 When writing the novel , Chase knew that her female protagonist had to be strong enough to equal Dain 's forceful personality . Chase admits that because the novel is set in the period leading up to the Victorian era , a woman like Jessica could not have dealt with Dain , writing that " if Jessica were like what we assume to be the typical young lady of her time , she could never handle Dain , and he ’ d think her too boring to live " . Chase instead modeled Jessica after the type of women who lived a few generations previously and who had " a more practical , frank attitude toward sex " . 
