Update: this post by Emily St. John Mandel didn’t exist when I posted the below, but is a much better analysis of the same subject, and you should read it.

There is an trend in contemporary publishing that seems to have exploded over the last ten years or so, of having novels titled “The X’s Daughter”, where X is a profession or similar descriptor. I hadn’t realised how popular the trend was, until browsing round Amazon for a few minutes found over thirty titles, twenty-six first published since 2000. My theory for the current explosion of titles is that it’s possibly in some part due to the success of “The Bonesetter’s Daughter” by Amy Tan. Here’s a list.

• The Dairyman’s Daughter, by Leigh Richmond (1935)
• The Vet’s Daughter, by Barbara Comyns (1981)
• The Colonel’s Daughter, by Rose Tremain (1984)
• The Rector’s Daughter, by F. M. Mayor (1987)
• The Tea Planter’s Daughter, by Sara Banerji (1988)
• The Shoemaker’s Daughter, by Iris Gower (1992)
• The Miller’s Daughter, by Margaret Dickinson (1997)
• The Inspector’s Daughter, by Alanna Knight (2000)
• The Stationmaster’s Daughter, by Maggie Craig (2000)
• The Bonesetter’s Daughter, by Amy Tan (2001)
• The Farmer’s Daughter, by Jim Harrison (2001)
• The Ringmaster’s Daughter, by Jostein Gaarder (2002)
• The Ropemaker’s Daughter, by Virginia Smith (2002)
• The Taxi Driver’s Daughter, by Julia Darling (2004)
• The Jailbird’s Daughter, by Irene Carr (2005)
• The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards (2005)
• The Preacher’s Daughter, by Beverley Lewis (2005)
• The Abortionist’s Daughter, by Elisabeth Hyde (2006)
• The Alchemist’s Daughter, by Katherine McMahon (2006)
• The Tailor’s Daughter, by Maggie Bennett (2006)
• The Admiral’s Daughter, by Julian Stockwin (2007)
• The Gravedigger’s Daughter, by Joyce Carol Oates (2007)
• The Officer’s Daughter, by Zina Rohan (2007)
• The Pirate’s Daughter, by Margaret Cezair-Thompson (2007)
• The Apothecary’s Daughter, by Julie Klassen (2008)
• The Cabalist’s Daughter, by Yori Yanover (2008)
• The Heretic’s Daughter, by Kathleen Kent (2008)
• The Bishop’s Daughter, by Tiffany Warren (2009)
• The Calligrapher’s Daughter, by Eugenia Kim (2009)
• The Frontiersman’s Daughter, by Laura Frantz (2009)
• The Glass Painter’s Daughter, by Rachel Hore (2009)
• The Naqib’s Daughter, by Samia Serageldin (2010)
• The Glassblower’s Daughter, by Frances Clarke (2011)

Not quite fitting the pattern, but worth mentioning for it’s profound lack of originality:

• The Woman’s Daughter, by Dermot Bolger (1991)

The snowclone is spreading into other relationships as well. The Time Traveller’s Wife (then later The Rector’s, the Footballer’s, the Traitor’s), The Gambler’s Nephew (c.f. the Magician’s), The Colonial Gentleman’s Son, etc. It’s almost tempting to find out if there’s some important structural reason why these stories are so evasive about the actual title character, in favour of their more interesting relative. But not tempting enough to make me read thirty novels from the “contemporary fiction” section.