American womenfolk are in the grip of highland hysteria according to the Times:
Racy “plaid-ripper” romances, with untamed heroes, wild countryside and feisty, breathless heroines, are big business in the United States, taking a significant portion of the $1.4 billion romance market.
Ever since Mel Gibson, an Australian brandishing a dubious accent, played William Wallace, the Scots hero, in Braveheart, his 1995 film, American women have regarded Scotsmen as being sex on legs.
American authors, some inspired by their Scots ancestry, cannot churn out the potboilers fast enough. Almost half of all paperback fiction sales in America are romances, with 53 per cent of readers rating Scottish historical romances, with titles such as Devil in a Kilt and Kiss of the Highlander, as their favourites.
Pootergeek supplied the hilarious proof last week.
In Scotland, women greet such descriptions of the local talent with incredulity. “If you find him, let me know,” is a common response.
