Eloisa James

Last updated

Mary Bly
Born1962 (age 61–62)
Minnesota, U.S.
Pen nameEloisa James
OccupationProfessor, novelist
NationalityAmerican
Period1999–present
Genre Historical romance, specifically regency romance and Georgian romance
nonfiction
SubjectEnglish literature
SpouseAlessandro Vettori
Children2
Relatives Robert Bly (father)
Carol Bly (mother)
Website
eloisajames.com

Eloisa James is the pen name of Mary Bly (born 1962). She is a tenured Shakespeare professor at Fordham University who also writes best-selling Regency and Georgian romance novels under her pen name. Her novels are published in 30 countries and have sold approximately 7 million copies worldwide. She also wrote a bestselling memoir about the year her family spent in France, Paris in Love.

Contents

She is the daughter of poet Robert Bly and short-story author Carol Bly. [1]

Early life and education

Mary Bly was born in Minnesota in 1962, the daughter of Robert Bly, winner of the American Book Award for poetry, and Carol Bly, a short story author. She was the inspiration for her mother's essay "The Maternity Wing, Madison, Minnesota", which was published in the anthology Imagining Home: Writing From the Midwest. [2] Her godfather, James Wright, wrote a poem for her, which he included in his Pulitzer Prize-winning Collected Poems. [3] She has three younger siblings, Bridget, Noah, [2] and Micah. [4]

The Bly family did not own a television but did own more than 5,000 books. Robert often read to his children, exposing them to classics such as Beowulf . [5] Even at a young age, however, Bly was fascinated with romance. Throughout her childhood, she wrote and produced plays, using her siblings as the cast, and charging admission to any adults in the household (poets came often, visiting her father). The plays always ended in a romance, if only because her sister insisted on being a princess. To entertain her siblings during a snowstorm, she once wrote and built a puppet show, complete with lights, that also featured a romance. [6] After discovering the romance novels of Georgette Heyer in her local library, Bly convinced her father to allow her to read one romance novel for each classic novel she read. [2]

After graduating from Harvard University, Bly went on to earn an M.Phil. from Oxford University and a Ph.D. in Renaissance studies from Yale University.[ citation needed ]

Career

Academia

She is a tenured professor lecturing on William Shakespeare at Fordham University in New York City. She has served as director of graduate studies in the English Department, as well as head of Fordham's Creative Writing Program and, in 2018 and 2019, associate dean of Fordham College, Lincoln Center. [7] She specializes in bawdy puns found in English boys' plays written between 1600-1608. [8] In addition to publishing an academic book with Oxford University Press, she has published an academic article on 17th-century drama in Publications of the Modern Language Association of America . [9]

Romance novelist

While attending the University of Virginia on a humanities fellowship, Bly began writing romance novels. Her second career began when her husband wished to postpone having a second child until they had paid off their student loans. To speed the process, Bly followed her parents' examples and wrote a story to send to a publisher. [2] Two publishers bid for that novel, Potent Pleasures, [10] netting Bly an advance that paid off her student loans in full. [2] As she was at the time an untenured professor about to publish her first academic work, [11] Bly made the decision to publish her fiction books under a pseudonym, Eloisa James, to keep her academic life separate from her fiction writing. [12] She has written 30 novels, 27 of which were New York Times bestsellers. Her books have since been translated into 28 languages and 30 countries [13] and have become hardcover bestsellers in the Netherlands and Spain.

Bly's first three novels, the Pleasures Trilogy, were published in hardcover by Dell, a plan with which Bly did not fully agree. Following the publication of those three novels, she bought out the remainder of her contract and moved to Avon, where her books are now published in mass market paperback format. She believed that marketing her first works as hardcovers was not a truly successful plan and hoped to have more success with the mass-market paperbacks. [14]

The inspiration for her novels comes in part from her academic career, as plays or facts discovered during her academic research often spark ideas for fictional plots. [10] Her novels, which are set in England's Regency period (1811–1820) or Georgian period (1740-1837), often have references to Shakespeare or include pieces of 16th-century poetry or other tidbits she has found while researching her academic papers. [15] As she spends much of her day teaching about or reading early British English, she feels that the language choices she makes in her novels are more authentic. [11] Although Bly has attempted to write a contemporary romance, she chose not to finish the manuscript because of difficulty writing in a contemporary voice. [16]

