Pam Rosenthal is a Brooklyn-born author of erotic historical

romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimis ...

s. Under the pseudonym Molly Weatherfield, she has written erotic novels in the

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged in ...

genre ("bondage, domination and sadomasochism"). She and her husband Michael Rosenthal were part owners of the Modern Times bookstore in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Biography

Writer

Rosenthal's first Weatherfield novel ''Carrie's Story'' made number 12 on Playboy.com's list of the 25 Sexiest Novels Ever Written. The novel has gone through sixteen printings since its publication in 1995. ''Carrie's Story'' and its sequel ''Safe Word'' (named for the BDSM term

safeword In BDSM, a safeword is a code word, series of code words or other signal used by a person to communicate their physical or emotional state, typically when approaching, or crossing, a physical, emotional, or moral boundary. Some safewords are use ...

) are influenced by the erotic classic ''

Story of O ''Story of O'' (french: Histoire d'O, link=no, ) is an erotic novel published in 1954 by French author Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage, and published in French by Jean-Jacques Pauvert. Desclos did not reveal herself as the auth ...

''.

Critic and essayist

Like Jennifer Crusie, Rosenthal takes a scholarly interest in the romance genre. Rosenthal has reviewed literary biography and fiction for

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ...

and other newspapers and magazines. In 2010 Rosenthal participated in an academic conference held in Brussels by the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance. Diverging from much of the current academic and scholarly production on romance, her critical work does not primarily focus on vindicating the genre and its values (a project furthered in recent years by, among others, Crusie,

Jayne Ann Krentz Jayne Ann Krentz, née Jayne Castle (born March 28, 1948 in Cobb, California, United States), is an American writer of romance novels. Krentz is the author of a string of ''New York Times'' bestsellers under seven different pseudonyms. Now, she ...

, Mary Bly, Sarah MacLean and Jen Prokop, Pamela Regis, Maya Rodale, Candy Tan and Sarah Wendell,Candy Tan and Sarah Wendell, ''Beyond Heaving Bosoms'' Fireside; (April 14, 2009), Cf. http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ and others), but rather pursues a formal inquiry, based in both her own experience with genre conventions and the hermeneutic practices of queer theory adapted to the cultural studies tradition usually traced to

Raymond Williams Raymond Henry Williams (31 August 1921 – 26 January 1988) was a Welsh socialist writer, academic, novelist and critic influential within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the media and literature contribut ...

Themes

While satisfying the requirements of the romance genre, Rosenthal's work also exhibits some features typical of literary novels but infrequently found in genre romance, including the development of symbolic themes. Her approximately "Regency-set" historical romances are unusual in the genre for their relatively unvarnished depiction of the period's inequalities, violence and physical hardships. The genre generally requires softening the depiction of the life of servants and the working class, but Rosenthal's work demonstrates an awareness of the elitism of the genre's formulae, and develops the labouring class figures in her world into compelling secondary characters.

Books

As Molly Weatherfield: *''Carrie's Story'' 1995 *''Safe Word'' 1998 As Pam Rosenthal: *''Almost a Gentleman'' 2003 *''The Bookseller's Daughter'' 2004 *''The Slightest Provocation'' 2006 *''The Edge of Impropriety'' 2008

References

External links

Author's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Pam 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American romantic fiction writers American feminist writers American historical novelists American women novelists BDSM writers RITA Award winners Living people Women romantic fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Women historical novelists Year of birth missing (living people) Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers