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* FalseRapeAccusation: At least one book had a scorned ex-lover filing one of these. And it's often inverted--a handful of her rape[=/=] AttemptedRape stories will have the assailant claiming that the woman tried to seduce him.
* FlatCharacter: Plenty. Especially if someone's sole purpose is to be a villain. Even the good characters get this if they're merely just a stop on the hero or heroine's way to true love.
* FlatCharacter: Plenty. Especially if someone's sole purpose is to be a villain. Even the good characters get this if they're merely just a stop on the hero or heroine's way to true love.
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* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Related to several other posts on this page. Pretty much anything her heroes/heroines say or do is portrayed as perfectly good or okay, while when the villains do the exact same thing, it's despicable. Case in point, in ''The Wedding'', when the heroine comes home from a business trip, she's outraged to find her boyfriend cavorting with another woman--even though she spent her trip cavorting with another man. His fling is treated as cheating and she throws him out. Hers is treated as her finding true love and the book concludes with her marrying the other guy.
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* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Related to several other posts on this page. Pretty much anything her heroes/heroines say or do is portrayed as perfectly good or okay, while when the villains do the exact same thing, it's despicable. Case in point, in ''The Wedding'', when the heroine comes home from a business trip, she's outraged to find her boyfriend cavorting with another woman--even though she spent her trip cavorting with another man. His fling is treated as cheating and she throws him out. Hers is treated as her finding true love and the book concludes with her marrying the other guy. Or in ''The Duchess'', where the heroine ''runs a whorehouse'', but this is apparently okay as it's full of [[HighClassCallGirl High Class Call Girls]].
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* MayDecemberRomance: A favorite trope of hers and unfortunately one where she frequently displays a blatant DoubleStandard, depending on the type of character. A villain (usually male, of course) will always look ridiculous paired with someone younger (who will almost inevitably be a villain herself-- [[GoldDigger gold-digging]], airheaded, trampy, etc.)--even if the age difference is a mere 15 years. Meanwhile, a heroine can marry someone ''44'' years her senior (as happened in the book ''A Perfect Stranger'') and no one bats an eye. The most egregious example of this is in one of the subplots of the novel ''Family Album''. A 49 year old man falling in love with his daughter's ''15 year old'' best friend is presented as a romance (to the point where they marry as soon as she turns 18) rather than what it truly is--ephebophilia and statutory rape(they consummate the relationship while she's still underage, but she refuses to testify against him when her infuriated parents threaten to press charges).
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* MayDecemberRomance: A favorite trope of hers and unfortunately one where she frequently displays a blatant DoubleStandard, depending on the type of character. A villain (usually male, of course) will always look ridiculous paired with someone younger (who will almost inevitably be a villain herself-- [[GoldDigger gold-digging]], airheaded, trampy, etc.)--even if the age difference is a mere 15 years. Meanwhile, a heroine can marry someone ''44'' years her senior (as happened in the book ''A Perfect Stranger'') and no one bats an eye. The most egregious example of this is in one of the subplots of the novel ''Family Album''. A 49 year old man falling in love with his daughter's ''15 year old'' best friend is presented as a romance (to the point where they marry as soon as she turns 18) rather than what it truly is--ephebophilia and statutory rape(they rape (they consummate the relationship while she's still underage, but she refuses to testify against him when her infuriated parents threaten to press charges).
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** Her latest novel, ''Rushing Waters'', is clearly based off the events of Hurricane Sandy in New York.
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** Her latest novel, One of her recent novels, ''Rushing Waters'', is clearly based off the events of Hurricane Sandy in New York.
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* WriteWhoYouKnow: While she has no specific AuthorAvatar, many elements of her personal life are filtered through her books. The two books that launched her writing career, ''Passion's Promise'' and ''Now & Forever'' are based off her brief marriage to a prison inmate.
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* WriteWhoYouKnow: While she has no specific AuthorAvatar, many elements of her personal life are filtered through her books. The two books that launched her writing career, ''Passion's Promise'' and ''Now & Forever'' are based off her brief marriage to a prison inmate. She also often sets her books in New York, where she is from.