The characters in Bly's novels often dispense with the typical romance novel stereotypes, with characters that care about religion and a focus on historical accuracy. [17] Her heroines are usually surrounded by very good female friends or sisters. Most of her novels are part of a trilogy or set of four novels that focus on a set of interconnected characters, and explores the relationships between those characters as well as that of the hero and heroine. [18]

In 2018, Apple Books included her novel, Too Wilde to Wed, on its list of 10 Best Books of 2018. [19]

Dual careers

For several years Bly's second career remained a secret, and she disguised herself by wearing contacts instead of her normal glasses when she attended functions as Eloisa James. [5] After her first New York Times bestseller in 2005, Bly realized that her readers liked her writing regardless of its genre, and that by keeping her identity a secret she was implying that she was ashamed of her work and of her readers. [12] At a February 16, 2005, faculty meeting, Bly outed herself to her colleagues, revealing her alter ego and offering copies of her novels to her fellow professors. Once she had officially "come out", she submitted an op-ed to The New York Times defending the romance genre. She was invited to speak at the National Book Festival in 2012. [20]

Bly credits her success in dual careers to being "very, very organized". [18] Lacking the time to write every day, Bly often writes upwards of 20 pages at a time. [21] On her days at home, Bly schedules time to work on both her fiction and her academic works. When possible, she does not work when her children are at home. [18] Bly usually does not teach in the summers, giving her more time to devote to her writing (both academic and fiction). [16]

Personal life

Bly's father and stepmother, Ruth, are very supportive of her romance writing. Carol Bly also supported her daughter, contributing a "nifty crossword puzzle" to the Eloisa James website. [2]

Bly's mother died from ovarian cancer. Collaborating with her publisher, Avon, an imprint of Harper Collins, she became a spokesperson, along with six other Avon Romance authors, in a program named K.I.S.S. and TEAL to increase awareness about the early symptoms of this disease. [22]

Bly is married to Alessandro Vettori, an Italian knight (or cavaliere) [15] who is also a professor of Italian at Rutgers University, [12] whom she met on a blind date while she was at Yale. [17] They have a son and a daughter. [23] The family lives primarily in New York [24] but spends summers in Tuscany visiting Alessandro's mother and sister. [3]

Bibliography

Academic works as Mary Bly

Romance novels as Eloisa James

The Wildes of Lindow Castle Series

Wilde family tree: https://www.eloisajames.com/extras/the-wilde-family-tree/

  1. Wilde in Love. Avon. October 2017. ISBN   978-0062389473.
  2. Too Wilde to Wed. Avon. May 2018. ISBN   978-0062692467.
  3. Born to be Wilde. Avon. July 2018. ISBN   978-0062692474.
  4. Say No to the Duke. Avon. June 2019. ISBN   978-0062877826.
  5. My Last Duchess. Avon. October 2020. ISBN 9780063036345
  6. Wilde Child. Avon. March 2021. ISBN 9780062878076

The Pleasures Trilogy

  1. Potent Pleasures. Random House Publishing Group. September 2009 [1999]. ISBN   978-0-440-24563-6.
  2. Midnight Pleasures . Random House Publishing Group. September 2009 [2000]. ISBN   978-0-440-24564-3.
  3. Enchanting Pleasures. Dell. 2002 [2001]. ISBN   0-440-23458-1.

The Duchess in Love Series

  1. Duchess in Love. Avon. 2002. ISBN   978-0-06-050810-4.
  2. Fool For Love. Avon. 2003. ISBN   978-0-06-050811-1.
  3. A Wild Pursuit. Avon. 2004. ISBN   978-0-06-050812-8.
  4. Your Wicked Ways. Avon. 2004. ISBN   978-0-06-056078-2.

The Essex Sisters Series

Essex family tree: https://www.eloisajames.com/extras/essex-sisters-family-tree/

  1. Much Ado About You. Avon. 2005. ISBN   978-0-06-073206-6.
  2. Kiss Me, Annabel . Avon. 2005. ISBN   978-0-06-073210-3.
  3. The Taming of the Duke. Avon. 2006. ISBN   978-0-06-078158-3.
  4. Pleasure for Pleasure. Avon. 2006. ISBN   978-0-06-078192-7.

