Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Flame and the Flower (published 1972) is the debut work of romance novelist Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. The first romance novel to detail physical intimacy between the protagonists, the book revolutionized the historical romance genre. It was also the first full-length romance novel to be published first in paperback rather than hardback. As a child, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss relished creating her own stories, and by age six was telling herself stories at night to help fall asleep. After she married, Woodiwiss continued to think of plots. Several times she attempted to write a novel, but each time stopped in frustration at the slow pace of writing a novel longhand. After buying her husband an electric typewriter for a Christmas present, Woodiwiss appropriated the machine to begin her novel in earnest.