fbpx
Wikipedia

Romance novel

April 30, 2023

This article is about the type of genre fiction. For the novel titled Romance, see Romance (novel).
See also: Romance (prose fiction)

A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Precursors include authors of literary fiction, such as Samuel Richardson, Jane Austen, and Charlotte Brontë.

"Oh Edward! How can you?", a late-19th-century illustration from Sense and Sensibility (1811) by Jane Austen, a pioneer of the genre

There are many subgenres of the romance novel, including fantasy, gothic, contemporary, historical romance, paranormal fiction, and science fiction. Although women are the main readers of romance novels a growing number of men enjoy them as well. The Romance Writers of America cite 16% of men read romance novels.[1] "Many people today don’t realize that romance is more than a love story. Romance can be a complex plotline with a setting from the past in a remote, faraway place. Instead of focusing on a love story, it idealizes values and principles that seem lost in today’s world of technology and instant gratification. However, romance may also be a typical, romantic, love story that makes people sigh with wishful thinking".[2] "Romance is a natural human emotion. Sad love songs and poems when one is recovering from a broken heart can help express unspoken feelings. Happy romantic movies and plays help people feel optimistic that someday they will also find true love. However, there is some criticism that many modern romantic stories make people develop unrealistic views about real relationships, as they expect love to be like it is in the movies".[2]

The term "romance" is also applied to novels defined by Walter Scott as "a fictitious narrative in prose or verse; the interest of which turns upon marvelous and uncommon incidents".[3][4] Related to this type of romance novel are works that "involves a mysterious, adventurous, or spiritual story line where the focus is on a quest that involves bravery and strong values, not always a love interest".[2] These romances frequently, but not exclusively, takes the form of the historical novel. Scott's novels are also frequently described as historical romances,[5] and Northrop Frye suggested "the general principle that most 'historical novels' are romances".[6]

A thriving genre of works conventionally referred to as "romance novels" existed in ancient Greece.[7] Other precursors can be found in the literary fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries, including Samuel Richardson's sentimental novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) and the novels of Jane Austen. Austen inspired Georgette Heyer, the British author of historical romance set around the time Austen lived,[8] as well as detective fiction. Heyer's first romance novel, The Black Moth (1921), was set in 1751.

The British company Mills & Boon began releasing romance novels for women in the 1930s. Their books were sold in North America by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd,[9] which began direct marketing to readers and allowing mass-market merchandisers to carry the books.

An early American example of a mass-market romance was Kathleen E. Woodiwiss' The Flame and the Flower (1972), published by Avon Books. This was the first single-title romance novel to be published as an original paperback in the US, though in the UK the romance genre was long established through the works of Georgette Heyer, and from the 1950s Catherine Cookson, as well as others.[citation needed] Nancy Coffey was the senior editor who negotiated a multi-book deal with Woodiwiss. The genre boomed in the 1980s, with the addition of many different categories of romance and an increased number of single-title romances, but popular authors started pushing the boundaries of both the genre and plot, as well as creating more contemporary characters.

Definition

Women will pick up a romance novel knowing what to expect, and this foreknowledge of the reader is very important. When the hero and heroine meet and fall in love, maybe they don't know they're in love but the reader does. Then a conflict will draw them apart, but you know in the end they'll be back together, and preferably married or planning to be by page 192.

— Joan Schulhafer of Pocket Books, 1982[10]

One definition of the word "romance" is: "the feelings and behavior of two people who are in a loving and sexual relationship with each other."[11]

According to the Romance Writers of America, the main plot of a mass-market romance novel must revolve about the two people as they develop romantic love for each other and work to build a relationship. Both the conflict and the climax of the novel should be directly related to that core theme of developing a romantic relationship, although the novel can also contain subplots that do not specifically relate to the main characters' romantic love. Furthermore, a romance novel must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."

Others, including Leslie Gelbman, a president of Berkley Books, define the genre more simply, stating only that a romance must make the "romantic relationship between the hero and the heroine ... the core of the book."[12] In general, romance novels reward characters who are good people and penalize those who are evil, and a couple who fights for and believes in their relationship will likely be rewarded with unconditional love.[1] Bestselling author Nora Roberts sums up the genre, saying: "The books are about the celebration of falling in love and emotion and commitment, and all of those things we really want."[13] Women's fiction (including "chick lit") is not directly a subcategory of the romance novel genre, because in women's fiction the heroine's relationship with her family or friends may be as important as her relationship with the hero.[12]

There is a lot of controversy among romance authors about what should and should not be included in plots of romance novels. Some romance novel authors and readers believe the genre has additional restrictions, from plot considerations (such as the protagonists' meeting early on in the story), to avoiding themes (such as adultery). Other disagreements have centered on the firm requirement for a happy ending; some readers admit stories without a happy ending, if the focus of the story is on the romantic love between the two main characters (e.g., Romeo and Juliet). While the majority of romance novels meet the stricter criteria, there are also many books widely considered to be romance novels that deviate from these rules. The Romance Writers of America's definition of romance novels includes only the focus on a developing romantic relationship and an optimistic ending.[14][15] Escapism is important; an Avon executive observed that "The phone never rings, the baby never cries and the rent's never overdue in romances."[10] There are many publishers, libraries, bookstores, and literary critics who continue to go by the traditional definition of romance to categorize books.[16][17]

A romance novel can be set in any time period and in any location. In recent years, romance novels have even expanded into the galaxy. There are no specific restrictions on what can or cannot be included in a romance novel.[1] Even controversial subjects are addressed in romance novels, including topics such as date rape, domestic violence, addiction, and disability.[18] The combination of time frame, location, and plot elements does, however, help a novel to fit into one of several romance subgenres.[1] Despite the numerous possibilities this framework allows, many people in the mainstream press claim that "all [romance novels] seem to read alike."[19] Stereotypes of the romance genre abound. For instance, some believe that all romance novels are similar to those of Danielle Steel, featuring rich, glamorous people traveling to exotic locations.[20] Many romance readers disagree that Steel writes romance at all, considering her novels more mainstream fiction.[21]

Mass-market or formulaic romance novels are sometimes referred to as "smut" or female pornography,[22][23] and are the most popular form of modern erotica for women.[24] While some romance novels do contain more erotic acts, in other romance novels the characters do no more than kiss chastely. The romance genre runs the spectrum between these two extremes.[25] Because women buy 90% of all romance novels,[24] most romance novels are told from a woman's viewpoint, in either first or third person.

Although most romance novels are about heterosexual pairings, there are romance novels that deal with same-sex relationships, and some participants in the book industry characterize books dealing with same-sex relationships as F/F,[26] and M/M.[27]

Many famous literary fiction romance novels end tragically.[17][1] Examples include: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, Atonement by Ian McEwan, and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.[16][17]

History

Development

 
A nineteenth-century painting by the Swiss-French painter Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre depicting a scene from Longus's Daphnis and Chloe

The genre of works of extended prose fiction dealing with romantic love existed in classical Greece.[7] The titles of over twenty such ancient Greek romance novels are known, but most of them have only survived in an incomplete, fragmentary form.[7] Only five ancient Greek romance novels have survived to the present day in a state of near-completion: Chareas and Callirhoe, Leucippe and Clitophon, Daphnis and Chloe, The Ephesian Tale, and The Ethiopian Tale.[7]

Precursors of the modern popular love-romance can also be found in the sentimental novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, by Samuel Richardson, published in 1740. Pamela was the first popular novel to be based on a courtship as told from the perspective of the heroine. Unlike many of the novels of the time, Pamela had a happy ending, when after Mr. B attempts unsuccessfully to seduce and rape Pamela multiple times, he eventually rewards her virtue by sincerely proposing an equitable marriage to her. The book was one of the first bestsellers, with five editions printed in the first eleven months of release.[28] Richardson began writing Pamela as a book of letter templates. Richardson accepted the request, but only if the letters had a moral purpose. As Richardson was writing the series of letters turned into a story. [29] Writing in a new form, the novel, Richardson attempted to both instruct and entertain. Richardson wrote Pamela as a conduct book, a sort of manual which codified social and domestic behavior of men, women, and servants, as well as a narrative in order to provide a more morally concerned literature option for young audiences. This conduct book genre has a long history.

