A comment I receive quite often on my book Burning Embers is that it’s reminiscent of an old movie – ‘romance like Hollywood used to make’ as one reviewer put it. The comparison got me to thinking about the difference between the style of romance we saw on the big screen in the Golden Age of Hollywood and that of today. What was it about romance then that has been lost today? Is it a good thing that romance had moved on, or ought we to look to the ‘good old days’ for inspiration? To find out, let us compare some basics of then and now, taking the 1930s as the ‘then’ point and the current decade as the ‘now’ point.

TYPICAL ROMANCE THEN

The first date

A walk someplace pretty, a drink in a café, a dance.

The movie

For the era, the very epitome of romance on the big screen must surely be Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind. Drama! Passion! Colour! Gallantry and gentility!

The book

Early Mills and Boon, with such simple romance as this:

“Happy, happy Christmas, Arthur dear.  I hope you like sausages for breakfast?”

“I do – better than anything,” he assured her, and wanted to add: “I love you, I love you.” [From In the Name of Love, by Guy Trent, 1936 – available to read, if you so wish, at Google Books.]

The song

Glen Miller’s ‘Moonlight Serenade’ (listen for yourself on YouTube). A song made for dancing.

The men women swooned over

Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, John Wayne – watch any of them in a movie from the era and you’ll soon see why!

The women men longed for and women aspired to be like

Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, Mary Pickford, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Ginger Rogers, Audrey Hepburn – elegant, beautiful, graceful, passionate.

Now compare this Golden Age with TYPICAL ROMANCE NOW

The date

Dinner or drinks, nearly always in the evening.

The movie

Les Misérables.

The book

Fifty Shades of Grey, a starkly erotic story in which a troubled man and a girl who is willing to be submissive fall in love.

The song

‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ by Labyrinth featuring Emeli Sandé.

The men women swoon over

Brad Pitt, Robert Pattinson, Harry Stiles, Bradley Cooper, David Beckham, Zac Efron, Ian Somerhalder… the list is endless!

The women men long for and women aspire to be like

Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Lawrence, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson… again, an endless array thanks to the cult of the celebrity.

THE VERDICT

Then, first dates were simple and more gentile, in tune with age-old courting customs. Now, first dates are more daring, more sexy. Has a little of the old magic rubbed off? Yes, I think perhaps so if the first date hurtles you into a relationship.

Then, romance on the big screen was epic, larger-than-life, tortuous, moving. Now, romance on the big screen can also be epic, larger-than-life, tortuous, moving – if the story is historical, though, as in the case of Les Mis. The modern love story, though? It’s often simpler, quieter, less epic, less fairytale in feel.

Then, the popular romantic literature was tame, you could say. Pure romance. Sweet and innocent. Now, so often it is erotica that tops the New York Times bestsellers list. Is erotica trampling on romance? Perhaps, when what we’re reading is not about love-making, but something involving less romance than that.

Then, the music was undeniably romantic – lilting, innocent, mood-creating. Now, there are plenty of romantic songs on offer, but are they quite so affecting?

Then, idols were revered for their roles on the big screen more than anything; inextricably wrapped up with their romantic characters. Now, celebrities abound, and it seems to me that they are adored and held up as models not for their work so much as their personal lives played out in the public eye.

My verdict? I can sum it up no better than in the words of the American writer Louisa May Alcott: ‘Good, old-fashioned ways keep hearts sweet.’