Inspired by real people and based on true events, THE SENTIMENTAL BLONDE is an enduring love story between Lottie Lyell & Raymond Longford. Lottie is Australia's first movie star, writer, stunt woman, director, lover, rule breaker and trailblazer who was tested again and again; and yet, stayed true to herself. In it, we rediscover the magic of pioneer moviemaking with Lottie and Raymond's struggle producing The Sentimental Bloke while keeping their forbidden love affair and her life-threatening illness secret. Lottie faces her own challenges in the male-dominated movie business and questions her own complicated work-life relationship with Raymond (& his wife who refuses to grant him a divorce). The only thing Lottie couldn't conquer was time.

This collection of new essay examines how authors of the 20th and 21st centuries continue the use of sentimental forms and tropes of 19th century literature. Current literary and cultural critical consensus seems to maintain that Americans engaged in a turn-of-the-century refutation of the sentimental mode; an analysis of 20th and 21st century narratives, however, reveals an ongoing use of sentimental expression that draws upon its ability to instruct and influence readers through their emotions. While these later narratives employ aspects of the sentimental mode, many of them also engage in a critique of the failures of the sentimental, deconstructing 19th century perspectives on race, class and gender and the ways they are promoted by sentimental ideals.