There was a time when people actually enjoyed reading about women in distress and how the love of their lives came to save them. If you look at traditional Disney movies, this happened quite a bit. Whether it was sleeping beauty being poisoned by the evil witch or Snow White who had taken a bite out of the apple, it was only Prince Charming that could come and save them. In many romantic pieces that have a historical context, these are the kind of women you going to meet.
It is these kinds of Cinderella stories that are going to push the envelope when it comes to your readers. The reality is that many modern female readers are not attracted to the storyline one bit.
Instead, modern female readers want to see a strong heroic figure who can take care of herself. Perhaps, this woman doesn't even need a man even though she's a character in a romantic story. Many females pride themselves on being able to take care of themselves and they want respect from both other women and the men they are dating. The Cinderella storyline where they need to earn respect prior to being accepted as part of the plot is simply not appealing anymore.
Break the rules
It is possible that you're going to face a challenge if you want to write accurate historical novels about romance. Many historical adventures focus on the weaker woman who is trying to find reason and love in a chaotic world, where only a man can save her. Perhaps the men's social status gave them enough power to save women from their issues - and possibly from themselves.
But this hasn't scared off any modern-day authors. Sometimes, fiction writing is all about testing the conventions and breaking the rules. If you going to popular sites, such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble, you're going to find historical and even paranormal romance novels where the woman is in complete charge of her destiny.
She doesn't need to earn respect to get ahead and she may even have the power to choose who she gets to date or even marry. Unlike the traditional romance novels, these modern-day ladies are calling the shots and they decide who they want to be with for the rest of their lives.
How do publishers feel about this?
Publishers are always looking for the new great idea that's going to be the next bestseller. If you have a way of twisting a historical convention with a tad bit of love and craft a beautiful story about how two people fall in love, then you might have a bestseller. It's all about finding out what the readers want and giving it to them - even if you have to break some rules.
What do you think about creating a strong female lead in a historical romance? Are you ready to break the rules to see if you have a bestseller in your hand?