If you read books from a variety of authors in this genre, you may have found that there is a wide range of physical contact to be found among books claiming to be clean romance (also called sweet, pure, or proper romance). Authors seem to have their own steam branding: they might end each book with a chaste kiss or have a multi-page make-out scene. Whatever they choose, they often don’t vary far from their branded steam level from novel to novel.
Following are some of the physical interactions that may find their way into many of these romances.
Social Distancing Romance
If you read clean romance written before 1900, there’s a good chance your characters won’t even hold hands, much less kiss. Sure, there might be dancing, but nineteenth century writers are more likely to focus on the conversation between the dance partners than the physical contact. These books are usually set in the same time period they publish, so they are not true historical romance.
Fade to Kiss
Georgette Heyer invented the historical fiction sub-genre we call regency romance nearly a hundred years ago. She often (not always) ended her romances right before the first kiss. My favorite version of “fade to kiss” can be found on the last page of her novel Cotillion.
Sealed with a Kiss
The most chaste of clean romances published nowadays is just a step up from “fade to kiss,” with the profession of love and a simple kiss found near the final page.
The Skirt Brush
The full skirts of Georgian and Victorian women can inadvertently brush the legs of gentlemen they sit near, walk near, or dance with. The gentleman’s awareness of the close contact is what makes this interesting.
Dancing
While dance partners think they are focused on their witty banter, sometimes the readers are more focused on the choreographed touch.
Hand Holding
If you swoon over the hand flex in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice, you understand the importance of a simple touch. Many historical characters are portrayed wearing gloves. Are gloves a cover for more intimate connection, or an annoyance your character wants to be rid of, like Fletcher Walker in The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden? Our gentleman has been more interested in kissing his lady’s gloved fingertips than the opera when–“He unbent her fingers and palm to palm, turned her hand in his. ‘I’m not overly fond of gloves.'”
The Horse Dismount
The easiest way to get a gentleman’s hands around a lady’s waist (or her hands on his shoulders) is when he chivalrously offers to help her dismount.
The Embrace
A friendly hug isn’t often found in historical romance novels, but it can be. “Miss Stanton-Lacy returned his embrace with fervor,” is found near the end of The Grand Sophy, by Georgette Heyer. The reader is left to wonder what the author meant.
Wet Shirt Contest
Whether he’s caught in a rainstorm or swimming mostly clothed, if you like your protagonist in a clinging white shirt (a la Pemberley) this can be an effective technique. See Manor for Sale, Baron Included by Esther Hatch for an excellently executed pond scene.
Lost My Shirt
Some authors manage to sneak in a brief scene with a shirtless male protagonist. I have to admit, it takes some creativity to pull that off convincingly in a historical romance (I’m looking at you, Keira Dominguez).
The Kissing Scene
If you love clean steam, this is for you. It might be a paragraph, a page, or more, but when the chemistry has been sparking, a kissing scene that stays within chaste boundaries can be quite powerful.
What Doesn't Happen
Knowing our leading man longs for a kiss but can’t navigate his way to the lady two feet from his face is an intensity of its own. The internal conflict between longing to touch her curls and a hesitance to do something so intimate makes the simple action more meaningful (see Manor for Sale, Baron Included). Sometimes what isn’t happening can provide more dramatic chemistry and tension than if the desire is too quickly or easily satisfied.