| Four bestsellers narrated by men. |
A pant from August 2012.There is discussion right now* on the Historical Novel Society's Yahoogroup whether women, who are said to be the greater number of readers of historical fiction, will read novels where the first person narrator is male. To be more exact, the question is whether these readers will buy these books.
It appears that certain publishers do not think so. I have heard from more than one author of historical fiction that although an editor might love a manuscript, the sales and marketing folks put the kaibosh on adding it to their catalog. They say it is too large a risk to publish a book with a male narrator. Women just won't buy them, and there are not enough men buying historical fiction to make up the loss.
I have two questions.
1. Is this even true?
2. What data are the publishers' sales departments using?
I can think of several novels off the top of my head that are narrated by men.
Bernard Cornwell's series The Warlord Chronicles and The Saxon Chronicles
Barry Unsworth's Morality Play
Brandy Purdy's The Confession of Piers Gaveston
Kate Sedley's Roger the Chapman mysteries
And I know there are many more. I read all of these enthusiastically, and last time I checked my DBA indicated I am female
(I suppose the next question is.. but am I female? Hmm... hadn't thought of that when I wrote this.)
I will save my rant on this subject for a later date. For now I want to hear what you have to say. Please take the anonymous poll in the upper right hand corner of this blog. Add specific comments by clicking on "Comments" below. We need to get to the bottom of this.
* Originally posted on 12/9/08.
I, personally, will read(and write)"male first person narratives". I don't really care if it's first person or 3rd person, nor whether the main character is male or female, as long as the situation is believable and plausible. I gernerally like Bernard Cornwell's stuff, though these are clearly what I call "guy books", I also enjoy reading "female perspective" books too; in some ways, they're easier for me, but not always; if they're too "girly" they kind of turn me off. I'm not inclined to read "pure women's fiction" either, unless it's very well done.
ReplyDeleteThat said, there are some kinds of authors(and readers), that make my "feminist hackles" rise. These are readers who will read ONLY books by or about women(they're pretty much cutting off their noses to spite their faces, IMO), or writers who say they aren't "comfortable" or find writing a "female"(yes, this is a mostly a "female POV" problem)POV. When I see this, I tend to wonder whether, particularly if they were women, they were socialized to regard what women "do" as somehow less worthy of notice, or to "always" identify with the males in their lives(e.g. "the marriage first" or the like). I am old enough to remember that age, though this kind of thinking is, fortunately, a good deal less commmon nowadays. Their books, if they're writers, may be enjoyable, but I continue to wonder. . . .
Anne G
I just think that's total bunk. I'm an avid reader and the sex of the narrator or that of the main or secondary characters matters not. In fact, most of the female leads and narrators I find banal. I think that's some sexist line fed by some "market" guru trying to substantiate his or her salary. At best, it's a bogus assumption put forth by the ignorant.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not true! I'll happily read books featuring male narrators. I love Cornwell's books, for example, although before you I hadn't met another woman who read them. I also just read Dissolution by C.J. Sansom, definitely narrated by a guy, but definitely very enjoyable and read by other women. What a strange assumption. I hate that sexism is getting between us and good books because of publishers!
ReplyDeleteMeghan, my only problem with Cornwell is deciding whether I am in love with Uhtred or want to be him! That pretty much goes for Thomas of Hookton, Richard Sharpe, Lord Dervel, and his other heroes too.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone done a study on the age of those said marketing people? Are they old enough to work yet? I realize I'm being petty, but honestly how childish is that?
ReplyDeleteI have a great idea, why don't they sell books that are enjoyable to read. Why should the gender of the voice matter if the story is brilliant?
I would guess that 99% of all books I have gotten as recordings or have borrowed from the library have been recorded by male voices. This covers a wide variety of genres, from non fiction to Historical fiction or fantasy. I actually find most male voices more pleasing to the ear over a long period, less fatiguing to listen to. I will admit that it would be rather strange to hear a feminine POV story read by a male, however. I would love to see Sharon Kay Penman books recorded and a male voice would be perfectly fine with me!
ReplyDeleteSex of the narrator, author or characters is a red herring. I certainly don't care. I'm too busy reading.
ReplyDelete