To Neanderthal or Not—that is the question!

            When Lucienne asked me to write about historical heroes, I said, “Of course I can!  I know just what to do!” Why?  Because, frankly, that’s what I always say to industry professionals.  And then I figure it out (whatever “it” is) when I’m off the phone.

            Now don’t get me wrong.  I have a lot of opinions about historical heroes, especially my own.  I tend to like the dark, tortured ones.  They’re powerful, brooding men that can only release their personal demons through my heroine’s love, advice, and usually a brutal slap upside the head.  “Duh,” she says both physically and metaphorically, “that wasn’t your fault.  Get over it!  We’ve got a bad guy to vanquish!”  Or then there’s the ever popular, “Duh, you’re not responsible for <blank>!”  The blank could be anything from a childhood trauma to global warming.  Oops!  We’re not talking about present problems, but historical ones.

            But you see, there’s the problem!  My heroes tend to be dark, tortured men whether they’re written in a historical time period or the present.  So what makes a historical hero special?

            Well, my regency era heroes get to wear cool clothes and go to balls.  They need to be witty in an urbane kind of way, My Chinese heroes are physically dominant (gotta love those kung-fu heroes!), but more they have mystical energy training that makes them unique in the white heroine’s perspective.  But none of that is uniquely historical.  Contemporary heroes can have kung-fu powers, wear cool clothes, and be snarky.  So what makes a historical hero special?

            The only thing I could come up with is that a historical hero can be more alpha.  After all, he’s a product of his time.  It’s much more acceptable for a guy from 1800 to have neanderthal attitudes about women.  That “me man, you my woman” <grunt, grunt> is certainly a product of the time.  A contemporary hero with that attitude just feels out-of-date.  Military guys get away with it, as does the occasional Greek tycoon and werewolf, but in general, we expect our men nowadays to be more egalitarian in their attitudes toward women.

            So that leads to the obvious question.  Why oh why do we love those neanderthal men?  Why do we dive into the regency, the medieval, even cowboy/Indian west to get that alpha male domination?  (Well, aside from the fact that I like going to balls or pretending that I’m prancing around with Shakespeare in Love.)

            My answer?  My heroine is powerful, so she needs a powerful man to match her in an exciting, titanic, clash of wills.  That makes their love all that more amazing.  And frankly–historical or contemporary–who doesn’t want a powerful man on his knees before you saying, “I will devote all my considerable power, status, and devotion to you and our children.  We’re bonded forever.  I will never leave you and I will protect you and our children with my very last breath.”

            Wow!  How amazing is that?  To have a guy who started the book thinking you were just a pitiful little woman, ending the story on his knees before you That’s a great story!

            So now it’s your turn.  Did I miss anything?  Why do you like a historical hero?  And yes, I did miss something.  A side note that I couldn’t fit anywhere else.  Historically, society was much more stratified, so the h/h have that particular problem to overcome whereas in the present, there are much fewer obstacles to marrying rich/poor, Protestant/Catholic, Chinese/Caucasian, etc.  But I’m sure I missed something else!  And one lucky commenter will get a free Jade Lee book–contemporary, historical, or fantasy romance, your choice!

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Jade Lee

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Dragonbound  April 09

The Concubine (Blaze historical) Feb 09

Winter Heat (anthology)  Jan 09

The Dragon Earl  Sept 08