Jane Austen is an important influence on romance genre fiction, and Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813, has been called "the best romance novel ever written."[30] In the early part of the Victorian era, the Brontë sisters, like Austen, wrote literary fiction that influenced later popular fiction. Charlotte Brontë in Jane Eyre, published in 1847, introduced the orphaned heroine. Brontë's love romance incorporates elements of both the gothic novel and Elizabethan drama, and "demonstrate[s] the flexibility of the romance novel form."[31]

While the literary fiction romance continued to develop in the 20th century, the new subgenre of genre fiction, which first developed in the 19th century, started to become more popular after the First World War. In 1919, E. M. Hull's novel The Sheik was published in the United Kingdom. The novel, which became hugely popular, was adapted into a movie (1921), which established star Rudolph Valentino as the top male actor of the time. The hero of this book was an iconic alpha male who kidnapped the heroine and won her admiration through his forceful actions. The novel was one of the first modern works to introduce the rape fantasy, a theme explored in Samuel Richardson's Pamela (1740). Although women were gaining more independence in life, publishers believed that readers would only accept premarital sex in the context of rape. In this novel and those that followed, the rape was depicted as more of a fantasy; the heroine is rarely if ever shown experiencing terror, stress, or trauma as a result.[32]

The popular, mass market version of the historical romance, which Walter Scott developed in the early 19th century, is seen as beginning in 1921, when Georgette Heyer published The Black Moth. This is set in 1751, but many of Heyer's novels were inspired by Jane Austen's novels and are set around the time Austen lived, in the later Regency period. Because Heyer's romances are set more than 100 years earlier, she includes carefully researched historical detail to help her readers understand the period.[33] Unlike other popular love-romance novels of the time, Heyer's novels used the setting as a major plot device. Her characters often exhibit twentieth century sensibilities, and more conventional characters in the novels point out the heroine's eccentricities, such as wanting to marry for love.[34] Heyer was a prolific author, and wrote one to two historical romance novels per year until her death in 1974.[35]

Asian romance

 
Pages of the novel Huatu yuan (translated into English as A Destiny in Two Paintings), collection of the Harvard-Yenching Library

During the Ming and Qing dynasties in China, there was a mass circulation and flourishment of a type of printed romantic novels called caizi jiaren ("scholar and beauty"),[36][37] which typically involves a love story between a beautiful and talented maiden and a handsome young scholar.[38] Some examples of these novels include Ping Shan Leng Yan, Haoqiu zhuan, Iu-Kiao-Li, Huatu yuan, Qiao Lian Zhu, Wu Mei Yuan, Bai Gui Zhi, Jin Yun Qiao, Ting Yue Lou, Wu Jiang Xue, Lin er bao, Ying Yun meng, Tiehua xianshi, Shuishi yuan, Jinxiang ting, Erdu mei quanzhuan, Qingmeng tuo and Zhuchun yuan. They feature themes influenced by the romantic Tang dynasty chuanqi fictions such as Yingying's Biography, The Tale of Li Wa and Huo Xiaoyu zhuan, as well as the popular works of Song and Yuan playwrights such as Bai Renfu, Zheng Guangzu and Wang Shifu. These novels reached their peak of popularity in the late Ming and early Qing periods, during the 17th-century, when a myriad of novels of these type were sold and distributed.

Rise of the category romance

In the 1930s, the British publishers Mills & Boon began releasing hardback romance novels. The books were sold through weekly two-penny libraries and were known as "the books in brown" for their brown binding. In the 1950s, the company began offering the books for sale through newsagents across the United Kingdom.[39]

A Canadian company, Harlequin Enterprises, began distributing in North America in 1957 the category romances published by Mills & Boon.[40] Mary Bonneycastle, wife of Harlequin founder Richard Bonneycastle, and her daughter, Judy Burgess, exercised editorial control over which Mills & Boon novels Harlequin reprinted. They had a "decency code," and rejected more sexually explicit material that Mills and Boon submitted for reprinting. Realizing that the genre was popular, Richard Bonneycastle finally decided to read a romance novel. He chose one of the more explicit novels and enjoyed it. On his orders, the company conducted a market test with the novel he had read and discovered that it outsold a similar, tamer novel.[41] Overall, the novels were short and formulaic, featuring heroines who were sweet, compassionate, pure and innocent. The few heroines who worked did so in traditional female jobs, including as nurses, governesses and secretaries. Intimacy in the novels never extended beyond a chaste kiss between the protagonists.[40]

On October 1, 1971, Harlequin purchased Mills & Boon. By this point, the romance novel genre "had been popularized and distributed widely to an enthusiastic audience" in Great Britain. In an attempt to duplicate Mills & Boon's success in North America, Harlequin improved their distribution and marketing system.[42] By choosing to sell their books "where the women are," they allowed many mass-market merchandisers and even supermarkets to sell the books, all of which were exactly 192 pages. Harlequin then began a reader service, selling directly to readers who agreed to purchase a certain number of books each month.[43]

The beginnings of American romance fiction

In the US, modern romance genre fiction was born in 1972, with Avon's publication of Kathleen Woodiwiss' The Flame and the Flower, which was the first of the modern "bodice ripper" romance novels to follow "the principals into the bedroom."[44][45] Aside from its content, the book was revolutionary in that it was one of the first single-title romance novels to be published as an original paperback, rather than being first published in hardcover, and, like the category romances, was distributed in drug stores and other mass-market merchandising outlets.[46] The novel went on to sell 2.35 million copies.[47] Avon followed its release with the 1974 publication of Woodiwiss' second novel, The Wolf and the Dove and two more sexually graphic novels by newcomer Rosemary Rogers, Sweet Savage Love and Dark Fires. The latter sold two million copies in its first three months of release. By 1975, Publishers Weekly had reported that the "Avon originals" had sold a combined 8 million copies.[46] The following year over 150 historical romance novels, many of them paperback originals, were published, selling over 40 million copies.[47]

The success of these novels prompted a new style of writing romance, concentrating primarily on historical fiction tracking the monogamous relationship between a helpless heroine and the hero who rescued her, even if he had been the one to place her in danger.[18] The covers of these novels tended to feature scantily clad women being grabbed by the hero, and caused the novels to be referred to as bodice rippers.[44] A Wall Street Journal article in 1980 referred to these bodice rippers as "publishing's answer to the Big Mac: They are juicy, cheap, predictable, and devoured in stupefying quantities by legions of loyal fans."[48] The term bodice ripper is now considered offensive to many in the romance industry.[44]

In this new style of historical romance, heroines were independent and strong-willed and were often paired with heroes who evolved into caring and compassionate men who truly admired the women they loved.[49] This was in contrast to the contemporary romances published during this time, which were often characterized by weak females who fell in love with overbearing alpha males.[50] Although these heroines had active roles in the plot, they were "passive in relationships with the heroes."[51] Across the genre, heroines during this time were usually aged 16–21, with the heroes slightly older, usually around 30. The women were virgins, while the men were not, and both members of the couple were described as beautiful.[52]

Category romance adapts

Category romance lines were slower to react to some of the changes that had swept the historical romance subgenre. Despite the fact that the former Mills & Boon lines were now owned by a North American company, the lines did not have any American writers until 1975, when Harlequin purchased a novel by Janet Dailey.[53][54] Dailey's novels provided the romance genre's "first look at heroines, heroes and courtships that take place in America, with American sensibilities, assumptions, history, and most of all, settings."[55] Harlequin was unsure how the market would react to this new type of romance, and was unwilling to fully embrace it. In the late 1970s, a Harlequin editor rejected a manuscript by Nora Roberts, who has since become the top-selling romance author, because "they already had their American writer."[56]

