‘Epic romance like Hollywood used to make’ is how one British newspaper described my novel The Echoes of Love. I had never thought of my writing in that way before, but as soon as I read the review, I loved this comparison – because I love the epic romances of the silver screen.

The reviewer was referring, I am sure, to the movies of the Golden Age of Hollywood – or as film critics term it, ‘classical’ Hollywood cinema. This period began in the 1910s and ran through until the 1960s, and it was characterised by a particular film-making style, a way of shaping the stories, of acting, of shooting and of directing. Golden Age movies include classics like The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, A Streetcar Named Desire and Citizen Kane.

When I think of the Golden Age, I think of big – epic – stories full of emotion and drama in which relatable characters go on a defined journey of self-discovery. Romanticism was key, and favoured over realism.

But of course, the Golden Age represented so much more than the actual movies; this was the dawn of stardom. Actors and actresses embodied an intoxicating blend of glitz and glamour, fame and fortune. The Golden Age gave us so many stars with whom audiences fell in love: actors like Cary Grant, James Stewart, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster and Gregory Peck, and actresses like Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman, Rita Hayworth, Audrey Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren, Doris Day, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor.

We know now that these movie stars were rigidly controlled and moulded by the Big Five studios that made all films (MGM, Paramount, Fox, Warner Bros and RKO); quite often the actors weren’t, in fact, living the dream as was portrayed. But as I have mentioned, the Golden Age was about romanticism, not realism, and the stars and the roles they played provided escapism and inspiration to audiences.

Certainly in my teens, I was swept up in the romanticism that was characteristic of the Golden Age. When I was fourteen, I went to a reception at the Hotel Salamlek in Alexandria that was being held as part of an international film and television festival, and I met several heartthrobs of the day: Roger Moore, Robert Conrad, Gardner Mackay and Richard Burton. Naturally, this encounter inspired the romantic dreamer in me.

As the years passed, the Golden Age ended, but I never stopped dreaming, never stopped loving the sentiments and glamour of the epic romances of that era. And when, finally, my children were grown and I began to pursue my lifelong dream of writing, it seemed the most natural progression in the world that my muse whisper to me emotional, dramatic, passionate stories.

Looking back now, I can see how the Golden Age was an inspiration for me. Yes, I do write ‘epic romances like Hollywood used to make’ – and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Photo credits: 1) public domain/Wikipedia; 2) Philip Pilosian/Shutterstock.com; 3) all public domain/Wikipedia.