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-->-- the Danielle Steel card in ''ApplesToApples''
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-->-- the Danielle Steel card in ''ApplesToApples''
''TabletopGame/ApplesToApples''
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* GratuitousRape: Often paired with numerous versions of Rape Tropes--RapeAsDrama, RapeAsBackstory, etc. In a book where the female lead was already going through hell -- daughter injured in a car accident, husband cheating and leaving her for the other woman, distant [[RichBitch ice queen mother]] and equally frigid sister, was it really necessary for a revelation that she'd been sexually abused by her father? There are numerous examples in her books, but that one really stands out as it has no bearing whatsoever on the story.
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* GratuitousRape: Often paired with numerous other versions of Rape Tropes--RapeAsDrama, RapeAsBackstory, etc. In a book where the female lead was already going through hell -- daughter injured in a car accident, husband cheating and leaving her for the other woman, distant [[RichBitch ice queen mother]] and equally frigid sister, was it really necessary for a revelation that she'd been sexually abused by her father? There are numerous examples in her books, but that one really stands out as it has no bearing whatsoever on the story.
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* MaritalRapeLicense: Occasionally, some of the villainous husbands to their wives. And disturbingly enough, one of the ''heroic'' husbands displays this towards his wife on one occasion. His demeanor is playful and cajoling, but the bottom line is, she declines his advances and he ignores her refusal. As cited in the "morality" post, this is never portrayed as wrong, and worse yet, implied that she deserves this because she's been cheating on him.
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* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Related to several other posts on this page. Pretty much anything her heroes/heroines say or do is portrayed as perfectly good or okay, while when the villains do the exact same thing, it's despicable. Case in point, in ''The Wedding'', when the heroine comes home from a business trip, she's outraged to find her boyfriend cavorting with another woman--even though she spent her trip cavorting with another man. His fling is treated as cheating and she throws him out. Hers is treated as her finding true love and the book concludes with her marrying the other guy.
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* DoubleStandard: Very often, depending on the type of character. Questionable or controversial behavior is always given a positive spin for her heroic characters, while being portrayed as downright despicable for her villains.
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** ''Jewels''. When he discovers that his wife intends to have an abortion, he is shocked, having thought she was just as thrilled about her pregnancy as he was. It turns out that she doesn't want children and that the child in question might not even be his--she's been having an affair with his brother. Her infuriated husband informs her that the child ''is'' his--his brother had a vasectomy--and proceeds to basically force her to play this trope straight by offering her money to have the baby and threatening to divorce her without a dime should she even legitimately miscarry. This is borderline abusive behavior that is portrayed as completely okay because she's a horrible person.
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** ''Jewels''. When he a man discovers that his wife intends to have an abortion, he is shocked, having thought she was just as thrilled about her pregnancy as he was. It turns out that she doesn't want children and that the child in question might not even be his--she's been having an affair with his brother. Her infuriated husband informs her that the child ''is'' his--his brother had a vasectomy--and proceeds to basically force her to play this trope straight by offering her money to have the baby and threatening to divorce her without a dime should she even legitimately miscarry. This is borderline abusive behavior that is portrayed as completely okay because she's a horrible person.
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* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Played straight in the few books that tackle this topic, usually in one of the ways laid out in the tropes page description. Occasionally, either the woman who wants the abortion or the man who wants her to have one is portrayed as a selfish jerk:
** Averted in the novel ''Changes'', when a teenage girl has one. Despite becoming ill afterwards, she is never portrayed as bad or condemned for her decision. Played straight later in the book, her mother becomes pregnant and contemplates having one, given the upheaval that the family is currently in, but sure enough decides against it.
** Played straight in ''Heartbeat'', when a woman's husband wants her to have one (having been abused as a child, he doesn't want to have any kids himself). When she refuses, he divorces her.
** In the novel ''Daddy'', the titular character's wife intended to have an abortion every time she got pregnant--she didn't feel ready for a child the first time, felt overwhelmed at the thought of caring for two infants the second time, and simply did not want to have any more children the third time. Each time, her husband talked her out of it, and she is never portrayed as anything but a loving mother.