Harlequin sold almost $70 million of its paperback romances in 1979 through 100,000 supermarkets and other stores, giving the company almost 10% of the market for paperback books. That year the company began distributing its own books in the United States instead of through Simon & Schuster's Pocket Books. In 1980 Simon & Schuster formed Silhouette Books to publish its own romance novels, beginning what The New York Times called "perhaps the most bitter war in American book publishing history."[57] The company sought to take advantage of the untapped talent of the American writers.[58] They published several lines of category romance, and encouraged their writers to create stronger heroines and less dominant heroes. Authors were also expected to address contemporary issues where appropriate.[59] Silhouette soon saw their market share expand, and in 1984, Harlequin acquired them. Despite the acquisition, Silhouette continued to retain editorial control and to publish various lines under their own imprint.[42]

Harlequin had also failed to adapt quickly to the signs that readers appreciated novels with more explicit sex scenes, and in 1980, several publishers entered the category romance market to fill that gap. That year, Dell launched their Candlelight Ecstasy line with Amii Lorin's The Tawny Gold Man, becoming the first line to waive the requirement that heroines be virgins. By the end of 1983 sales for the Candlelight Ecstasy line totaled $30 million. Silhoeutte also launched similar lines, Desire (sexually explicit) and Special Edition (sexually explicit and longer stories, up to 250 pages), each of which had a 90–100% sellout rate each month.[60]

A 1982 survey of romance readers confirmed that the new styles of writing were attracting new readers to the genre. 35% of the readers surveyed had begun reading romances after 1977. An additional 31% of those surveyed had been readers for between 6 and 10 years, meaning they had become interested in the genre after 1972, when Woodiwiss' revolutionary novel was published. This means that two-thirds of those surveyed joined the genre after it had begun to change.[61]

The number of category romance lines increased at a rapid pace, and by 1985 there were 16 separate lines producing a total of 80 novels per month.[62] The sudden increase in category romance lines meant an equally sudden increase in demand for writers of the new style of romance novel. This tight market caused a proportionate decrease in the quality of the novels that were being released. By 1984, the market was saturated with category lines and readers had begun to complain of redundancy in plots.[63] The following year, the "dampening effect of the high level of redundancy associated with series romances was evident in the decreased number of titles being read per month."[64] Harlequin's return rate, which had been less than 25% in 1978, when it was the primary provider of category romance, swelled to 60%.[65]

Further change

The genre continued to expand in the mid-to-late 1980s, as publishers realized that the more popular authors were often those who stretched the boundaries of the genre. A 1984 novel by LaVyrle Spencer featured an overweight, middle-aged hero who had to make drastic changes to his lifestyle to win the heroine, while a 1987 Dailey novel involved an ugly hero and a heroine who was searching for her birth mother.[66] Jayne Ann Krentz's 1986 novel Sweet Starfire became the first futuristic romance, combining elements of traditional romance novels and science fiction.[67] The relationships had also modernized: by the 1990s, it was rare to see a book that featured a man raping his future wife.[50] In the mid-to-late 1980s, contemporary romances began to feature women in more male-dominated jobs, such as offshore oil rigs and the space program. The age range of heroines also began to expand, so that books began to feature women who had already reached 30 and even 40. Heroes also changed, with some authors veering towards a more sensitive man. Despite the broadening of some aspects of the plot, other taboos remained, and publishers discouraged authors from writing about controversial subjects such as terrorism, warfare, and masculine sports.[68] Romance novels began to contain more humor beginning in the 1990s, as Julie Garwood began introducing a great deal of humor into her historical romances.[69]

The romance novel began to expand in other ways as well.[70] In 1989, author Jude Deveraux became the first romance author to transition from writing original mass market paperbacks to being published in hardcover. Her novel, A Knight in Shining Armor, "became a natural bestseller."[12] Several authors found success writing single-title romances set in contemporary times, and publishing houses began to encourage the growth in the genre. Because the novels were set in modern times, they could include more of the elements that modern women could relate to, and soon began to touch on themes such as single parenthood, adoption, and abuse.[70]

The 21st century brought additional changes to the genre that included diversifying main characters and plots to incorporate identities that had not previously been represented.

Scholars of romance novel history have observed that characters with disabilities have been largely underrepresented in mainstream media, including romance novels.[71] By the early 2000s, though, more books in the romance genre featured heroes and heroines with physical and mental impairments.[72] Mary Balogh's Simply Love, published in 2006, features a hero with facial scarring and nerve damage who overcomes fears of rejection due to his physical appearance to enter a romantic relationship and family unit by the end of the novel. This was a substantial shift from past narratives where disabled characters were "de-eroticized" and not given storylines that included sex or romantic love.[71]

Additionally, characters with autism have gained more representation in the romance genre since the turn of the century. The year 2010 saw Christine Feehan's novel, Water Bound, featuring a heroine with autism as a significant plot point including a detailed and compassionate portrayal of living and coping with autism.[citation needed] Helen Hoang's 2018 novel The Kiss Quotient, for example, focuses on the heroine's Asperger's syndrome.[73] However, it is still rare to find romance novels in which there are characters with cognitive disabilities, and they are most likely to be included as secondary characters.[73]

Since the 1980s, many plot lines that were once thought to be taboo by the romance publishing industry have become much more accepted into the mainstream of romance fiction. For example, in the 20th century it was rare to find a book with a hero who was in the military or professional sports.[74] In the 21st century, however, such characters are relatively common and even have their own sub-genres within the romance category.[75]

By 2000, the covers had begun to evolve from featuring a scantily clad couple to showing a view of the landscape featured in the novel.[12]

In the earliest Harlequin romance novels, heroines were typically nurses and secretaries, but as time has passed and women have entered the workforce in larger numbers, romance heroines have spanned the career spectrum.[76] Modern romance novels now feature more balanced relationships between men and women.[18]

Critical reception

Some important literary figures received critical acclaim for their romance novels. For instance, the Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez received critical praise for his romance novel Love in the Time of Cholera.[77][78]

Arthur Schopenhauer held that, if poets and novelists across continents have not stopped producing romance novels since millennia, it is because no other topic is more relevant and so the theme never gets old. According to Schopenhauer, romance/love is more important than other topics because it affects the species (not only the individual), in the sense that romance and partner choice is generally a prerequisite to have offspring and continue maintaining the human species in future generations of humankind.[79]

Despite recent rehabilitation and merging of the genre with other genres, there is sometimes a negative stigma with the romance novel. Some dedicated readers are embarrassed to admit to buying or even reading the books.[13] The romance genre has sometimes generated criticism. Some critics point to a lack of suspense, as it may seem obvious that the hero and heroine will eventually resolve their issues, and wonder whether it is beneficial "for women to be whiling away so many hours reading impossibly glamorized love stories."[13] According to fiction author Melissa Pritchard, a romance novel "perpetuates something slightly dangerous, that there's this notion, that there's this perfect love out there, and it can distract you from the work of loving yourself."[80]

Romance novelists attribute the stigma to the fact that romance is, according to some, a genre "written almost exclusively by women for women."[13] Romance novelist Jennifer Crusie counters that in the modern romance novel "a woman is rewarded with unconditional love [only] if she remains true to herself,"[51] while novelist Susan Elizabeth Phillips believes that romance novels are popular because the heroine typically wins, sometimes overcoming great odds so that she is no longer a victim.[81]

Formats

Romance novels are divided into two sub-sets, category romances, also known as series romances, and single title romances.[1] Many authors write only within one of the formats, but others, including Jennifer Crusie and Jayne Ann Krentz, have achieved success in both formats.[82]

Category romance

 
Harlequin novels

Category romances are short, usually no more than 200 pages, or about 55,000 words.[83][84] The books are published in clearly delineated lines, with a certain number of books published in each line every month. In many cases, the books are numbered sequentially within the line.[1] These novels have widespread distribution—often worldwide—and a single U.S. print run, remaining on a bookseller's shelves until they are sold out or until the next month's titles are released and take their place.[82] Writers for the largest publisher of category romance, Harlequin/Mills & Boon, can find their novels translated into 26 languages and sold in over 100 international markets.[85]

To write a successful novel of this length, the "author must pare the story down to its essentials. Subplots and minor characters are eliminated or relegated to the backstory."[84] Nonetheless, category romance lines each have a distinct identity, which may involve similar settings, characters, time periods, levels of sensuality, or types of conflict. Publishers of category romances usually issue guidelines for each line, specifying the elements necessary for a novel to be included in each line.[86][87][88] Depending on the current market and perceived reader preferences, publishers frequently begin new lines or end existing ones. Most recently, erotic and Christian lines have been introduced while traditional Regency romance lines have ended.[89]

