The Dangerous Lover: Gothic Villains, Byronism, and the Nineteenth-Century Seduction Narrative by Deborah Lutz is an interesting study in Romance through time. Lutz proposes that the Byronic hero has carried through to today's romance. She also looks at heroes pre-Byron in the Gothic vein.
Overall, I felt that much more time could have been spent on the Gothic heroes as they formed the basis for part of her theory. Her study was of the appeal of a seemingly villainous hero to the women in the book. This study seemed to just open a door. There is probably a lot more that could be written on the subject, and I hope Lutz takes her study to the next level and publishes a longer book about it.
This study is for scholars to read, however. It is not particularly accessible to the general reader. I would like to see her make it a little less scholarly so that more people could share in her discoveries. She has another book out about the Brontes that is supposed to be much more accessible. However, this particular subject area was of more interest to me on a personal level.
Some of her theory seems to be a bit of a stretch. For example, her idea of the regency dandy playing a more "dangerous love" role in novels seems to be a little far-fetched. Most of the book rings true, however. I have read a lot of contemporary romances that seems to have a Byronic element to them. This is a good read for someone who has done some study on Gothic literature and Romanticism and is used to reading scholarly articles and books. I would not recommend this as a beginning read for a young student. 94pp. No image available.
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