Google’s definition reads as “A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.” - Okay, so this can technically cover a wide range of particulars. What exactly makes a character a “stereotype”? While I got you here, let me ask you this.

By immediately labeling Ian as a stereotype, doesn’t that invalidate anyone in the world that might have the same qualities that he possesses? Just because he possesses many known traits, doesn’t make him automatically bad representation. So just because somebody on the spectrum didn’t relate to Ian personally doesn’t make him inaccurate as an autistic character. We can’t base “accurate’ representations strictly on ourselves and our own experiences. As many of us will say (over and over again), when you meet one person with autism, you have met ONE PERSON with Autism. Why? Because I know that somewhere out there in this crazy world, there is an individual (or many) that are like Ian. Others might have found Ian to be a stereotype but.I personally didn’t see it. Yes, I feel this was an accurate portrayal. And, of course, oodles of steamy goodness! Ian is HOT HOT HOT!īut what about the book’s representation of autism? Is it accurate? Even as a reader on the spectrum I feel this is such a loaded question, because I am just one voice and one opinion out of many. A worthy hero, an intelligent heroine, a bit of danger and even some mystery. Honest to goodness, this book has everything. I wasn’t disappointed! I absolutely LOVED this book and Ian Mackenzie became on of my favorite “book beaus”. So when Kellisa alerted me of a historical romance with an autistic hero, I lept to get my hands on it! I purchased a digital copy and dove straight in! At the point where I first picked up this book, I had only read contemporary romances depicting characters on the autism spectrum. It was this thought that really made me want to pick up and read ‘The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie’.Īs an autistic person myself, I am striving to find romances featuring autistic protagonists. The nineteenth century was such a fascinating yet frightful time for society as a whole, so imagine how it must have been for those who didn’t fit the conventional standards. Hell, arsenic was actually commonly used as a SKINCARE treatment (seriously, it's no wonder people died young). We are a long way away from modern psychology and medicine. Nearly one hundred years before Autism made its debut in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). That being said, I hope this blog might put certain elements of this book in some perspective. I don’t speak for the entire community, and other opinions may differ from my own. ~ Let me begin by stating that while I am a member of the autistic community, I am only one voice.

The madness of ian mackenzie