Single-title romances

Single-titles novels are romance novels not published as part of a publisher's category. They are longer than category romances, typically between 350 and 400 pages, or 100,000-110,000 words.[83] Publishers may release the novels over a shorter period of time for sales and publicity reasons, but on average authors write 1.5 novels per year and have one each year published.[12][90] Single-title novels remain on the booksellers' shelves at the discretion of the store.[81]

Despite their name, single-title novels are not always stand alone novels. Some authors prefer to write several interconnected books, ranging in number from trilogies to long-running series, so that they can revisit characters or worlds. Such sets of books often have similar titles, and may be labelled as "Number 1 in the XXX Series", but they are not considered series romances because they are not part of a particular line.[91]

Subgenres

Subgenre popularity in the United States (2006)[92]
Subgenre % of market
Category romance 40%
Historical romance 17%
Contemporary romance 16%
Paranormal romance 9%
Romantic suspense 7%
Inspirational romance 6%
All others 5%

Because the definition of a romance novel does not limit the types of plot devices, time frames, or locations that can be included, the genre has grown to encompass a wide variety of material and spawned multiple subgenres. Subgenres of romance are often closely related to other literature genres, and some books could be considered a romance subgenre novel and another genre novel at the same time. For example, romantic suspense novels are often similar to mysteries, crime fiction and thrillers, and paranormal romances use elements popular in science fiction and fantasy novels.

Contemporary romance

Main article: Contemporary romance

Contemporary romance, which is set after World War II,[93] is often what people mean when they refer to a romance novel. Contemporary romance novels—the largest subgenre—are set in the time when they are written, and usually reflect the mores of that time. Heroines in contemporary romances prior to 1970 usually quit working when they marry or have children—while heroines after 1970 usually have, and keep, a career.[94] As contemporary romance novels have grown to contain more complex plotting and more realistic characters, the line between this subgenre and the genre of women's fiction has blurred.[95]

Most contemporary romance novels contain elements that date the books. The majority of them eventually become irrelevant to more modern readers and go out of print.[95] Those that survive the test of time, such as Jane Austen's work, are often reclassified as historical romances.[94]

Over half of the romantic fiction published in the United States in 2004 (1,468 out of 2,285 books) were contemporary romance novels.[96] Contemporary romance novels have twice been chosen by Kelly Ripa to be featured in her Reading with Ripa book club.[97]

Historical romance

Main article: Historical romance

Historical romance, also known as historical novel, is a broad category of fiction which the plot takes place in a setting located in the past, which Walter Scott helped popularize in the early 19th century, with works such as Rob Roy and Ivanhoe.[98] Literary fiction historical romances continue to be published, and a notable recent example is Wolf Hall (2009), a multi-award-winning novel by English historical novelist Hilary Mantel. However, the focus here is on the mass-market genre.

This subgenre includes a wide variety of other subgenres, including Regency romance. Mass-market historical romance novels are rarely published in hardcover, with fewer than 15 receiving that status each year, less than one-fifth of the number of contemporary romance novels published in that format. Because historical romances are primarily published in mass-market format, their fortunes are tied to a certain extent to the mass-market trends. Booksellers and large merchandisers now sell fewer mass market paperbacks, preferring trade paperbacks or hardcovers, which prevents historical romances from being sold in some price clubs and other mass merchandise outlets.[99]

In 2001, 778 mass-market historical romances were published, a 10-year high. By 2004, the annual number had dropped to 486, which was still 20% of all romance novels published. Kensington Books says they receive fewer submissions of historical novels, and their previously published authors have switched to contemporary.[96][99]

Romantic suspense

Romantic suspense involves an intrigue or mystery for the protagonists to solve.[93] Typically, however, the heroine is the victim of a crime or attempted crime, and works with a hero, who tends to be in a field where he would serve as a protector, such as a police officer, FBI agent, bodyguard, or Navy SEAL.[100][101] By the end of the novel, the mystery is resolved and the interaction between the hero and heroine has evolved into a solid relationship.[100] These novels primarily take place in contemporary times, but authors such as Amanda Quick have broadened the genre to also include historical timeframes.[102]

Like all romances, romantic suspense novels must place the development of a relationship between the protagonists at the heart of the story. The relationship "must impact each decision they make and increase the tension of the suspense as it propel the story. In turn, the events of suspense must also directly affect the relationship and move the story forward."[103] Romantic suspense novels tend to have more "clean" language, without the "emotional, intimate" descriptions often used in more traditional romances.[103] Because the mystery is a crucial aspect of the plot, these novels are more plot-driven instead of character-driven.[103]

This blend of the romance and mystery was perfected by Mary Stewart, who wrote ten romantic suspense novels between 1955 and 1967. Stewart was one of the first to seamlessly combine the two genres, maintaining a full mystery while focusing on the courtship between two people.[104] In her novels, the process of solving the mystery "helps to illuminate" the hero's personality, helping the heroine to fall in love with him.[105]

Paranormal romance

Main article: Paranormal romance

Paranormal romance blends the real with the fantastic or science fictional. The fantastic elements may be woven into an alternate version of our own world in an urban fantasy involving vampires, werewolves, and/or demons, or they may be more "normal" manifestations of the paranormal—humans with psychic abilities, witches, or ghosts. Time travel, futuristic, and extraterrestrial romances also fall beneath the paranormal umbrella.[93][106]

These novels often blend elements of other subgenres—including suspense, mystery, or chick lit—with their fantastic themes.[107] A few paranormal romances are set solely in the past and are structured much like any historical romance novel. Others are set in the future, sometimes on different worlds. Still others have a time travel element with either the hero or the heroine traveling into the past or the future.[15] Between 2002 and 2004, the number of paranormal romances published in the United States doubled to 170 per year. A popular title in the genre can sell over 500,000 copies.[108]

Many paranormal romances rely on the blend of contemporary American life with the existence of supernatural or magically empowered beings, human or otherwise. Sometimes the larger culture is aware of the magical in its midst; sometimes it is not. Some paranormal romances focus less on the specifics of their alternate worlds than do traditional science fiction or fantasy novels, keeping the attention strongly on the underlying romance.[102] Others develop the alternate reality meticulously, combining well-planned magical systems and inhuman cultures with contemporary reality.

Science fiction romance

These books (time travel, fantasy, science fiction, and futuristic) blend romance with fantasy or science fiction, and they often overlap the paranormal subgenre. While exploring their alternate worlds, they also offer a fully developed romance. The sensuality level in these novels varies from chaste to very sexy.[109]

Over the years, many publishers have included futuristic, fantasy, and science-fiction romances in their contemporary series lines (for example, Harlequin Temptation, Harlequin Superromance, Silhouette Special Edition). Today these romances are published by most major publishers, including Berkley Books, Harlequin's LUNA and MIRA, Pocket Books, Kensington Books, Dorchester Publishing, Avon Books, and NAL. The e-Book publisher Ellora's Cave has published many erotic romances with fantasy themes and other-worldly heroes and heroines.[110]

There is overlap in these subgenres. Steampunk is science fiction mixed with alternate history which takes place during the Victorian era. It mixes historical elements with technology (think of the television series The Wild Wild West (1965–1969)). Authors to check out include M. K. Hobson and Gail Dayton.[111]

The first futuristic romance to be marketed by a mainstream romance publisher, Jayne Ann Krentz's Sweet Starfire, was published in 1986 and was a "classic road trip romance" that just happened to be set in a separate galaxy.[67] This genre has become more popular since 2000. Krentz attributes the popularity of this romance genre to the fact that the novels "are, at heart, classic historical romances that just happen to be set on other worlds."[67]

Fantasy romance

Main article: Romantic fantasy

Fantasy romance, also known as romantic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy fiction, describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the romance genre. Romantic fantasy has been published by both fantasy and romance lines, with some publishers distinguishing between "fantasy romance" being more like a contemporary fantasy novel with romantic elements, and "romantic fantasy" with more emphasis on the romance elements of the story.[112]