The Desperate Duchesses Series

  1. Desperate Duchesses. Avon. 2007. ISBN   978-0-06-078193-4.
  2. An Affair Before Christmas. Avon. 2007. ISBN   978-0-06-124554-1.
  3. Duchess by Night. Avon. 2008. ISBN   978-0-06-124557-2.
  4. When the Duke Returns. Avon. 2008. ISBN   978-0-06-124560-2.
  5. This Duchess of Mine. Avon. 2009. ISBN   978-0-06-162682-1.
  6. A Duke of Her Own. Avon. 2009. ISBN   978-0-06-162683-8.
  7. Three Weeks With Lady X . Avon. 2014.
  8. Four Nights With a Duke . Avon. 2015.
  9. Seven Minutes in Heaven. Avon. 2017.

Novellas in Anthologies in collaboration

The Fairy Tales Series

Single novel

  • My American Duchess. 2016.

Memoir as Eloisa James

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgette Heyer</span> English writer (1902–1974)

Georgette Heyer was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story conceived for her ailing younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. The couple spent several years living in Tanganyika Territory and Macedonia before returning to England in 1929. After her novel These Old Shades became popular despite its release during the General Strike, Heyer determined that publicity was not necessary for good sales. For the rest of her life she refused to grant interviews, telling a friend: "My private life concerns no one but myself and my family."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Quinn</span> American historical romance author

Julia Pottinger, better known by her pen name, Julia Quinn, is a best-selling American author of historical romance fiction. Her novels have been translated into 41 languages and have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller List 19 times. She has been inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her Bridgerton series of novels has been adapted for Netflix by Shondaland under the title Bridgerton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romance novel</span> Genre novel on the theme of romantic love

A romance novel or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primary focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed to the development of this genre include Samuel Richardson, Jane Austen, and Charlotte Brontë.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanny Howe</span> American poet, novelist, and short story writer

Fanny Howe is an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Howe has written more than 20 books of poetry and prose. Her major works include poetry such as One Crossed Out, Gone, and Second Childhood, the novels Nod, The Deep North, and Indivisible, and collected essays The Wedding Dress: Meditations on Word and Life and The Winter Sun: Notes on a Vocation. She was awarded the 2009 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize by the Poetry Foundation. She is also the recipient of the Gold Medal for Poetry from the Commonwealth Club of California In addition, her Selected Poems received the 2001 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for the Most Outstanding Book of Poetry Published in 2000 from the Academy of American Poets and she was a finalist for the 2015 International Booker Prize She has also received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Poetry Foundation, the California Council for the Arts, and the Village Voice. She is professor emerita of Writing and Literature at the University of California, San Diego. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alisa Kwitney</span> American novelist

Alisa Kwitney is an American writer of comedic romance novels and graphic novels.

Jennifer Crusie is a pseudonym for Jennifer Smith, an author of contemporary romance novels. She has written more than twenty novels, which have been published in 20 countries.

Christina Dodd is the best-selling American author of suspense and regency historical romance. She is a recipient of the RITA Award.

Nicole Jordan is a best-selling American author of romance novels. Jordan's historical romances have appeared on best-seller lists, including the New York Times, USA Today, Waldenbooks, and Amazon.com. She has been a finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA Award and a runner-up for RWA's Favorite Book of the Year. Jordan has won the Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence for best historical. Jay Leno pretended to read aloud her novel Touch Me With Fire during a skit on The Tonight Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabrina Jeffries</span> American author

Sabrina Jeffries is American author of romance novels, who also writes under the pen names Deborah Martin and Deborah Nicholas. Entertainment Weekly calls her "one of the long-reigning leading voices in historical romance."

Karen Ranney was an American author of historical and paranormal romance novels.

Shane Bolks, who writes under the pen name Shana Galen, is an American author of "chick lit" and historical romance novels.

Margaret Moore is a Canadian author of romance novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lori Wilde</span> American novelist

Laurie Blalock Vanzura(born Texas, United States) is an American author of contemporary romance novels, first under the pseudonym Laura Anthony, and now as Lori Wilde.

Lecia Cornwall is a Canadian author of romantic fiction. Her works have primarily featured the Regency era.

<i>Three Weeks With Lady X</i>

Three Weeks With Lady X is a historical romance written by Eloisa James and published in 2014. It was a New York Times Bestseller and was nominated for two Romantic Times awards.

