Point of View

The memoir is presented in a first person limited point of view. Opting for this point of view is a completely different type of writing for James. As Professor Mary Bly, her academic writing is critical analysis in nature and, because of that, is highlighted by the presentation of a strictly objective view. As romance novelist, James' engaged in an elaborate masquerade, using a pen name to protect her reputation as an academic and Shakespeare scholar at Fordham University--she only revealed her double literary life after many years (and many bestsellers). Writing romance novels while a respected professor requires a mask--writing her memoir in first person and presenting it in the social media format allowed James to take off the mask, in a sense, and show readers who she is when she is not being a professor or a novelist. Readers appreciate the authenticity afforded...