Time-travel romance

Main article: Time-travel romance

Time-travel romances are a version of the classic "fish out of water" story. In most, the heroine is from the present day and travels into the past to meet the hero. In a smaller subset of these novels, the hero, who lives in the past, travels forward into his future to meet the heroine. A successful time-travel romance must have the characters react logically to their experience and should investigate some of the differences, both physical and mental, between the world the character normally inhabits and the one where they landed. Some writers end their novels with the protagonists trapped in different time periods and unable to be together—to the displeasure of many readers of the genre.[113]

Inspirational romance

Inspirational romance, as the market exists today, combines explicitly Christian themes with the development of a romantic relationship.[93] In 2004, 167 novels were published in the inspirational romance subgenre.[96] These novels typically do not include gratuitous violence or swearing, and the central courtship is chaste. Sex, if it is present at all, occurs after marriage and is not explicitly detailed. Many novels in this genre also focus on the hero or heroine's faith, turning the love story into "a triangle: the man and the woman and also their relationship with God."[114] Themes such as forgiveness, honesty, and fidelity are common.[115]

The first line of series inspirational romances debuted shortly after the 1980 U.S. presidential election, when Silhouette launched their Silhouette Inspirations line. The books were aimed at born-again Christians and were marketed in religious bookstores. The Silhouette Inspirations line was closed after Harlequin acquired Silhouette in 1984 because it was not profitable.[116] However, other Christian publishers continued to produce romance novels, including historical and contemporary, and Harlequin later rejoined the market with the 1998 launch of its Steeple Hill and Love Inspired lines.[117]

Young Adult romance

Young adult romance are romance novels where young adult life is centered. The subgenre is believed to have been started in 1942, with varying degrees of popularity throughout time. The romance between two characters is the central focus of the book, however other aspects of young adult/teen life are also explored, often with coming-of-age themes and navigating relationships. While most romance ends with "happily ever after," "happily for now" is generally accepted due to the age of characters.

Young adult romance has its own subgenres which include contemporary, fantasy, sci-fi, LGBTQIA+, and more.

LGBTQIA+ romance

LGBTQIA+ romance has been a fast-growing subgenre, especially with the rise of indie publishing and social media granting access to doors that are normally closed. Male/male romance leads the subgenre, but lesbian, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, and ace-spectrum (or asexual and aromantic) fiction are all featured prominently, with multiple small publishing houses leading the way. The romantic relationship is the central story, and focus is usually taken off of trauma.

Black Love romance

Black love romance is a romance where both main characters and majority of supporting characters are black. The abolitionist and suffragist Frances E. W. Harper wrote what was arguably the first African American romance novel, Iola Leroy in 1892. The subgenre started growing in the early 80's along with other romance subgenres. Black love historical romance novels center the love and happiness of its main characters, and usually includes black history and black people standing in solidarity.[118] Political and social commentary is the norm, with a large majority of books expressing explicitly abolitionist and activist views. In contemporary black love, themes of activism are not as dominant, however normally are still included. [119]Popular authors include Beverly Jenkins, Alyssa Cole, Rebecca Weatherspoon, Kennedy Ryan, and Christina C. Jones.

Multicultural romance

Multicultural romance typically features a hero and/or heroine who is African-American, although some multicultural lines also include Asian or Hispanic heroes or heroines or interracial relationships.[120] The first line of multicultural romance novels, Arabesque, was launched by Kensington Books in 1994. BET Books purchased the line in 1998, and the number of new authors that they publish has continued to expand each year. BET has also developed some of the Arabesque novels into made-for-television movies.[121]

In 1999, Kensington Publishing launched the first line of Latino romance novels – ENCANTO. The ENCANTO novels were originally released in two ways – a bilingual Spanish/English version and a Spanish-only version. Two novels were published every month until late 2001, when the line went into hiatus. Despite the demise of the line, several of the ENCANTO authors have continued writing novels with Latino protagonists, namely Sylvia Mendoza, Tracy Montoya, Caridad Pineiro, Berta Platas, Lara Rios and Lynda Sandoval.

Although romance novels featuring African-Americans and Hispanic protagonists are becoming more popular, those featuring Asian or Asian-American characters are rare. Author Tess Gerritsen believes this is due to the fact that there are fewer Asian-American women who read romances: "We read romances because we want to feel good about love...in order to do that, the reader must identify with the heroine."[122]

Erotic romance

Main article: Erotic romance novels

Erotic romance is a blend of romance and erotica. Erotic romance novels are characterized by strong sexual content, but can contain elements of any of the other romance subgenres. Erotic romance novels tend to use more frank language, avoiding many of the euphemisms used in books with milder content. These novels also usually include more sex scenes, often focusing more on the sex act rather than being a more traditional love scene, and may include more unusual positions or acts.[123] Despite a greater emphasis on the sex scenes, however, erotic romance is distinguishable from traditional pornography. Pornography concentrates on the sex acts, but erotic novels include well-developed characters and a plot that could exist without the sex acts.[124] In a vast majority of erotic romance novels, the sexual act progresses the plot or furthers the character development in some way and are critical to the story.

Erotic romances' lengths run from short stories to single-title novels. Some of these are published as part of a category, such as Harlequin Blaze, while others are published as part of an anthology and are only novella length. Even single-title erotic romances may be as short as a novella, however.[123]

Many of the publishers of erotic romance are either small press publishers or electronic book publishers. Writers often have more leeway as to what types of erotic acts can be included when working with an electronic publisher than they would have when working with a print publisher.[123] The market for erotic romances has been growing rapidly, leading some publishers to create new lines for these types of books.[125] Some subjects are still considered taboo, even with erotic romance. Themes such as pedophilia, incest, and bestiality are discouraged by all publishers.[123]

The market for erotic romances has grown rapidly. Ellora's Cave, an electronic publisher that focuses on erotic romance, became the first electronic publisher recognized by the Romance Writers of America as a legitimate publisher.[124] Ellora's Cave went out of business at the end of 2016.[126] Several other smaller presses largely focused on erotic romance have also closed up shop, including Samhain Publishing (closed 2017)[127] and Loose Id (closed 2018).[128] Changeling Press,[129] focused on short-form erotic romance, is still publishing as of March, 2021.

Chick lit

Chick lit or chick literature is named after the readership it attracts (women in their twenties and thirties), and it is said to be inspired by the 1996 novel Bridget Jones's Diary. Some of the dominant themes of chick lit are a single woman's journey through career, high-powered work environment, personal life, relationships, motherhood, and parenting. Some subcategories of this genre are baby lit and mummy lit.[130]

Markets

North America

The romance fiction market "has been impervious to the overall economic recession, with faithful readers spending up to $40 a month" on romance novels in 1982.[10] That year, paperback romances totaled $300 million in sales, and the total audience was estimated at 20 million readers. A survey of 600 regular romance readers the same year "found that they mirror the general population in age, education, and marital and socioeconomic status." Over half of the women had at least some college education, and 40% were employed full-time. 60% of the women surveyed read at least one romance every two days. The women admitted to reading romances as an antidote to stress, for mental escape, and to learn about history and new careers.[131]

As of 1982 at least 25% of all paperbacks were romance novels;[132] by 1991, they comprised 46% of all mass market paperbacks sold in the US. This expansion was due in part to voracious readers, with over half of Harlequin's customers purchasing 30 novels per month. By this time, the romance novel audience had become more educated, with 45% having a college degree, and more than half of the audience worked outside the home.[133]

By the 2000s, romance had become the most popular genre in modern literature. In 2008, romantic fiction generated $1.37 billion in sales, with 7,311 romance novels published and making up 13.5% of the consumer book market. Over 74 million people claimed to have read at least one romance novel in 2008, according to a Romance Writers of America study. The study reported that 9.5% of romance readers identified themselves as male, and that romance readers were more likely to be married or living with a partner. According to the RWA 84% of romance buyers were women and 16% were men.[134] Of the entire American population, 24.6% read at least one romance novel in 2008.[96]

International markets

Along with cowboys and horses, the authors were told to skip ethnic heroes [for European readers] and not to let family members steal too much of the limelight. "But secret babies sell quite well, as do marriages of convenience, or arranged marriages and, of course, alpha heroes," Stoecker said.

