Critiqued by academics and feminists alike, romance novels have been disparaged for upholding patriarchal ideals such as heterosexuality, marriage, motherhood, and traditional gender ideologies. However, being such a large and varied genre, romance novels often serve as a locus for discussing all aspects of these issues. Particularly salient to discussing these issues are romance novels in which the heroine cross-dresses. In particular, this thesis examines three recent cross-dressing romance novels: The Spy by Celeste Bradley; Duchess By Night by Eloisa James; and Almost a Gentleman by Pam Rosenthal.
Through a close textual analysis, this thesis attempts to sort out the various threads and conversations surrounding issues of sexuality, gender fluidity, and gender performance. It is my assertion that authors employ a cross-dressing heroine not only as a tool for comedic effect, but as a plot device intended to aid the heroine in her discovery of self. In studying the cross-dressed heroine, one must examine the descriptions of both feminine and masculine clothing. In order to analyze the role of clothing in these novels, I draw on the theories of Stella Bruzzi, who writes about costuming in film, to argue that clothing is an active, performative force in these novels, aiding each heroine on her journey to self-discovery. Another important undertaking when examining the cross-dressed heroine is understanding how a love story is constructed when the heroine is disguised as a male for the majority of the novel. In order to analyze the homoerotics and homophobia present in these novels, I turn the recent scholarship of Lisa Fletcher, who writes on heterosexuality and performativity in historical romance fiction.