** ''Jewels''. When he discovers that his wife intends to have an abortion, he is shocked, having thought she was just as thrilled about her pregnancy as he was. It turns out that she doesn't want children and that the child in question might not even be his--she's been having an affair with his brother. Her infuriated husband informs her that the child ''is'' his--his brother had a vasectomy--and proceeds to basically force her to play this trope straight by offering her money to have the baby and threatening to divorce her without a dime should she even legitimately miscarry. This is borderline abusive behavior that is portrayed as completely okay because she's a horrible person.
** ''The Apartment'': When a woman decides to have an abortion as she simply doesn't feel ready for a child just yet, her boyfriend proceeds to do everything he can think of to prevent this--begging, demanding, offering to take sole custody of the baby, even going to the courts to try and find some legal way to stop her from doing it. Despite this downright abusive level of control that he attempted to take over her life, she eventually changes her mind and the book concludes with them happily engaged and anticipating the baby's birth.
** Averted in the novel ''Changes'', when a teenage girl has one. Despite becoming ill afterwards, she is never portrayed as bad or condemned for her decision. Played straight later in the book, her mother becomes pregnant and contemplates having one, given the upheaval that the family is currently in, but sure enough decides against it.
** Played straight in ''Heartbeat'', when a woman's husband wants her to have one (having been abused as a child, he doesn't want to have any kids himself). When she refuses, he divorces her.
** In the novel ''Daddy'', the titular character's wife intended to have an abortion every time she got pregnant--she didn't feel ready for a child the first time, felt overwhelmed at the thought of caring for two infants the second time, and simply did not want to have any more children the third time. Each time, her husband talked her out of it, and she is never portrayed as anything but a loving mother.
** ''Jewels''. When he discovers that his wife intends to have an abortion, he is shocked, having thought she was just as thrilled about her pregnancy as he was. It turns out that she doesn't want children and that the child in question might not even be his--she's been having an affair with his brother. Her infuriated husband informs her that the child ''is'' his--his brother had a vasectomy--and proceeds to basically force her to play this trope straight by offering her money to have the baby and threatening to divorce her without a dime should she even legitimately miscarry. This is borderline abusive behavior that is portrayed as completely okay because she's a horrible person.
** ''The Apartment'': When a woman decides to have an abortion as she simply doesn't feel ready for a child just yet, her boyfriend proceeds to do everything he can think of to prevent this--begging, demanding, offering to take sole custody of the baby, even going to the courts to try and find some legal way to stop her from doing it. Despite this downright abusive level of control that he attempted to take over her life, she eventually changes her mind and the book concludes with them happily engaged and anticipating the baby's birth.
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* BigApplesauce: While she sets her books all over--see SceneryPorn below--New York City is a favorite locale, probably because it's where she's from.
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** Her latest novel, ''Rushing Waters'', is clearly based off the events of Hurricane Sandy in New York.
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* MonochromeCasting: Only ''one'' of her heroines has been non-white (the Japanese heroine of the novel ''Silent Honor''), and in the novel ''HRH'', the titular heroine travels to an African country for missionary work. Aside from an occasional BlackBestFriend, one would think minorities didn't exist in the Danielle Steel universe.
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* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The book ''Vanished'' is clearly based on the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. With a much happier ending, of course--the child is eventually found safe and sound, his ''father'' is revealed to be the one who engineered everything, allowing the heroine to get him out of her life and reunite with her first love.
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* WriteWhoYouKnow: While she has no specific AuthorAvatar, many elements of her personal life are filtered through her books. The two books that launched her writing career, ''Passion's Promise'' and ''Now & Forever'' are based off her brief marriage to a prison inmate.
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Absurdly Youthful Mother has been made into a supertrope. Wicks will be moved to subtropes where appropriate.
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* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Any character who either is or becomes a mother is said to look more like her child's older sister.
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* MumLooksLikeASister: Any character who either is or becomes a mother is said to look more like her child's older sister.
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* DescriptionPorn: Steel likes to treat her readers to endless descriptions and mentions of ''everything''. The reader will read over and over about how gorgeous a character is, how beautiful their home is, how perfect their life is, etc.
