Anna Bea D.

Geronga

ENG 198 SP3

Reaping the Seeds so Wickedly Sown: A Cover
Analysis of Anna Randols Sins of a Wicked Princess

Sins of a Wicked Princess is the third novel in the Sinners Trio series by Anna Randol, published
by Avon in 2013. It is set in Europe at the end of the Napoleonic War. It features Juliana Castanova, the
exiled princess of the kingdom of Lenoria who propositions a convict turned spy, Ian Maddox to teach her
the art of thievery; in exchange she would help him retrieve the information he needs. The novel begins
with a false accusation, a bargain turned business proposition that soon progresses to a lesson in thievery,
and later, in seduction. The hero was supposed to teach the heroine how to steal information, yet he ended
up teaching her something else. And going by the cover and the title of the romance, imagine his surprise
when he learns that the heroine is anything but a simpering princess. If anything, she is wicked. Unlike
the typical clinch covers that haunt the genre, I believe there is a change in the representation of the hero
and the heroine. There is a shift in the balance of power that begs closer examination. And here is where I
shall begin reaping the seeds so wickedly sown by the cover of the romance novel.
The first seed is the title, Sins of a Wicked Princess. The title alone represents a particular tension
within itself. It is, in my opinion, an oxymoron. The image of a princess is rarely associated with the
word, sin, much more with wickedness. It is a damning association that qualifies the heiress as a bad
woman. Yet, the idea that she is still a princess, and as such, of noble blood pivots a twist that strains the
expectations of the readers. They would not be able to easily confine her inside a single box based on the
title alone. Aside from that the fact that this oxymoron of a title focuses on the woman is already a
foreshadowing in the shift in the dynamics between the hero and the heroine. Usually, titles that employ
oxymoron pertain to heroes such as a rake or a rogue. Yet, with this particular title, clearly the cause of
unrest or tension, which piqued my interest, is the woman, in this case the princess, Juliana.
Looking at the illustration, the cover is still a clinch cover, regardless of the degree of the reclined
position exhibited by the hero and the heroine on the settee. Even if there is no outright clinging of sorts,
the intimacy displayed by the classic clinch is still evident. As they both lie on their side, facing each
other, with a great span of skin bared from both parties, the illustration visibly communicates the
attraction and lust existing between the man and the woman. For me, there is no discrepancy between the
title and the illustration. What I found, however, was an assertion, an affirmation of the expectations set
up by the title. The title echoes the wickedness of the princess. And the word, wicked could mean a
great many things. To be wicked is to be morally questionable, if not outright wrong. It could also mean
to be sexually devious. In the cover, the womans body is half-bared, and it looks as if she is in a middle

of a tryst. In the narrative, the heroine engages herself in the dance of seduction, with the hero as her
partner. He is a spy, and she is a princess. Their tryst in the novel is nowhere near the vision of virtue and
propriety that was idealized in 19th century Europe.
The cover of a romance novel, if it be a clinch clover is not solely about the clinch or the mesh of
flesh. It also depicts the most subtle of details or features that enrich the illustration of a particular cover.
Scrutiny of these features, or seeds as I like to put it, allows one to asses what the publisher of the novel is
trying to communicate to its readers with its choice of visual text. The man and the woman in the cover
are in their 20s. They are neither too young nor too old. They are at the cross of two lifetimes, that of
youth and the adult life. They are at the peak of their beauty, and they are free from the bondage of the
aforementioned periods of their life. The clothing of the man and the woman depict the era in which the
story was set, in the 19th century. But what I like to emphasize regarding the clothing is the contrast in
color and style of the clothes worn (and slowly stripped off) by the man and the woman. The gown worn
by the woman is luxurious in its length and material, while the mans shirt is as simple as it could possibly
be, and, overall, pales in comparison. They are, of course, the right clothes for the situation, since the
heroine is of noble blood while the hero is a mere spy. They do not belong in the same socioeconomic
stratum.
If one zooms in on the facial expression of the man and the woman. One would immediately
notice that the man is wearing an invitational look (head tilted to one side, lips with a hint of smile), while
the woman, I deem, is wearing a more romantic or sexual look (eyes dreamy-lidded, mouth unsmiling).
They are both waiting for a kiss. Now, the question is who is kissing whom? Is the woman about to lean
on the man, or is the man about to reel her in? With his hands on her arm and neck, one would imagine
that he has the power over her, but if we would examine the relational representation of the two (the
vertical angle), we would realize that the hero is the one gazing up, and it makes all the difference. The
man is the actor, while the woman is the goal (Kress and Van Leeuwen). He looks at her with wanting.
With their sexual needs as a scale, it would seem as if he wants her more. So, who is the one with the real
power? The woman, I suppose, if the man will not force himself on her. Reading their body language
from a horizontal angle, we would able to grasp that the man and the woman are in the world of their
own, and we, the readers are measly voyeurs trying to peep through the cracks afforded to us. They do not
demand anything from us. Though, they are offering something; and on their plate is the promise of
romance. From a detached point of view, it is up to us if we will take them up on their offer. And if I were
asked for my opinion, then I would have to be honest and say, I buy it, the whole enchilada. After
reaping the seeds that have been so carefully sown in the cover of the romance novel, comes the purchase.
A cover of a novel serves as a mediator of two realms: that of the publishers and that of the
readers. It is the middle ground or the playing field of both reality and fantasy, of both consumption and
imagination. In my opinion, book covers are both a tease and a filter. As a tease, it gives a glimpse of a
different world, say of fantasy and romance. As a filter, it serves as a sieve that separates the target market
from other consumers, and so, it also becomes a mediator of taste at the surface level. Through covers, the
publishing industry has a way of communicating with its audience. It provides a visual shorthand that
allows the potential buyers to easily sift through the shelves. In the case of clinch covers, one could
readily attest that that particular novel with that particular cover is a romance novel. At the end of the day,
the publishers would plant the seeds, and its up to the readers if they will willingly reap them.
Works Cited
Kress, Gunther, and Theo Van Leeuwen. An Introduction to the Grammar of Visual Design. NSW
Department of Education and Communities. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/english/assets/pdf/grammar.pdf>
.
Randol, Anna. Sins of a Wicked Princess. New York City: Avon, 2013. Print.

Anna Randols Sins of a Wicked Princess