Her pink highness

Queen of Kitsch, they called her, but surely she was more than that. For generations of women, Barbara Cartland she of the pink, pink clot...

Queen of Kitsch, they called her, but surely she was more than that. For generations of women, Barbara Cartland she of the pink, pink clothes and big, black eyelashes who passed away in London just before her 99th birthday, was the icon when it came to love, life, romance. All the world was a stage and all men and women mere actors, playing their roles till they fell in love. That was when life began to be lived was the message that trickled through her hundreds of books. And even though the beautiful world was unmasked to show its not-so-beautiful side over the years, her books continued to be sugar-coated truffles.

Amelia found her Sir Maurice and Jane was happily ensconced in Lord Young8217;s arms. Churning out romance after romance, this one-woman industry at her peak wrote 23 novels in an year. Not for her the violent undertones and sinister overtones to love, as seen in that vengeful, destructive and yet beautiful saga of love, Wuthering Heights. No siree.

All was beautiful with the world for her. Her chaste, almost pious, heroines bumbled through life, then through romance. Nothing was impossible, no problem was insurmountable as long as you had your nose buried in one of her happily-ever-after tales. For this was a woman for whom the colour grey did not exist. Everything was black and white, the demarcation strong. So the heroine and hero were sugar and spice and all that8217;s nice and the villains those colonels and majors contriving to wreck the path of true love were all vice. Somewhat like the Shammi Kapoor-Asha Parekh filmi sagas of yesteryears where misunderstandings and moustache-twirling villains were what stood between the good guy and gal.

As compared to now, when every writer worth his words writes with an eye on the main chance literary acclaim and awards this was a writer who was refreshingly unpretentious. Seven hundred books later, with translations being read all over the world, and a Parisian gold medal for 8220;services to romance8221; under her belt, this pink-clothed overweight Barbie doll was still doing what she knew best. Rendering service to romance.

A Virgin in Mayfair, Cupid Rides Pillion and hundreds others in which the heart always ruled over the head, no matter what the consequences, have charmed giggly schoolgirls, urban sophisticates and suburban mamas for decades now. And how could anyone forget the highly under-rated Blue Heather. Unlike her other books, which stressed on the soft heart of the heroine, this girl-meets-boy tale revelled in the character8217;s brain. Ready to face all odds to get her due, Mayda and the storyline literally ran as the characters rushed from one place to another in search of the newly-invented blue heather. And of course, true love.

And although some of her views sex before marriage was unacceptable for her, particularly for women struck one as out of sync, one made adjustments keeping in mind that this storyteller was older than one8217;s grandmother. And it would have to be one hell of a liberal grandmom who would turn a blind eye to things like that, wouldn8217;t it?

An Englishman should always be a gentleman, the Church should take a lead on matters of morals, young people should be brought up in a family environment where the wife does not need to go out to work. Views behind the times, yes, but after all, say fans, they proved that her heart was in the right place.And although critics may have carped, there is no denying the fact that she brought joy to many. She provided wings to the imagination of many whose life was not exactly what they had dreamed of. For in these times, when love brings with it unwanted images, she fed them on magical imagery that happily led them through the covers of a Barbara Cartland.

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It is for this the happiness untold that she brought her fans that Dame Barbara Cartland will forever be remembered.