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* TooHappyToLive: If a book starts off with an endless description of a character's utterly perfect life, there's a pretty good chance that either (a) all hell is going to break loose any minute, or (b) the person is actually miserable, despite the seeming perfection.
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* TooHappyToLive: If a book starts off with an endless description of a character's utterly perfect life, there's a pretty good chance that either (a) all hell is going to break loose any minute, or (b) the person is a StepfordSmiler who is actually miserable, despite the seeming perfection.
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* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Any character who either is or becomes a mother is said to look more like her child's older sister.
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* BeautyEqualsGoodness[=/=]BeautyIsBad: And ''how''. Every. Single. One. of her lead characters is stunningly gorgeous or handsome, and if they're over forty, it's frequently mentioned that they look much younger than they actually are. Their good looks are just the tip of the iceberg, as the reader soon learns that they are [[PuritySue perfect in every other way]]--intelligent, funny, hard-working, etc. Any "flaws" only serve to make them more endearing. The closest she's come to an unattractive heroine is the HollywoodPudgy protagonist of the book "Big Girl".
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* BeautyEqualsGoodness[=/=]BeautyIsBad: And ''how''. Every. Single. One. of her lead characters is stunningly gorgeous or handsome, and if they're over forty, it's frequently mentioned that they [[OlderThanTheyLook look much younger than they actually are.are]]. Their good looks are just the tip of the iceberg, as the reader soon learns that they are [[PuritySue perfect in every other way]]--intelligent, funny, hard-working, etc. Any "flaws" only serve to make them more endearing. The closest she's come to an unattractive heroine is the HollywoodPudgy protagonist of the book "Big Girl".
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* SoBeautifulItsACurse: It is outright stated that the reason one of the heroines in "Kaleidoscope" has spent her entire life fending off sexual assaults is because of her beauty. It's also implied that beauty is somehow the reason for many of her other heroines' woes due to the jealousy of those less fortunate.
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* SoBeautifulItsACurse: It is outright stated that the reason one of the heroines in "Kaleidoscope" has spent her entire life fending off sexual assualts is because of her beauty. It's also implied that beauty is somehow the reason for many of her other heroines' woes due to the jealousy of those less fortunate.
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* LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek: During the early-to-mid '90s, many of her books were adapted for television. Although they initially ran on network TV, sure enough, {{Lifetime}} soon acquired the rights to them. It probably helps that her books are essentially literary versions of this trope.
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* LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek: During the early-to-mid '90s, many of her books were adapted for television. Although they initially ran on network TV, sure enough, {{Lifetime}} Creator/{{Lifetime}} soon acquired the rights to them. It probably helps that her books are essentially literary versions of this trope.
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* GratuitousRape: Often paired with RapeAsDrama. In a book where the female lead was already going through hell -- daughter injured in a car accident, husband cheating and leaving her for the other woman, distant [[RichBitch ice queen mother]] and equally frigid sister, was it really necessary for a revelation that she'd been sexually abused by her father? There are numerous examples in her books, but that one really stands out as it has no bearing whatsoever on the story.
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* GratuitousRape: Often paired with RapeAsDrama.numerous versions of Rape Tropes--RapeAsDrama, RapeAsBackstory, etc. In a book where the female lead was already going through hell -- daughter injured in a car accident, husband cheating and leaving her for the other woman, distant [[RichBitch ice queen mother]] and equally frigid sister, was it really necessary for a revelation that she'd been sexually abused by her father? There are numerous examples in her books, but that one really stands out as it has no bearing whatsoever on the story.
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* TraumaCongaLine: For someone whose books are geared towards women, Steel has a disturbing tendency to frequently employ this trope. The only redeeming factor is that there's always a happy ending for the protagonist but still...
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* TraumaCongaLine: For someone whose books are geared towards women, Steel has a disturbing tendency to frequently employ this trope.trope, "Malice" and "The Long Road Home" being two of the most egregious examples. The only redeeming factor is that there's always a happy ending for the protagonist but still...