— The New York Times, 2004[135]

74.8 million people read an English-language romance novel in 2008.[24] Harlequin sells more than 4 books per second, half of them internationally. Author Heather Graham attributes this to the fact that "emotions translate easily."[136] In the United Kingdom, over 20% of all fiction books sold each year are romance novels.[137]

Although romance novels are translated into over 90 languages,[45] most authors of women's fiction are from Great Britain or North America.[135] In France, where over 12 million romance novels are sold each year, all are translations,[45] as are almost all Harlequin novels in Italy. Some publishing companies in Germany refuse to allow their romance authors to use their own names, fearing that readers will not buy a romance novel that does not have an American pseudonym.[135]

The Anglo-Saxon perspective in the fiction at times can be much less successful in a European market. Although Italy is the strongest foreign market for the chick lit sold by single-title imprint Red Dress Ink, in that country romance readers do not care to read books about cowboys, as this type of occupation was not common in their culture. The paranormal romance genre is not popular in countries such as Poland and Russia, although historical romance tends to be very successful.[135] Inspirational romance does not sell well in Europe, where romances that feature babies are very popular.[45] German readers enjoy reading more erotic romance novels,[135] and some German translations of English romance novels expand or insert love scenes into otherwise tame stories. The alternate scenario also occurs, as other German translators censor the love scenes.[135][138]

As of 2014, romance is the most popular literary genre in Russia (chosen 13% of respondents), especially among the younger audience.[139]

In 2004, sales of romance novels in Australia increased 28% over the year before. Between 1999 and 2004 there was an increase of 40–50% in the number of new titles released. Harlequin, which received 20,000 unsolicited manuscripts each year, found that women are 99% of romance readers.[140]

Awards

Further information: Romance Writers of America § Awards

The most prestigious and notable awards for romance novels are the RITA Awards, which are presented annually by the Romance Writers of America to the best novels in romantic fiction.[141]

Another notable award is the Romantic Novel of the Year Award (RoNA) through the Romantic Novelists' Association.[142] The award is separated into categories:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Historical Romance
  • Romantic Comedy
  • Fantasy Romance
  • Romantic Thriller
  • Romantic Saga
  • Shorter Romantic Novel
  • Debut Romance Novel

