DESPITE a sterling effort against an awesome team of Privy Councillors, Thame author, Catherine Jones?s team were unable to take the trophy at Monday evening?s final of University Challenge.
After her team of Romantic Novelists beat a team from The Economist the previous week, ex-army officer Catherine said: ? Our main reason for entering was to strike a positive blow for romantic fiction. And we?ve done it!?
The RNA team beat a team from Wisden in the first round and led the leader board for weeks with their high first-round score of 245 before coming face-to-face with the team from The Economist in the semi finals.
?From the very start we were considered outsiders,? said Catherine. ?When I first rang the production team at Granada to suggest we take part, you could hear the hoots of laughter in the background! Most people enjoy the romantic author in Little Britain, “Dame Sally Markham.” We wanted to disprove this hackneyed stereotype and we?ve proved our intelligence and that of our readers. We wanted to say to our readers, ?We?re not pink and fluffy ? and neither are you!?
After Monday?s contest, Catherine told ThameNews.Net: ?I was so thrilled that we got through the audition for University Challenge and on to the show! I was beside myself with glee to get to the semi-finals. Everything else has been a bonus.
?An unexpected bonus has been the effect our success has had on the self-esteem of Romantic Novelists, which was very low; when people asked us what we did, we usually answered somewhat apologetically, but no longer will they pat us on the head; we can should out loudly and be proud of what we do.?
Larry Finlay, Managing Director of publishers Transworld, agreed. ?The snobbery that exists in some quarters towards ‘romantic’ fiction could not be more misplaced. It includes the very best, the most challenging and the most rewarding writing there is, as it always has. It was fantastic to see the RNA team do so well but it was no more than I would have expected. I know the value of my romantic authors.?
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