The master's new governess
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Non-Traditional Research Output
Original Creative Work
Document Type
Non-Traditional Research Output
Date of Publication
2020
Location of the Work
Toronto, Canada
Research Statement
Research Background
The Master’s New Governess, set in 1885, is the story of Maud Wilmot, a governess who has been dismissed without references following a sexual assault by her employer. In Victorian England, many governesses were at the mercy of such unscrupulous employers. Governesses were expected to provide both academic and moral education, often for low pay and in insecure conditions, and any slur on their character could be ruinous. The work was created in the context of the contemporary #MeToo movement and current scholarly attention to popular romance and its relevance in reflecting and shaping current knowledge about gender, sexuality and power.
Research Contribution
The work explored questions around the abuse of governesses in their workplace/home in Victorian England. Data on governesses who experienced sexual abuse is limited. Advice to contemporaneous employers recommends hiring ‘plain governesses’ to not entice gentlemen, and advice to governesses on how to handle employer relationships. The instability of their employment led to the creation of The Governesses’ Benevolent Fund (to which Maud Wilmot turns). Maud’s response to trauma was informed by research into sexual abuse/trauma response and therapies. #MeToo informed the representation of desire between lovers in Harlequin romances, via the intertwined concepts of consensuality, and the concept of Intimate Civility-developed by Boyd, with Grobbelaar, Gringart, Bender, and Williams (2019) argues for an interpersonal ethics that can re-situate men and women as working together within the frame of gender ethics in navigating intimate relationships.
Research Significance
The work is published by leading publisher Harper Collins. The work been translated into Italian, Swedish and Danish. The work was a finalist in the 2020 Australian Romance Readers Award and Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society (UK) and critically analysed in the forthcoming Popular Romance in the 21st Century.
Publisher
Harper Collins (Harlequin Historical Imprint)
School
School of Arts and Humanities
RAS ID
36339
ISBN
9781335505491
Copyright
subscription content
Comments
Reid Boyd, E. (2020). The master's new governess. Harper Collins. https://www.millsandboon.com.au/products/the-masters-new-governess