reviews_and_ramblings | Emilie Loring (1864

Emilie Baker Loring (1864 - March 13, 1951) was a prolific American romance novelist of the 20th century. She began writing in 1914 at the age of 50 and continued until her death after a long illness in 1951. After her death, her estate was managed by her sons, Selden M. and Robert M. Loring, who, based on a wealth of unfinished material they discovered, published twenty more books under her name until 1972. These books were ghost-written by Elinore Denniston.

Emilie Loring was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1864 to George M. Baker and Emily Frances (Boles) Baker. Her father was a playwright and publisher and her mother was a homemaker. Loring married Victor J. Loring, who was a lawyer. She died in Wellesley, Massachusetts on March 13, 1951. At the time of her death, Loring had sold more than a million copies of her first thirty books.

Loring's son, Selden M. Loring was also an author. He wrote Young Buckskin Spy (Lantern Press, 1954) and Mighty Magic: An Almost-True Story of Pirates and Indians (Holliday House, 1964).

The Papers of Emilie Loring are housed in The Archives, Department of Special Collections, Boston University, Mugar Memorial Library.

Her books are highly formulaic and focus on the "wholesome love" and independent spirit of women who still value homemaking and motherhood. There are no sexual situations in her novels, and most are tinged with action-adventure plots that stimulate the main characters' emotions and provide drama. It was not until the 1960s that her male characters were allowed to say "damn." The majority of her novels are not overtly religious, although a few of her novels do give reference to prayer to a greater or lesser degree, or have clergy as secondary characters, such as Gay Courage, published in 1936. Her novel Swift Water outlines her religious views most explicitly, as her main character undergoes a conversion of sorts. Most of her novels include heroines who come to rely on a higher power as part of their character development. She waxes philosophical about a selection of topics including, but not limited to marriage, love, American patriotism, freedom, and optimism.

There are several repeating motifs in her work that annoy some readers and amuse others. Among them are a girl who is twenty-three with red hair, a dark-haired lawyer or aspiring politician for a hero, a quotation-spouting secondary character, a fan back chair, a Mandarin coat, a Chinese lacquer screen (room divider), New England as a setting or character trait (“New England granite”), and a black-and-white spotted dog. She also favored the surname "Shaw," which was the maiden name of Herman Melville's wife, who was the daughter of noted Massachusetts jurist, Lemuel Shaw. The middle name of both her sons is Melville. Given what we know of her life, for example her connections to New England, the name "Shaw", and lawyers, it is possible that these recurring details are somewhat autobiographical.

She has a habit of describing every flower in sight, as well as the outfits of the heroine and supporting characters in detail. Like time capsules, a great deal can be learned about the dress, etiquette, social classes, and political and economic conditions of the year each book was written in. Commonly used plot-lines in her novels are the Lost Will, Ward Grows Up, Orphaned Girl, Sickly Sister, Marriage of Convenience/Contract, and Already Secretly Married.

Emilie Loring has several pet phrases including: "gay courage," "try, everlastingly try," and "ideas and ideals." Her book Beyond the Sound of Guns (1945) is referenced nine times in America’s Popular Sayings: Over 1600 Expressions on Topics from Beauty to Money and Everything In Between by Gregory Titelman, all for phrases that are actually quotes or paraphrases from someone else. (If only Gregory had read the other forty-nine books…).

First Book - The Trail of Conflict (1922)

Last Book - The Shining Years (1972)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilie_Loring