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* SoBeautifulItsACurse: It is outright stated that the reason one of the heroines in "Kaleidoscope" has spent her entire life fending off sexual assualts is because of her beauty. It's also implied that beauty is somehow the reason for many of her other heroines' woes due to the jealousy of those less fortunate.
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* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Ad nauseum. The heroes and heroines always have a perfect sex life, with it always being better than it was before. Even if it was ''already'' good before--one hero is floored at how spectacular sex with his new girlfriend is, having thought his and his ex-wife's sex life was "perfect".
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* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Ad nauseum. The heroes and heroines always have a perfect terrific sex life, with it always being better than it was before. Even if it was ''already'' good before--one hero is floored at how spectacular sex with his new girlfriend is, having thought his and his ex-wife's sex love life was "perfect".
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* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: Ad nauseum. The heroes and heroines always have a perfect sex life, with it always being better than it was before. Even if it was ''already'' good before--one hero is floored at how spectacular sex with his new girlfriend is, having thought his and his ex-wife's sex life was "perfect".
* HappilyEverAfter: How all her books end, no matter what trauma her protagonists have been put through.
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* SympatheticAdulterer: Usually either because the cuckolded spouse is evil or also cheating.
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* SympatheticAdulterer: Usually either because the cuckolded spouse is evil or also cheating. And even if not, he or she is often portrayed as genuinely remorseful.
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* MayDecemberRomance: A favorite trope of hers and unfortunately one where she frequently displays a blatant DoubleStandard, depending on the type of character -- a villain (usually male, of course) will always look ridiculous paired with someone younger (who will almost inevitably be a villain herself-- [[GoldDigger gold-digging]], airheaded, trampy, etc.), even if the age difference is a mere 15 years. Meanwhile, a heroine can marry someone ''44'' years her senior (as happened in the book ''A Perfect Stranger'') and no one bats an eye. One of the most egregious examples of this is seen in the novel ''Family Album'' is which a 40-something year old man and a 16 year old girl falling in love is present as a romance (to the point where they marry as soon as she's of legal age) rather than a case of ephebophilia and statutory rape.
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* MayDecemberRomance: A favorite trope of hers and unfortunately one where she frequently displays a blatant DoubleStandard, depending on the type of character -- a character. A villain (usually male, of course) will always look ridiculous paired with someone younger (who will almost inevitably be a villain herself-- [[GoldDigger gold-digging]], airheaded, trampy, etc.), even )--even if the age difference is a mere 15 years. Meanwhile, a heroine can marry someone ''44'' years her senior (as happened in the book ''A Perfect Stranger'') and no one bats an eye. One of the The most egregious examples example of this is seen in one of the subplots of the novel ''Family Album'' is which a 40-something Album''. A 49 year old man and a 16 year old girl falling in love with his daughter's ''15 year old'' best friend is present presented as a romance (to the point where they marry as soon as she's of legal age) she turns 18) rather than a case of ephebophilia what it truly is--ephebophilia and statutory rape.rape(they consummate the relationship while she's still underage, but she refuses to testify against him when her infuriated parents threaten to press charges).
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* SceneryPorn: Steel likes to set her books in glamourous locations--New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, London, etc--and treat the reader to endless, repetitive descriptions of them.
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* SceneryPorn: Steel likes to set her books in glamourous glamorous locations--New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, London, etc--and treat the reader to endless, repetitive descriptions of them.
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* StrictlyFormula: Probably what she is most known for. Common elements include the female protagonist who had a hard life but who now is most likely a career woman, who is with a husband who cheats and lies to her and is probably abusive, then she will meet a wonderful man who changes her life, who may be still married or unavailable in some way. This man will turn out to be a RomanticFalseLead and he will either die or they will get divorced, then she falls in love with another man (or the same guy again) and they have hot sex and live happily ever after.
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* StrictlyFormula: Probably what she is most known for. Common elements include the female protagonist who had a hard life but who now is most likely a career woman, who is with a husband who cheats and lies to her and is probably abusive, then she will meet a wonderful man who changes her life, who may be still married or unavailable in some way. This man They will have their affair and get together at the end. Or, this man may turn out to be a RomanticFalseLead and he will either die or they will get divorced, then she falls in love with another man (or the same guy again) and they have hot sex and live happily ever after.