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g . Romance Writers of America. Archived from the original on November 26, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Romance". Literary Terms. October 26, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  3. ^ Scott, Walter. Maning, Susan (ed.). "Essay on Romance". Prose Works. Vol. vi. p. 129.
  4. ^ Scott, Walter (1992). "Introduction". Quentin Durand. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  5. ^ J. A. Cuddon, The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory,4th edition, revised C. E. Preston. London: Penguin, 1999, p. 761>
  6. ^ Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism (1957). New York: Atheneum, 1966, p. 307.
  7. ^ a b c d Reardon, Bryan P. (1989). Collected Ancient Greek Novels. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 1–16. ISBN 0-520-04306-5. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  8. ^ Regis, Pamela (2007). A Natural History of the Romance Novel. University of Pennsylvania Press.
  9. ^ "Home - Corporate Harlequin". Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c "Expanding Romance Market". New York Times. March 8, 1982. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
  11. ^ "Definition of Romance". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d e . Publishers Weekly. July 2, 2001. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  13. ^ a b c d Gray, Paul (March 20, 2000). . Time. Archived from the original on January 13, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  14. ^ Crusie, Jennifer (March 2000). . Romance Writer's Report. PAN. Archived from the original on May 2, 2006.
  15. ^ a b . Dorchester Publishing. Archived from the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  16. ^ a b "9 Love Stories with Tragic Endings". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  17. ^ a b c "9 tragic love stories to read after seeing 'Me Before You'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  18. ^ a b c White, Pamela (August 15, 2002). . Boulder Weekly. Archived from the original on September 4, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  19. ^ Gold, Laurie (July 30, 1997). . All About Romance Novels. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  20. ^ Bellafante, Gina (August 8, 1994). . Time. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  21. ^ Gold, Laurie (March 1, 2005). . All About Romance Novels. Archived from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  22. ^ Bly, Mary (February 12, 2005). "A Fine Romance". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  23. ^ Faircloth, Kelly (April 28, 2005). . The Harvard Independent. Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  24. ^ a b c Ogas, Ogi (April 30, 2011). "The Online World of Female Desire". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  25. ^ Hank, Melissa (March 5, 2007). . TV Guide. Archived from the original on April 3, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  26. ^ "Listopia > F F Book Lists". Goodreads.
  27. ^ "Listopia > M M Book Lists". Goodreads.
  28. ^ Regis (2003), pp. 63, 64, 66
  29. ^ Doody, Margaret (June 21, 2018). "An introduction to Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded". The British Library. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  30. ^ Regis (2003), p 75.
  31. ^ Regis (2003), p. 85.
  32. ^ Regis (2003), pp. 115–117.
  33. ^ Regis (2003), pp. 125-126.
  34. ^ Regis (2003), p. 127.
  35. ^ Regis (2003), p 125.
  36. ^ The term 才子佳人 ("caizi jiaren"), meaning "a handsome and talented man and a beautiful woman".
  37. ^ "INTERPRETING LOVE NARRATIVES IN EAST ASIAN LITERATURE AND FILM (Ordered & cross-referenced list of key words, phrases, abbreviations and main ideas)". berkeley.pressbooks.pub. Berkeley Library University of California. The caizi-jiaren storyline, as the notes below indicate, refers specifically to a Ming-Qing dynasty stereotypical narrative shape; however, the fundamentals are exceptionally old and widespread in East Asia ... It remains, I would suggest, one of the standard storylines of modern East Asian romantic [dramas] and films ... caizi (才子) and jiaren (佳人), which, far from conveying the full connotations of the original words, have been translated as "scholar" and "beauty." Broadly speaking, the terms can be applied to any hero and heroine in classical Chinese representations of love and courtship. In a narrow sense, however, caizi-jiaren refers exclusively to a model of romantic stories in popular drama and fiction that flourished in late imperial China … [13th-19th centuries].
  38. ^ McMahon, Keith (1994). "The Classic 'Beauty-Scholar' Romance and the Superiority of the Talented Woman (section: The Remarkable Woman and Her Relationship with the Man)". In Zito, Angela; Tani E. Barlow (eds.). Body, Subject & Power in China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 233. ISBN 0226987264. The talented and independent woman is not new in Chinese literature, nor is her attachment to a handsome scholar. Her concentration in beauty-scholar romances of the early to mid-Qing, however, is a clear identifying feature of these novels. Able to do as well or better than the man, such a woman often dresses as a man in order to move about more freely than custom ordinarily allows; she goes out to get what she wants rather than waiting for things to come to her in her inner chambers. One of her mottos is, 'Though in body I am a woman, in ambition I suprass men' (BGZ, chap. 1,6).
  39. ^ . Harlequin Mills and Boon. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
  40. ^ a b Thurston (1987), p. 42.
  41. ^ Regis (2003), p. 185
  42. ^ a b Regis (2003), p. 156.
  43. ^ Thurston, pp. 46-47.
  44. ^ a b c Athitakis, Mark (July 25, 2001). "A Romance Glossary". SF Weekly. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  45. ^ a b c d Zaitchik, Alexander (July 22, 2003). "The Romance Writers of America convention is just super". New York Press. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  46. ^ a b Thurston, pp 47-48.
  47. ^ a b Darrach, Brad (January 17, 1977). . Time. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2007.
  48. ^ Thurston, p 67.
  49. ^ Thurston, p 72.
  50. ^ a b Grossman, Lev (February 3, 2003). (PDF). Time. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  51. ^ a b Crusie, Jennifer (1998). . In Kaler, Anne; Johnson-Kurek, Rosemary (eds.). Romantic Conventions. Bowling Green Press. pp. 51–61. ISBN 9780879727772. Archived from the original on February 2, 2009.
  52. ^ Thurston, p 75.
  53. ^ Thurston (1987), pp. 46-47.
  54. ^ Regis (2003), pp. 155–156
  55. ^ Regis (2003), p. 159.
  56. ^ Regis (2003), pp. 158, 183, 184.
  57. ^ Walters, Ray (October 12, 1980). "Paperback Talk". The New York Times. pp. A47.
  58. ^ Regis (2003), pp. 156, 159.
  59. ^ Regis (2003), p. 184
  60. ^ Barrett, Mary Ellin (January 9, 1983). (PDF). Family Weekly. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
  61. ^ Thurston, pp. 127-128.
  62. ^ Regis (2003), p. 157.
  63. ^ Thurston, p 188.
  64. ^ Thurston, p 128.
  65. ^ Thurston, p 190.
  66. ^ Thurston, p 109.
  67. ^ a b c Gelsomino, Tara (2002). . Romantic Times. Archived from the original on October 4, 2007. Retrieved July 26, 2007.
  68. ^ Bird, Sarah (August 16, 1991). . Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
  69. ^ . All About Romance Novels. May 25, 2003. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
  70. ^ a b Park, Michael Y. (August 28, 2002). "Reading True Romance". Fox News. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  71. ^ a b Schalk, Sami (2016). "Happily Ever After for Whom? Blackness and Disability in Romance Narratives". The Journal of Popular Culture. 49 (6): 1241–1260. doi:10.1111/jpcu.12491.
  72. ^ Cheyne, Ria (2013). "Disability Studies Reads the Romance". Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies. 7 (1): 37–52. doi:10.3828/jlcds.2013.3. S2CID 145383450.
  73. ^ a b Alter, Alexandra (July 7, 2018). "The Changing Face of Romance Novels". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  74. ^ Luscombe, Belinda (December 5, 2011). "Veteran Affairs". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  75. ^ "Sports And Romance Novels: A Match Made In ... Hockey". www.wbur.org. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  76. ^ Witmer, Karyn (August 28, 2006). . All About Romance. Archived from the original on July 14, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  77. ^ Kakutani, Michiko (April 6, 1988). "Books of The Times; Garcia Marquez Novel Covers Love and Time". The New York Times.
  78. ^ "Thomas Pynchon's 1988 review of Love in the Time of Cholera". The New York Times.
  79. ^ Schopenhauer, Arthur (2013). The Metaphysics Of The Love Of The Sexes. FV Éditions.
  80. ^ Hall, Melissa Mia (February 23, 2004). . Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  81. ^ a b Leopold, Todd (August 11, 2000). "Writing from the heart". CNN. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  82. ^ a b Eykelhof, Paula; Macomber, Debbie (July 31, 2006). . Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  83. ^ a b Hamilton, Melissa. . Romance Ever After. Archived from the original on August 4, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  84. ^ a b Regis (2003), p. 160.
  85. ^ . Romance Novelists' Association. Archived from the original on May 6, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  86. ^ Eykelhof, Paula. . eHarlequin.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  87. ^ Jeglinski, Melissa. . eHarlequin.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  88. ^ Toth (1998), p. 519.
  89. ^ . Romance Writers of America. 2008. Archived from the original on July 23, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  90. ^ . Romance Writers of America. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  91. ^ Ward, Jean Marie. "Eloisa James: Regencies with a Shakespearean Twist". Crescent Blues. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  92. ^ . Romance Writers of America. 2007. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved November 29, 2007.
  93. ^ a b c d . Romance Writers of America. Archived from the original on July 27, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  94. ^ a b Ramsdell (1999), p. 43.
  95. ^ a b Ramsdell (1999), p. 44.
  96. ^ a b c d . Romance Writers of America. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  97. ^ . Publishers Weekly. November 17, 2003. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  98. ^ Christiansen, Rupert (2004) [1988], Romantic Affinities: Portraits From an Age, 1780–1830 (reprint ed.), London: Pimlico, pp. 192–96, ISBN 1-84413421-0
  99. ^ a b Dyer, Lucinda (June 13, 2005). . Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  100. ^ a b . Text in Transit: A guide to genre in Popular Literature. The Canada Research Chair Humanities Computing Studio. May 21, 2005. Archived from the original on May 27, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  101. ^ Day, Michele (August 13, 2002). "Love stories with suspense, humor top charts". The Enquirer (Cincinnati, Ohio). Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  102. ^ a b Marble, Anne M. (2001). "The Subgenres of Romance". Writing-World.Com. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  103. ^ a b c Clayton, Becci. . Heart of Denver Romance Writers. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
  104. ^ Regis (2003), pp. 143, 144.
  105. ^ Regis (2003), p. 146.
  106. ^ "Paranormal Romance". Text in Transit: A guide to genre in Popular Literature. The Canada Research CHair Humanities Computing Studio. May 25, 2004. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  107. ^ Arthur, Keri (2007). . The Romance Writers of Australia. Archived from the original on April 22, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  108. ^ Luscombe, Belinda (February 19, 2006). . Time. Archived from the original on June 15, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  109. ^ Grant (2007, p. 230)
  110. ^ Grant (2007, p. 231)
  111. ^ Palmquist (2012, p. 68)
  112. ^ William C. Robinson (October 2004). "A Few Thoughts on the Fantasy Genre". University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
  113. ^ Marble, Anne M. (September 2002). . Writing-world.Com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
  114. ^ Duffy, Martha (November 13, 1995). . Time. Archived from the original on January 14, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  115. ^ Layne, Sandy (2001). "Christian Romance Novels?". Write to Inspire. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  116. ^ Thurston, pp 190–192.
  117. ^ "Love Inspired Facebook page". Facebook. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  118. ^ Bell, Carole V. (February 21, 2020). "Black Romance Novels Matter Too". Shondaland.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  119. ^ Bell, Carole V. (February 29, 2020). "15 Must Read Black Authored Historical Romance Novels of the Last 25 Years".
  120. ^ Dunford, Natalie; Dyer, Lucinda; Holt, Karen; Rosen, Judith (December 1, 2003). . Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  121. ^ Adlerstein, David (September 8, 2000). "Multicultural Book Room". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  122. ^ Nguyen, Lan (September 2005). . Audrey Magazine. Archived from the original on April 6, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  123. ^ a b c d Marble, Anne M. (January 2005). . Writing-World.Com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
  124. ^ a b Cooper-Posey, Tracy (2004). "An End to Euphemisms: Is Erotica Right for You?". Writing-world.Com. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
  125. ^ "Avon Red". Avon (publishers). Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  126. ^ "End of Ellora's Cave – UNSUITABLE".
  127. ^ "Samhain Publishing, Ltd – It's all about the story…". Smhn.com. March 1, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  128. ^ "Publisher Loose Id is Closing". December 2, 2017.
  129. ^ "Win Free Books For A Year | Changeling Press LLC Women's Sci-Fi, Futuristic, Dark and Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, and Contemporary Romance". Changelingpress.com. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  130. ^ Parv, Valerie (2004). The Art of Romance Writing (2nd ed.). Australia: Allen & Unwin. p. 8. ISBN 1741143748.
  131. ^ Thurston, Carol (April 1983). (PDF). Psychology Today. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
  132. ^ McDowell, Edwin (January 10, 1982). "The Paperback Evolution". The New York Times. p. 7. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  133. ^ Linden, Dana Wechsler; Rees, Matt (June 6, 1922). (PDF). Forbes. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
  134. ^ . Archived from the original on December 22, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  135. ^ a b c d e f Povoledo, Elisabetta (October 18, 2004). "Women's Fiction for Europe: 'No cowboys, no babies'". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  136. ^ Larsen, Kristin (August 9, 2005). "Romance Writers are Passionate About Their Work". Voice of America. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  137. ^ . Cambridge Evening News. June 14, 2007. Archived from the original on July 3, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
  138. ^ Fritsche, Vivien (July 1999). . All About Romance. Archived from the original on April 13, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2007.
  139. ^ "What do we read?" (in Russian). The Rating Center. June 4, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  140. ^ Bantick, Christopher (February 13, 2004). "A Quiver Through the Bookshelves". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
  141. ^ Romance Writers of America RITA Awards January 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  142. ^ Romantic Novelist's Association Awards

References

Further reading

  • Luther, Jessica Luther (March 18, 2013). "Beyond Bodice-Rippers: How Romance Novels Came to Embrace Feminism". The Atlantic.
  • Roy, Pinaki. “Bodice-ripper and Feminism: A New Perspective”. Gender Issues in India: Challenges and Strategies. Ed. Som, S. Kolkata: Rupali, 2017 (ISBN 978-93-81669-69-3). pp. 6–13.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Romance books.

