Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, who was born Kathleen Erin Hogg on June 3, 1939, and died on July 6, 2007, was an American novelist. She helped start the historical romance genre when her book The Flame and the Flower was published in 1972.

Early life

She was born Kathleen Erin Hogg in Alexandria, Louisiana, the youngest of eight children of Charles Wingrove Hogg, a World War I veteran who had disabilities, and his wife, Gladys, whose maiden name was Coker. As a child, she loved making up stories, and when she was six, she would tell herself stories at night to help her fall asleep. Her father died suddenly when she was 12, leaving her to be raised by her mother and older sisters. Woodiwiss later said, "we all had our own strong minds even then; I was no different. This probably influenced the strong, independent heroines I created in my stories."

Career

At age 16, she met U.S. Air Force Second Lieutenant Ross Eugene Woodiwiss at a dance. They married the next year, on July 20, 1956. She completed school locally and graduated in 1957. Her husband’s job in the military caused the family to move to Japan, where she worked part-time as a fashion model for an American company. After more than three years in Japan, the family moved to Topeka, Kansas, and later settled in Minnesota. During these years, she tried to write a novel several times but stopped each time because writing by hand was too slow. After giving her husband an electric typewriter as a Christmas gift, she used the machine to begin writing her novel seriously.

Her first novel, The Flame and the Flower, was too long for agents and hardcover book publishers, who rejected it. Instead of rewriting the book as suggested, Woodiwiss sent it to paperback publishers. The first publisher she contacted, Avon, quickly agreed to publish it. Editor Nancy Coffey offered a $1,500 payment and planned to print 500,000 copies. The Flame and the Flower, published in 1972, was groundbreaking because it included a long historical romance story with a strong female character and realistic descriptions of romantic scenes. This book sold over 2.3 million copies in its first four years and is credited with starting the modern romance genre. It was the first romance novel to include scenes showing relationships between characters. The success of this book led to a new style of writing romance novels, focusing on historical stories about women and men in relationships, even if the men had caused the women’s problems. Later romance novels included longer stories, more complex situations, and more detailed romantic scenes.

Woodiwiss directly helped another author, LaVyrle Spencer. After her own success, Woodiwiss read a manuscript by Spencer, who had not yet been published. Woodiwiss sent the manuscript to her editor at Avon, who bought it and began Spencer’s career with the book The Fulfillment. Many modern romance writers say Woodiwiss inspired them. Julia Quinn said, “Woodiwiss made women want to read. She gave them an option other than Westerns or detective stories. When I was growing up, I saw my mother and grandmother reading and enjoying romances. When I was old enough to read them, I felt like I had joined a special group of women who love reading.”

Woodiwiss wrote twelve popular romance novels, with over 36 million copies printed. She was known for the quality of her books, not the number she wrote. She often spent four to five years writing each novel. Sometimes, she said the long time between books was because of personal or health problems. Other times, she admitted she needed rest to regain her interest in writing.

All of her books were historical romances set in different times and places, such as the American Civil War, 18th-century England, or Saxony during the time of William the Conqueror. The heroines in her stories were strong, determined young women. Woodiwiss described her books as “fairy tales. They are an escape for the reader, like an Errol Flynn movie.”

Later life

Woodiwiss loved horseback riding and once lived in a large house on 55 acres (220,000 m²) in Minnesota. After her husband passed away in 1996, she returned to Louisiana. She died in a hospital in Princeton, Minnesota, at the age of 68 from cancer.

She was survived by two sons, Sean and Heath, their wives, and many grandchildren. A third son, Dorren, died before her. Her final book, Everlasting, was published on October 30, 2007.

Reception

In her essay "The Androgynous Reader" from Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women, Laura Kinsale uses the character of Shanna to show that typical romance readers do not see themselves as the heroine. Instead, they imagine themselves in her place, using her as a way to think about how they would act with the hero. Kinsale writes that Shanna is an example of a heroine who is not seen as overly submissive or overly independent, which are traits that readers might not admire. Readers instead consider how they would respond to the situations the heroine faces.

Selected works

• The Flame and the Flower, published in 1972
• "The Kiss" in Three Weddings and a Kiss, published in 1995 (with co-authors Catherine Anderson, Loretta Chase, and Lisa Kleypas)
• "Beyond the Kiss" in Married at Midnight, published in 1996 (with co-authors Jo Beverley, Tanya Anne Crosby, and Samantha James)
• The Elusive Flame, published in 1998
• A Season Beyond a Kiss, published in 2000

• Wolf and the Dove, published in 1974
• Shanna, published in 1977
• Ashes in the Wind, published in 1979
• A Rose in Winter, published in 1981
• Come Love a Stranger, published in 1984
• So Worthy My Love, published in 1989
• Forever in Your Embrace, published in 1992
• Petals on the River, published in 1997
• The Reluctant Suitor, published in 2002
• Everlasting, published in 2007