‘What will you do with yourself when you grasp that your mind is only different, not deranged?’: Madness and Neurodivergent Heroes in Historical Romance Novels
While there has been a noticeable increase in contemporary romance novels with neurodiversity representation, historical romance novels with autistic-coded characters should not be overlooked. This paper aims to analyse the representation of neurodiversity in two historical romance novels: The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley and The Lawrence Browne Affair by Cat Sebastian, arguing that today, the “madness” of the protagonists would be recognised as neurodivergence, specifically autism. However, the love interests consistently disagree with the perception that the protagonists are mad, arguing instead that their minds are simply different, and they encourage the protagonists to embrace these differences and their unique expressions of emotions. Consequently, the novels offer contemporary readers who are familiar with the contemporary notion of autism a historical context for the ongoing debate on whether autism should be considered a disorder, or a form of neurodivergence. Additionally, there is a contrasting representation of autism as genius, as the protagonists are characterised as both madmen and geniuses. The novels also depict four forms of isolation – voluntary, involuntary, emotional and physical — as a consequence of the protagonists’ neurodivergence, which they believe to have inherited from their abusive fathers.
When asked about her motivation behind creating a character such as Ian, Ashley responded: “I wrote about Ian because I got to pondering how people in the past dealt with autism or Aspergers” (Ashley 2009). In addition to the detailed descriptions of Ian’s thinking process and behaviour, arguably the most valuable aspect of the novel is indeed its depiction of how he was treated by others. (53)
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The conceptualisation of the protagonists’ madness as a difference rather than as a disorder or impairment is particularly important, especially considering the time period in which the novels are set.
Through characters in novels such as The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie and The Lawrence Brown Affair, authors can direct the reader’s attention to an issue that they otherwise might not be aware of. They have the platform to create and subsequently promote positive representation of the autism spectrum and neurodiversity in general. Specifically, what both novels ultimately achieve is telling the stories of two men who are “mad”, yet they do not change to fit into society, nor are they “cured” by their partner’s love. Instead, their character development is in allowing themselves to be their most genuine selves in a safe environment, unconditionally loved by a supportive partner. (63)
Here's the abstract:
Parts of this article were adapted and incorporated into the author's PhD thesis, Happily Ever After, Differently: Reimagining Autism and Intimacy in Popular Romance Novels.
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