Black historical romance novelist featured in Lilly Library

Black historical romance novelist Beverly Jenkins is known for centering Black love throughout history. This month, her work is being honored at IU Bloomington’s Lilly Library.

The award-winning author’s work is currently featured in the “Love in the Library: The Romance Novel in English” exhibit, which opened at Lilly Library on Aug. 19, 2024. Jenkins will join Lilly Library Curator of Modern Books Rebecca Baumann for a fireside chat-style conversation about her work followed by a book sale and signing and reception on Feb. 13.

“I’ve never seen an exhibition that has made people squeal, that has made people cry, that has gotten people as excited as this one,” Baumann told the Recorder. “The message of the exhibition is that love is for everyone at all times in history. It’s something that can resonate with anyone, and it is important for us to collect so that we can study it and see these parts of our culture that have kind of been hidden.”

Born in Michigan in 1951, Jenkins started her writing career in the late 1980s by accident.

According to Jenkins, she just wanted to work in the library but was “backed into” becoming an author after a friend “harassed her every day” to send the manuscript she’d been working on to Vivian Stephens, the first Black editor of Harlequin and founder of Romance Writers of America.

Her first book, “Night Song” was published in 1994. Now, approximately 31 years and 60 books later, Jenkins said the inspiration for her novels is “our history.”

“It’s so rooted in America, and it’s so untold and it’s so uncelebrated that it’s an easy subject for me, being a member of the race, and it’s stories I would have loved to read growing up,” Jenkins said. “All these stories about all these powerful women who are everyday women, are stories that I would love to have read growing up.”

Regardless of how one feels about the romance genre, Jenkins said these stories are important, not just for representation, but because of how they center Black love throughout history.

“You don’t see a lot of Black love on the screen … you don’t see Black women with a lot of agency on the small screen or the large screen,” Jenkins said. “I think the idea that we were there when this country was formed … It shows our spot in a history that has been neglectful in sharing our spot.”

Throughout history, African Americans have had great love stories, Jenkins said. Whether through times of slavery, war and the formation of this country, Black people experienced love that sustained them.

“I think if we hadn’t had that love, we wouldn’t be here, you know, to deal with this country, with all of its warts and lemons and lynchings and all of that,” Jenkins said. “You had to have something to come home to for solace and that love was there.”

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When she first started, Jenkins recalls being the only author writing African American historicals, but the genre has changed significantly over the years. Though it still isn’t where it should be, more women of color have “a seat at the table” writing, not just romance but all genres, Jenkins said.

“Love in the Library: The Romance Novel in English,” features a curated romance novel collection, including a signed first edition copy of Jenkins’ “Indigo” and a copy of “Topaz.” The exhibit will also spotlight works that highlight the amount of research that goes into historical fiction, Baumann said.

Lilly Library, which is the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Indiana University, was founded in 1960 after J.K Lilly Jr. — who was a firm believer in access to education and books — donated his collection to the University.

Today, the collection includes works such as the New Testament of the Gutenberg Bible, Shakespeare’s “First Folio,” one of the only copies of the first printing of “The Canterbury Tales,” the archives of Orson Welles, Kurt, Vonnegut Jr., Sylvia Plath and more.

However, the library did not have a dedicated collection of romance novels until recently.

In 2021, Lilly Library purchased the collection from Rebecca Romney, who is an author, co-founder of Type Punch Matrix and the rare books expert on “Pawn Stars.” Since then, the collection has been cataloged, processed and made available for research in combination with materials the library already had, Baumann said.

“Romance novels are primarily written and consumed by women,” Baumann said. “There have been long cultural stereotypes about them being formulaic, trashy, unimportant, and we wanted to be a part of Romney’s dream to change that narrative.”

The highlight of the exhibit, however, is a newly obtained copy of “Iola Leroy” by Frances E.W. Harper, the third novel to ever be published by an African American woman and the first in the genre of romance, Baumann said.

As part of the exhibit, Lilly Library is hosting a Q&A with Jenkins, entitled “Unsung Romance: A Conversation with Beverly Jenkins” that takes place at 5:30 p.m. on Feb.13. Registration for the event is full, but guests can access the live stream for free at https://bit.ly/4hDEvRd.

“Love in the Library: The Romance Novel in English” closes on Feb. 15, however, Baumann said the entire collection, including books featured in the exhibit, are available for viewing and research by anyone upon appointment. For more information, visit libraries.indiana.edu/lilly-library.

For more information about Beverly Jenkins, visit beverlyjenkins.net.

Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.