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Were, not where
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* LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek: During the early-to-mid '90s, many of her books where adapted for television. Although they initially ran on network TV, sure enough, {{Lifetime}} soon acquired the rights to them. It probably helps that her books are essentially literary versions of this trope.
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* LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek: During the early-to-mid '90s, many of her books where were adapted for television. Although they initially ran on network TV, sure enough, {{Lifetime}} soon acquired the rights to them. It probably helps that her books are essentially literary versions of this trope.
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* BeautyEqualsGoodness[=/=]BeautyIsBad: And ''how''. Every. Single. One. of her lead characters is stunningly gorgeous or handsome, and if they're over forty, it's frequently mentioned that they look much younger than they actually are. Their good looks are just the tip of the iceberg, as the reader soon learns that they are [[PuritySue perfect in every other way]]--intelligent, funny, hard-working. Any "flaws" only serve to make them more endearing. The closest she's come to an unattractive heroine is the HollywoodPudgy protagonist of the book "Big Girl".
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* TheBeautifulElite: Everyone in her books is either already filthy rich or [[RagsToRiches becomes that way via hard work and success]], with all the privileges/drawbacks that come with it.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness[=/=]BeautyIsBad: And ''how''. Every. Single. One. of her lead characters is stunningly gorgeous or handsome, and if they're over forty, it's frequently mentioned that they look much younger than they actually are. Their good looks are just the tip of the iceberg, as the reader soon learns that they are [[PuritySue perfect in every other way]]--intelligent, funny,hard-working.hard-working, etc. Any "flaws" only serve to make them more endearing. The closest she's come to an unattractive heroine is the HollywoodPudgy protagonist of the book "Big Girl".
* BeautyEqualsGoodness[=/=]BeautyIsBad: And ''how''. Every. Single. One. of her lead characters is stunningly gorgeous or handsome, and if they're over forty, it's frequently mentioned that they look much younger than they actually are. Their good looks are just the tip of the iceberg, as the reader soon learns that they are [[PuritySue perfect in every other way]]--intelligent, funny,
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* GratuitousRape: Often paired with RapeAsDrama. In a book where the female lead was already going through hell -- daughter injured in a car accident, husband cheating and leaving her for the other woman, distant ice queen mother, was it really necessary for a revelation that she'd been sexually abused by her father? There are numerous examples in her books, but that one really stands out.
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* GratuitousRape: Often paired with RapeAsDrama. In a book where the female lead was already going through hell -- daughter injured in a car accident, husband cheating and leaving her for the other woman, distant [[RichBitch ice queen mother, mother]] and equally frigid sister, was it really necessary for a revelation that she'd been sexually abused by her father? There are numerous examples in her books, but that one really stands out.out as it has no bearing whatsoever on the story.
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->''"Suddenly, Stephanie spotted Lance on the beach..."''
-->-- the Danielle Steel card in ''ApplesToApples''
Danielle Steel is an American author. Steel's novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list for over 390 consecutive weeks and 22 have been adapted for television. She has written at least one book almost every year since 1973. Many of her works are self-referential: for example she marries and divorces a heroin addict, and then her next novel is about -- ''quelle surprise''! -- a woman who marries and divorces a heroin addict.
For a full bibliography, click [[http://daniellesteel.com/library/ here]].
Almost all of her books are {{Romance Novel}}s.
----
!!This author provides examples of:
* AirportNovel
* BeautyEqualsGoodness[=/=]BeautyIsBad: And ''how''. Every. Single. One. of her lead characters is stunningly gorgeous or handsome, and if they're over forty, it's frequently mentioned that they look much younger than they actually are. Their good looks are just the tip of the iceberg, as the reader soon learns that they are [[PuritySue perfect in every other way]]--intelligent, funny, hard-working. Any "flaws" only serve to make them more endearing. The closest she's come to an unattractive heroine is the HollywoodPudgy protagonist of the book "Big Girl".
** Conversely, her villains are just as attractive but it's always repeatedly stated that ''their'' good looks are artificial and fading, (whereas the heroine is naturally lovely without any extra effort on her part necessary), and is the only attribute they have.
