The Older Man
Madeline Hunter posted this on Nov 4th 2009 under Madeline Hunter, When Goddesses Fall To Earth
My very first experience with romance novels was a bust. I did not “get it”, even though I found the historical setting fascinating. I did not find the hero compelling. Frankly, he scared me.
He was an older man to me. I was about twenty and the hero was about thirty-five, and this was old-school historical romance. All that alpha, domineering, overtly sexual stuff alarmed me. He was too much like my last bad date. I was at a real disadvantage with him.
My tastes changed as I got older. A lot. And while I love the young guys in our Sunday FROS posts, I would never want a relationship with one. Nor do I find romance novels where the hero is older than the heroine, even by ten years or so, alarming and unappealing. I don’t have a stake in those dynamics anymore. Actually, I like romances in which the man is an “older man”, whatever that might mean. I like the interplay of the innocent who thinks she is more worldly than she is, and the man who really is more worldly, and is protective as a result.
We have had a lot of pictures of Hugh Jackman on this blog. I must say that when a picture of him when he was young went up, it startled me. Oh, he was gorgeous, but I must admit that I like Hugh the way he is now, a little lined and more mature. I felt that way about Clint Eastwood. He peaked, visually speaking, in his 40s for me. Actors younger than 30 or 35 appear too smooth and untried, too slick, to me now. An older man’s face has character to it.
Do you appreciate the older man? Do you like them in romance novels? Did your taste on this change as you got older, the way mine did?
Any famous older men whom you particularly appreciate? 













Okay, Karen Hawkins is doing a FROS world tour, but my eye is closer to home. Everybody’s talking about Wolverine this week. And I’ve seen the movie twice. But as many of you know, and however much I admire Hugh Jackman in all his shirtless glory, I’m a Gambit gal. I love that Cajun master thief and mutant, and today I am generously sharing him with you.




Hello! First let me say how privileged and terrified I feel to be visiting this Pantheon. Call me a major fangirl.
When she mentioned Petticoat Whalers I thought it was a monograph on corset makers. In fact it’s about women on whaling ships. A heroine on a whaler? Lots of men to chose from: good. Lack of privacy: bad.
Where do you read or write?
Coffee















