Where does one genre start, and the other begin? How are they similar? Dissimilar?

Most of the books that I enjoy fall into the "Gothic Romantic Suspense" genre.

I don't wish to dilute the "gothic" part of this forum if any suggestions that I offer are more "romantic suspense".

I have been thinking alot about these questions lately. Many of the posts that I have read on this forum since I joined it a month ago have focused my thoughts on the differences between these terms. On the face of it, it seemed rather simple, but when I tried to describe it to myself, it became more complex. Then I ended up with more questions than answers.
I've taken a good, hard look at my own collection of gothic books and realize that it is best described by the word "exclusive". I mean it excludes alot of what is out there with the label "gothic" on it. For instance, I don't care for the supernatural in a gothic story. So writers like Barbara Michaels whom I know many readers find to be very gifted, are ruled out. I don't even bother trying them. Yet I know that she fits in the gothic/romantic suspense/gothic romantic suspense category somewhere.
Creature of habit that I am, I like basically the same type of story told over and over again in much the same way with variations that are clever, engaging, admirable in style and rich in mood and atmosphere, and the variations that I see on my bookshelf within these self-imposed limitations attest to the richness of possibility this genre has. I always know when I'm in the middle of a really good gothic story that it truly is an authentic experience of the gothic genre.
I doubt if I clarified anything, gothicromancereader, but I have yet to fully sort out my own thoughts.

(07-26-2010 12:41 AM)AliceChell Wrote:  Creature of habit that I am, I like basically the same type of story told over and over again in much the same way with variations that are clever, engaging, admirable in style and rich in mood and atmosphere . . .

Same here. I admit to being a one-trick pony when it comes to my Gothic reading. Sometimes the plot structure (formula, if you must) of one book to the next is identical, almost scene-for-scene. Yet those variations are what keeps the experience fresh.

My ideal Gothic novel (and I have yet to read it) would contain all the elements we've enumerated but would they'd be much more keyed-up, amplified, brought into sharp focus. The suspense should make my palms sweat. The repartee between the heroine and hero should sparkle enough to make me chuckle outloud. The atmosphere should be so thick it could be all but handled. And when the sinister plot is revealed at the climax, there should be a magnificence to the villainy. Even while I breathe a sigh of relief that the heroine is at last safe from harm, I should feel a pang of sorrow for the villain's own tragedy, the pathos of his foiled plot, the toppling of his great evil work of art. And after closing the book, I should miss the characters with the same bittersweetness of missing old friends.

Many books provide a much more subdued, low-key version of the experience I've tried to describe. I enjoy these books, but I wish I could somehow turn up the intensity. I know it's a tall order -- many an author would rather keep to understatement than risk lapsing over into melodrama. But mind you, it isn't melodrama I'm after, but just an acute heightening of the tension and "Gothic" mood.

Evelyn Berckman has come close in several of her books, but sometimes her storylines can be a little convoluted.

My, what a book that would be! Perhaps, Penfeather, the only way to get one that good would be to write it. And I, for one, would be more than happy to read it.

I find it interesting that what I've come to identify as "Golden Era traditional" Gothic Romance (such as the header on this forum), is not really that at all, but more Gothic Suspense. Why do we call it Gothic Romance when it seems to be more suspense than romance?

Additionally, according to an opinion of someone that has provided an uncomprehensive list of Gothic Romance books on the internet, he does not even list Victoria Holt's "Kirkland Revels" as Gothic Romance, the book that "started" me on the genre! And even "Rebecca", the one that supposedly started them all, is not on his list!

I'm just as confused as ever. . .