* BrokenBird: The female protagonist.
* ChickLit
* DeusAngstMachina: Very common. An example is Gabbie in ''The Long Road Home'', who has a very abusive mother, a father who doesn't help and leaves when she is 9 years old. Her mother then moves to California and leaves her in a convent, where she decides to become a nun and falls in love with a priest. However, they are not allowed to be together, and her lover feels guilty and hangs himself. She is kicked out of the convent and ends up moving into a boarding house. Just as things seem to be moving up, she falls in love with a con-man who beats her half to death so he can get the money she was left in a will.
* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: Mostly played straight. It will almost always be perfectly okay for the hero/heroine to cheat on his/her partner/spouse, because said partner/spouse is a horrible, awful person. Conversely, it will always be despicable for the villain to cheat on his/her [[MarySue wonderful, perfect]] lover. To her credit, Steel does not always make all the bad adulterers male and good adulterers female and she often subverts this trope as well.
* GratuitousRape: Often paired with RapeAsDrama. In a book where the female lead was already going through hell -- daughter injured in a car accident, husband cheating and leaving her for the other woman, distant ice queen mother, was it really necessary for a revelation that she'd been sexually abused by her father? There are numerous examples in her books, but that one really stands out.
* LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek: During the early-to-mid '90s, many of her books where adapted for television. Although they initially ran on network TV, sure enough, {{Lifetime}} soon acquired the rights to them. It probably helps that her books are essentially literary versions of this trope.
* MayDecemberRomance: A favorite trope of hers and unfortunately one where she frequently displays a blatant DoubleStandard, depending on the type of character -- a villain (usually male, of course) will always look ridiculous paired with someone younger (who will almost inevitably be a villain herself-- [[GoldDigger gold-digging]], airheaded, trampy, etc.), even if the age difference is a mere 15 years. Meanwhile, a heroine can marry someone ''44'' years her senior (as happened in the book ''A Perfect Stranger'') and no one bats an eye. One of the most egregious examples of this is seen in the novel ''Family Album'' is which a 40-something year old man and a 16 year old girl falling in love is present as a romance (to the point where they marry as soon as she's of legal age) rather than a case of ephebophilia and statutory rape.
* MillsAndBoonProse: The sex scenes in her novels usually fall into this.
* SceneryPorn: Steel likes to set her books in glamourous locations--New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, London, etc--and treat the reader to endless, repetitive descriptions of them.
* StrictlyFormula: Probably what she is most known for. Common elements include the female protagonist who had a hard life but who now is most likely a career woman, who is with a husband who cheats and lies to her and is probably abusive, then she will meet a wonderful man who changes her life, who may be still married or unavailable in some way. This man will turn out to be a RomanticFalseLead and he will either die or they will get divorced, then she falls in love with another man (or the same guy again) and they have hot sex and live happily ever after.
* SympatheticAdulterer: Usually either because the cuckolded spouse is evil or also cheating.
* TraumaCongaLine: For someone whose books are geared towards women, Steel has a disturbing tendency to frequently employ this trope. The only redeeming factor is that there's always a happy ending for the protagonist but still...
* TooHappyToLive: If a book starts off with an endless description of a character's utterly perfect life, there's a pretty good chance that either (a) all hell is going to break loose any minute, or (b) the person is actually miserable, despite the seeming perfection.
* WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma: Sometimes... her characters... they tend to use a lot of... ellipses... usually when they are in deep thought.
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-->-- the Danielle Steel card in ''ApplesToApples''
Danielle Steel is an American author. Steel's novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list for over 390 consecutive weeks and 22 have been adapted for television. She has written at least one book almost every year since 1973. Many of her works are self-referential: for example she marries and divorces a heroin addict, and then her next novel is about -- ''quelle surprise''! -- a woman who marries and divorces a heroin addict.
For a full bibliography, click [[http://daniellesteel.com/library/ here]].
Almost all of her books are {{Romance Novel}}s.