Kerrelyn Sparks American novelist

Kerrelyn Sparks is an American author of paranormal romance novels, best known for the Love at Stake series, currently comprising 17 novels. Each title in the Love at Stake series has become a USA Today bestseller, and she reached New York Times Best Seller list with The Undead Next Door, the fourth in the series. Her books are currently published under Avon Books.

<i>Four Nights With the Duke</i> Book by Eloisa James

Four Nights with the Duke is a historical romance novel written by Eloisa James. It was published on March 31, 2015 by Avon and debuted on the New York Times bestseller list at number 6.

<i>Lord of Scoundrels</i> Book by Loretta Chase

Lord of Scoundrels is a Regency romance novel by American author Loretta Chase. Published in 1995 by Avon Books, it is the third installment of her Débauchés series. Set in 1828, the story follows the Marquess of Dain, an aristocrat known as "Lord Beelzebub" and the "Lord of Scoundrels" for his unscrupulous, immoral behavior. The son of an English father and Italian mother, Dain is hardened due to a difficult childhood and meets his match in Jessica Trent, a 27-year-old bluestocking more than capable of trading wits with him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Boyd</span> English writer and poet

Elizabeth Boyd was an English writer and poet who supported her family by writing novels, poetry, a play, and a periodical. She also wrote under the noms de plume Louisa or Eloisa. Boyd is one of three known members of the Shakespeare Ladies Club.

Gayle Callen is an American author of more than 40 romance novels. She writes as Emma Cane for her contemporary novels. She has written as Julia Latham for her medieval historical series and as Gwen Rowley for an Arthurian novel.

References

  1. ↑ Sachs, Andrea. "Mary Bly (a.k.a. Eloisa James) Talks to Time About Her Literary Double Life". Time . ISSN   0040-781X . Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Grossmann, Mary Ann (February 14, 2006). "Secret Romance". St Paul Pioneer Press. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  3. 1 2 "Media Kit". Eloisa James Official Website. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  4. ↑ Johnsen, Bill (June 2004). "The Natural World is a Spiritual House" (PDF). Colloquium on Violence and Religion Annual Conference 2004. Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  5. 1 2 Bly, Mary (June 2005). "What It's Like to Lead a Double Life". More . Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  6. ↑ James, Eloisa. "A Shakespearean romance novelist who truly plays many parts". The Washington Post . Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Fordham online information | Academics | Academic Departments | English | English Faculty | Mary Bly".
  8. ↑ Skenazy, Lenore. "A professor's double life". Yale Alumni Magazine . Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  9. ↑ "ELOISA on… Being "Outed;" A Knight in the Life; Passions of Faith and Fiction" (PDF). eloisdajames.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Donna (2000). "New Author Spotlight on Eloisa James". RBL Romantica. Archived from the original on September 9, 2004. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  11. 1 2 Moiseeff, Dolly (January 16, 2005). "Professor steps out of shadows". The Oakland Press. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  12. 1 2 3 Garman, Emma (January 24–31, 2005). "Love's Labors". New York . Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  13. ↑ Donahue, Deirdre (May 24, 2007). "5 Questions for Eloisa James". USAToday .
  14. ↑ Yamashita, Brianna (November 4, 2002). "PW Talks With Eloisa James". Publishers Weekly . Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  15. 1 2 "A Little Background". Eloisa James Official Website. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  16. 1 2 Debbie. "ARR Interview with Eloisa James". A Romance Review. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  17. 1 2 "Eloisa on Being 'Outed'; A Knight in the Life; Passions of Faith and Fiction" (PDF). Avon Books. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  18. 1 2 3 Ward, Jean Marie (May 2005). "Eloisa James: Regencies With a Shakespearean Twist". Crescent Blues. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  19. ↑ Bass, Jessica. "Apple presents the best of 2018". Apple. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  20. ↑ Heller, Karen. "Heaving bosoms and joyous endings conquer Capitol Hill". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  21. ↑ Domingo, Diane (February 2005). "An Interview with Bestselling Author Eloise James". Writers Break. Archived from the original on February 14, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  22. ↑ "K.I.S.S. AND TEAL: AN INTERVIEW WITH ELOISA JAMES by Nancy Herkness, Reviewer, New York Journal of Books | New York Journal of Books". Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  23. ↑ Buonfiglio, Michelle (March 23, 2006). "AuthorView: Eloisa James". WNBC. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  24. ↑ "Eloisa James ~ New York Times Bestselling Author".

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.