This romance novel is from 1990 so it should be old school, ie. super male testosterone all over, the female who first hates him, but then cannot resist his "manly ways" Yep. A lot of that was there. (Hint: cover had Fabio)
However, this novel was also historical and set in1069 when William the Conqueror was still consolidating his claim to England. The fictional main character in the book is his main warrior, Rolfe. Blond, handsome, brave, musclebound, etc. etc. The fictional main female is Ceidre, half-sister to the actual Lady Alice sister of Edwin and Morcar, Saxon lords who had large land holdings and switched sides of the wars depending on the outcomes. They swore fealty to William after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but then rebelled a couple of other times. It was a bad time to be on the wrong side.
So, Rolfe does all the wenching and woman restricting things in the book that are typically in early romances, but, in this case, it is all historically accurate for the culture of the time period. When he "takes her", it is his right. When he forces her to obey him, or locks her up in a tower; he can actually do that because he has ultimate power. The unrealistic part is that she falls in love with him. Perhaps it is the earliest instance of Stockholm Sydrome. All in all, it was an interesting book.
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