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!!This author provides examples of:
* AirportNovel
* BeautyEqualsGoodness[=/=]BeautyIsBad: And ''how''. Every. Single. One. of her lead characters is stunningly gorgeous or handsome, and if they're over forty, it's frequently mentioned that they look much younger than they actually are. Their good looks are just the tip of the iceberg, as the reader soon learns that they are [[PuritySue perfect in every other way]]--intelligent, funny, hard-working. Any "flaws" only serve to make them more endearing. The closest she's come to an unattractive heroine is the HollywoodPudgy protagonist of the book "Big Girl".
** Conversely, her villains are just as attractive but it's always repeatedly stated that ''their'' good looks are artificial and fading, (whereas the heroine is naturally lovely without any extra effort on her part necessary), and is the only attribute they have.
* BrokenBird: The female protagonist.
* ChickLit
* DeusAngstMachina: Very common. An example is Gabbie in ''The Long Road Home'', who has a very abusive mother, a father who doesn't help and leaves when she is 9 years old. Her mother then moves to California and leaves her in a convent, where she decides to become a nun and falls in love with a priest. However, they are not allowed to be together, and her lover feels guilty and hangs himself. She is kicked out of the convent and ends up moving into a boarding house. Just as things seem to be moving up, she falls in love with a con-man who beats her half to death so he can get the money she was left in a will.
* GoodAdulteryBadAdultery: Mostly played straight. It will almost always be perfectly okay for the hero/heroine to cheat on his/her partner/spouse, because said partner/spouse is a horrible, awful person. Conversely, it will always be despicable for the villain to cheat on his/her [[MarySue wonderful, perfect]] lover. To her credit, Steel does not always make all the bad adulterers male and good adulterers female and she often subverts this trope as well.
* GratuitousRape: Often paired with RapeAsDrama. In a book where the female lead was already going through hell -- daughter injured in a car accident, husband cheating and leaving her for the other woman, distant ice queen mother, was it really necessary for a revelation that she'd been sexually abused by her father? There are numerous examples in her books, but that one really stands out.
* LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek: During the early-to-mid '90s, many of her books where adapted for television. Although they initially ran on network TV, sure enough, {{Lifetime}} soon acquired the rights to them. It probably helps that her books are essentially literary versions of this trope.
* MayDecemberRomance: A favorite trope of hers and unfortunately one where she frequently displays a blatant DoubleStandard, depending on the type of character -- a villain (usually male, of course) will always look ridiculous paired with someone younger (who will almost inevitably be a villain herself-- [[GoldDigger gold-digging]], airheaded, trampy, etc.), even if the age difference is a mere 15 years. Meanwhile, a heroine can marry someone ''44'' years her senior (as happened in the book ''A Perfect Stranger'') and no one bats an eye. One of the most egregious examples of this is seen in the novel ''Family Album'' is which a 40-something year old man and a 16 year old girl falling in love is present as a romance (to the point where they marry as soon as she's of legal age) rather than a case of ephebophilia and statutory rape.
* MillsAndBoonProse: The sex scenes in her novels usually fall into this.
* SceneryPorn: Steel likes to set her books in glamourous locations--New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, London, etc--and treat the reader to endless, repetitive descriptions of them.
* StrictlyFormula: Probably what she is most known for. Common elements include the female protagonist who had a hard life but who now is most likely a career woman, who is with a husband who cheats and lies to her and is probably abusive, then she will meet a wonderful man who changes her life, who may be still married or unavailable in some way. This man will turn out to be a RomanticFalseLead and he will either die or they will get divorced, then she falls in love with another man (or the same guy again) and they have hot sex and live happily ever after.
* SympatheticAdulterer: Usually either because the cuckolded spouse is evil or also cheating.
* TraumaCongaLine: For someone whose books are geared towards women, Steel has a disturbing tendency to frequently employ this trope. The only redeeming factor is that there's always a happy ending for the protagonist but still...
* TooHappyToLive: If a book starts off with an endless description of a character's utterly perfect life, there's a pretty good chance that either (a) all hell is going to break loose any minute, or (b) the person is actually miserable, despite the seeming perfection.
* WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma: Sometimes... her characters... they tend to use a lot of... ellipses... usually when they are in deep thought.
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