A short peep into the scheme of 1930s romance writer Esperance, plus a note from occult author Dianthe Bells on the end of the breathless Victorian love novel. Somewhere today there remains a clutch of loyal romanticists who read and abide in love novels; who have pledged themselves to old-fashioned, virtuous romance, where the woman wins all by engaging her intelligence. Behind the powder-puff and roseate rouge, we have ladies with subtle strength.