Bertrice Small

bertrice small
Bertrice Small

The Queen of Erotic Historical Romance

Life and Death of Bertrice Small

Bertrice Small was an erotic historical romance pioneer and bodice ripper trailblazer.

Small was born Bertrice Williams in Manhattan, New York City, NY on December 9, 1937. She was married for almost 50 years to George Small.

A Native New Yorker, she lived on eastern Long Island for 30 years, in the oldest English settlement in New York, the town of Southhold.

She passed away on February 24, 2015, at the age of 77 due to kidney failure. She was in the midst of writing her final book. Sudden Pleasures, a contemporary romance was finally released in June 2021.

Her husband predeceased her in 2012. Small left behind a son named Tom, and several grandchildren.

the kadin
The Kadin, Bertrice Small, Avon, 1978

Writing Career

Her first two books were published by Avon. 1978 saw the release of The Kadin. This book was unique in that the heroine shared her hero with other women in a harem. The story was less a romance than the historical saga of Scottish-born heroine, Janet Leslie/ Cyra Hafise.

This was followed by Love Wild and Fair, the tale of another Scottish beauty, Cat Leslie, and her lover Francis.

Small’s next several books, including her most famous, Skye O’Malley, were contracted to Ballantine.

Skye O'Malley bertrice small

It wasn’t until she published the third entry in the O’Malley saga, A Love For all Time with Signet Books, that Small’s cover art would be as distinctive as Johanna Lindsey’s.

This cover–designed by the great Elaine Duillo–was rather controversial and some stores refused to sell it. Why? Look at heroine, Aiden, as she holds her hand to her breast. Some people thought she was pinching her nipple in excitement, and that was too much for booksellers.

With Elaine Duillo’s cheeky sensuality, who knows? To me, it could go either way.

After the controversy over this gorgeous cover, Small’s books would almost exclusively be designed by Duillo.

Small maintained a lifetime friendship with the artist. She purchased much of the original cover art for her books and decorated her home with the beautiful paintings. Duillo’s final cover before retirement was Small’s 2003’s Vixens.

vixens small duillo

Erotic Romance Pioneer

Not only was Bertrice Small one of the original dames of the historical romance genre, but she was also one of the most graphic erotic romance writers. She would earn the moniker “Lust’s Leading Lady” from her many fans.

Despite her penchant for euphemisms and prose so purple it made you think about real purple parts of the body, Small knew how to write some kink. She upped the ante in explicit sex in romances and introduced terms like “manroots,” “honey ovens,” “love-grottos,” and “love juices.”

adora san julain

Many of her early works involved a stunning, perfect heroine falling in love with her hero, then somehow getting separated from him via capture/enslavement/forced marriage with another man. She would be seduced by an exotic lover to new realms of sensual delights and then later reunite with husband #1 in eternal sexual bliss, or some variation thereof.

Small’s books would span all time periods, from ancient Rome and Constantinople to medieval Wales, and from Tudor and Stuart England to India under the Mughal Khans.

Later in her career, Small wrote mostly books set in Scotland, Renaissance Italy, and a paranormal series about a world of fairies, Hetar.

a-distant-tomorrow-world-of-hetar-small

My Bertrice Small Experience

Although, as a fellow Long Islander, I have lived most of my life not too far from Ms. Small’s home, I only discovered her works later in my romance reading days, somewhere in the late 1990s. Up until then, I had not appreciated how groundbreaking she was in the genre’s history.

My personal favorites were the over-the-top Skye O’Malley, its sequel All the Sweet Tomorrows, and the Roman-era Beloved.

Bertrice Small’s Legacy

Her books may have been controversial, but Small had a fiercely devoted following.

Bodice ripper lovers cannot deny the lasting effect Bertrice Small left in the world of erotic and historical romance.

“Your being contains mine; now I am truly part of you. Together as one, we form an unbroken circle of love.”

WILD JASMINE

Sweet Savage Book Reviews

Bertrice Small Covers

Backlist

BookGenrePub DateOur Rating
The KadinHRFeb-19783 stars
Love Wild and FairHRDec-19783 stars
AdoraHRMay-1980
Skye O’MalleyHROct-19804 stars
UnconqueredHRDec-1981
BelovedHRJul-19834 stars
All the Sweet TomorrowsHRApr-19844 stars
This Heart of MineHRAug-19853 stars
A Love for All TimeHRJul-19863 stars
Enchantress MineHRNov-19872 stars
Blaze WyndhamHRMay-1988
Lost Love FoundHRFeb-1989
The SpitfireHRSep-1990
A Moment in TimePNRSep-19911.5 stars
Wild JasmineHRAug-19924 stars
To Love AgainHRJun-1993
Love, Remember MeHRMay-1994
The Love SlaveHRMar-1995
HellionHRJan-1996
Darling JasmineHRSep-1997
BetrayedHRJan-19983 stars
DeceivedHRMay-19982 stars
The InnocentHRApr-19991 star
BedazzledHRJul-19991.5 stars
Ecstasy (ss)HRSep-1999
BesiegedHRMar-2000
A Memory of LoveHRJul-20001.5 stars
Mastering Lady Lucinda (ss)HROct-2000
IntriguedHRFeb-2001
The DuchessHRJul-2001
Just Beyond TomorrowHRFeb-2002
The Awakening (ss)HRJun-2002
RosamundHROct-2002
VixensHRFeb-2003
Until YouHROct-2003
Zuleika and Her Barbarian (ss)HRDec-2003
The Dragon Lord’s DaughtersHRFeb-2004
Private PleasuresCRJul-2004
PhilippaHROct-2004
LaraFRJun-2005
The Last HeiressHROct-2005
A Distant TomorrowFRMay-2006
Forbidden PleasuresRJul-2006
A Dangerous LoveHROct-2006
The Twilight LordFRMay-2007
Sudden PleasuresRJun-2007
The Border Lord’s BrideHROct-2007
The Sorceress of BelmairFRMay-2008
Dangerous PleasuresRAug-2008
The Captive HeartHROct-2008
The Shadow QueenFRApr-2009
The Border Lord and the LadyHROct-2009
Crown of DestinyFRMay-2010
Passionate PleasuresCRAug-2010
The Border VixenHROct-2010
Guilty PleasuresCRAug-2011
Bond of PassionHROct-2011
BiancaHROct-2012
FrancescaHRApr-2013
LuciannaHROct-2013
Sudden PleasuresCRMay-2021

Links

NY TIMES: BERTRICE SMALL OBITUARY

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