About seven years ago, I stood in Eason's on O'Connell Street (in Dublin, as opposed to the Limerick one) marvelling at the sheer scope of Mills and Boon romances. Up to that point, they had not exactly been a presence in my life - and I was particularly struck by the enormous selection of "Medical Romance" titles. Naively I had no idea that doctors were a particularly attractive group. Honest.
Anyway, I toyed with the idea of writing an article for the medical press on said books. But I didn't. And, ultimately, UCD's own Dr Brendan Kelly did: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7061887.stm - earning him the glory of appearing not only in the Lancet but on the BBC website.
It's an interesting read - especially that "there were no psychiatrists in the novels he [Brendan Kelly] looked at and it seems surgeons stand a better chance of finding love in the workplace"
I would perhaps have methodological issues with the study. At least Dr Kelly openly acknowledges his possible biases.
As the title of this post suggest, it does make you think what other professions could lend themselves to romantic novel writing...
3 comments:
Psychiatrists do feature in fiction quite a bit but not romance (Sorry Seamus). There seems to be 2 threads to this body of work: either they have an almost unnatural insight into people's motivations or behaviour or they are deviant. Hannibal Lector is perhaps the classic example of the latter. The psychiatrist in MASH who brilliantly diagnoses (& quickly cures) the source of Hawkeye's mania is an example of the former.
For much the same reason nurses are inevitably caring, accountants are introverted & boring [okay, that is true].
The wit,modesty,gallantry and damn rugged handsomeness of economists has yet to be fully reflected in any artistic medium.
good synopsis of psychiatrists but economists have done reasonably well actually - keynes features in a few films and novels (e.g. Wittgenstein). John Nash is given a very favourable telling in Beautiful mind. Charlie Sheen's US President in the West Wing is a Nobel Winner and all-round rugged good guy. my own forthcoming novel about a handsome economist from down the country who solves murders with behavioural economic intuitions is sure to set the pace.
Only if it is published before my Mills & Boon romance "Monetarism by moonlight".
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