Own (2009)
  • Let Love Find You (2012)
  • Temptation's Darling (2019)[6]

Eastern Europe
  • Secret Fire (1987) (London --> Russia)
  • Once a Princess (1991) (U.S. --> Cardinia)
  • You Belong to Me (1994) (Russia --> Cardinia)
  • When Passion Rules (2011) (London --> Lubinia)

America in 19th century
  • Paradise Wild (1981) (Boston --> Hawaii)
  • Glorious Angel (1982) (Texas)
  • Heart of Thunder (1983) (Wild West)
  • Brave the Wild Wind (1984) (Wyoming)
  • Tender Is the Storm (1985) (Wild West)
  • A Heart So Wild (1986) (Texas)
  • Savage Thunder (1989) (Wyoming)
  • Angel (1992) (Wild West)
  • All I Need Is You (1997) (Wild West)
  • A Man to Call My Own (2003) (Wild West)
  • One Heart to Win (2013) (Wild West) (50th novel by Johanna Lindsey)[7]
  • Wildfire in His Arms (2015) (Wild West)
  • Marry Me by Sundown (2018) (Wild West)

Paranormal Fantasy

Deep space/ Ly-san-ter Family Saga

  • Warrior's Woman (1990)
  • Keeper Of The Heart (1993)
  • Heart Of A Warrior (2001) (Deep space --> Earth)

Time Travel

  • Until Forever (1995) (Now --> Middle Ages)

References
  1. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/22/obituaries/johanna-lindsey-dead.html
  2. "Author Information: Johanna Lindsey". iblist.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  3. "Johanna Lindsey, Best-Selling Romance Novelist, Dies at 67". The New York Times. 22 Dec 2019.
  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSIb8rcGEpA&t=912s
  5. http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2007/08/cover_makeovers/
  6. https://www.amazon.com/Temptations-Darling-Johanna-Lindsey/dp/1982110805/ref=sr_1_2?crid=ESPNC3OX9HMX&keywords=johanna+lindsey+books&qid=1554160557&s=gateway&sprefix=johanna+lin%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-2
  7. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1476714266?keywords=One+Heart+to+Win
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