April 30, 2023
romance, novel, this, article, about, type, genre, fiction, novel, titled, romance, romance, novel, also, romance, prose, fiction, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template,. This article is about the type of genre fiction For the novel titled Romance see Romance novel See also Romance prose fiction This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed January 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may be written from a fan s point of view rather than a neutral point of view Please clean it up to conform to a higher standard of quality and to make it neutral in tone January 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people and usually has an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending Precursors include authors of literary fiction such as Samuel Richardson Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte Oh Edward How can you a late 19th century illustration from Sense and Sensibility 1811 by Jane Austen a pioneer of the genre There are many subgenres of the romance novel including fantasy gothic contemporary historical romance paranormal fiction and science fiction Although women are the main readers of romance novels a growing number of men enjoy them as well The Romance Writers of America cite 16 of men read romance novels 1 Many people today don t realize that romance is more than a love story Romance can be a complex plotline with a setting from the past in a remote faraway place Instead of focusing on a love story it idealizes values and principles that seem lost in today s world of technology and instant gratification However romance may also be a typical romantic love story that makes people sigh with wishful thinking 2 Romance is a natural human emotion Sad love songs and poems when one is recovering from a broken heart can help express unspoken feelings Happy romantic movies and plays help people feel optimistic that someday they will also find true love However there is some criticism that many modern romantic stories make people develop unrealistic views about real relationships as they expect love to be like it is in the movies 2 The term romance is also applied to novels defined by Walter Scott as a fictitious narrative in prose or verse the interest of which turns upon marvelous and uncommon incidents 3 4 Related to this type of romance novel are works that involves a mysterious adventurous or spiritual story line where the focus is on a quest that involves bravery and strong values not always a love interest 2 These romances frequently but not exclusively takes the form of the historical novel Scott s novels are also frequently described as historical romances 5 and Northrop Frye suggested the general principle that most historical novels are romances 6 A thriving genre of works conventionally referred to as romance novels existed in ancient Greece 7 Other precursors can be found in the literary fiction of the 18th and 19th centuries including Samuel Richardson s sentimental novel Pamela or Virtue Rewarded 1740 and the novels of Jane Austen Austen inspired Georgette Heyer the British author of historical romance set around the time Austen lived 8 as well as detective fiction Heyer s first romance novel The Black Moth 1921 was set in 1751 The British company Mills amp Boon began releasing romance novels for women in the 1930s Their books were sold in North America by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd 9 which began direct marketing to readers and allowing mass market merchandisers to carry the books An early American example of a mass market romance was Kathleen E Woodiwiss The Flame and the Flower 1972 published by Avon Books This was the first single title romance novel to be published as an original paperback in the US though in the UK the romance genre was long established through the works of Georgette Heyer and from the 1950s Catherine Cookson as well as others citation needed Nancy Coffey was the senior editor who negotiated a multi book deal with Woodiwiss The genre boomed in the 1980s with the addition of many different categories of romance and an increased number of single title romances but popular authors started pushing the boundaries of both the genre and plot as well as creating more contemporary characters Contents 1 Definition 2 History 2 1 Development 2 2 Asian romance 2 3 Rise of the category romance 2 4 The beginnings of American romance fiction 2 5 Category romance adapts 2 6 Further change 3 Critical reception 4 Formats 4 1 Category romance 4 2 Single title romances 5 Subgenres 5 1 Contemporary romance 5 2 Historical romance 5 3 Romantic suspense 5 4 Paranormal romance 5 5 Science fiction romance 5 6 Fantasy romance 5 7 Time travel romance 5 8 Inspirational romance 5 9 Young Adult romance 5 10 LGBTQIA romance 5 11 Black Love romance 5 12 Multicultural romance 5 13 Erotic romance 5 14 Chick lit 6 Markets 6 1 North America 6 2 International markets 7 Awards 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External linksDefinition EditWomen will pick up a romance novel knowing what to expect and this foreknowledge of the reader is very important When the hero and heroine meet and fall in love maybe they don t know they re in love but the reader does Then a conflict will draw them apart but you know in the end they ll be back together and preferably married or planning to be by page 192 Joan Schulhafer of Pocket Books 1982 10 One definition of the word romance is the feelings and behavior of two people who are in a loving and sexual relationship with each other 11 According to the Romance Writers of America the main plot of a mass market romance novel must revolve about the two people as they develop romantic love for each other and work to build a relationship Both the conflict and the climax of the novel should be directly related to that core theme of developing a romantic relationship although the novel can also contain subplots that do not specifically relate to the main characters romantic love Furthermore a romance novel must have an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending Others including Leslie Gelbman a president of Berkley Books define the genre more simply stating only that a romance must make the romantic relationship between the hero and the heroine the core of the book 12 In general romance novels reward characters who are good people and penalize those who are evil and a couple who fights for and believes in their relationship will likely be rewarded with unconditional love 1 Bestselling author Nora Roberts sums up the genre saying The books are about the celebration of falling in love and emotion and commitment and all of those things we really want 13 Women s fiction including chick lit is not directly a subcategory of the romance novel genre because in women s fiction the heroine s relationship with her family or friends may be as important as her relationship with the hero 12 There is a lot of controversy among romance authors about what should and should not be included in plots of romance novels Some romance novel authors and readers believe the genre has additional restrictions from plot considerations such as the protagonists meeting early on in the story to avoiding themes such as adultery Other disagreements have centered on the firm requirement for a happy ending some readers admit stories without a happy ending if the focus of the story is on the romantic love between the two main characters e g Romeo and Juliet While the majority of romance novels meet the stricter criteria there are also many books widely considered to be romance novels that deviate from these rules The Romance Writers of America s definition of romance novels includes only the focus on a developing romantic relationship and an optimistic ending 14 15 Escapism is important an Avon executive observed that The phone never rings the baby never cries and the rent s never overdue in romances 10 There are many publishers libraries bookstores and literary critics who continue to go by the traditional definition of romance to categorize books 16 17 A romance novel can be set in any time period and in any location In recent years romance novels have even expanded into the galaxy There are no specific restrictions on what can or cannot be included in a romance novel 1 Even controversial subjects are addressed in romance novels including topics such as date rape domestic violence addiction and disability 18 The combination of time frame location and plot elements does however help a novel to fit into one of several romance subgenres 1 Despite the numerous possibilities this framework allows many people in the mainstream press claim that all romance novels seem to read alike 19 Stereotypes of the romance genre abound For instance some believe that all romance novels are similar to those of Danielle Steel featuring rich glamorous people traveling to exotic locations 20 Many romance readers disagree that Steel writes romance at all considering her novels more mainstream fiction 21 Mass market or formulaic romance novels are sometimes referred to as smut or female pornography 22 23 and are the most popular form of modern erotica for women 24 While some romance novels do contain more erotic acts in other romance novels the characters do no more than kiss chastely The romance genre runs the spectrum between these two extremes 25 Because women buy 90 of all romance novels 24 most romance novels are told from a woman s viewpoint in either first or third person Although most romance novels are about heterosexual pairings there are romance novels that deal with same sex relationships and some participants in the book industry characterize books dealing with same sex relationships as F F 26 and M M 27 Many famous literary fiction romance novels end tragically 17 1 Examples include Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami Atonement by Ian McEwan and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 16 17 History EditDevelopment Edit A nineteenth century painting by the Swiss French painter Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre depicting a scene from Longus s Daphnis and Chloe The genre of works of extended prose fiction dealing with romantic love existed in classical Greece 7 The titles of over twenty such ancient Greek romance novels are known but most of them have only survived in an incomplete fragmentary form 7 Only five ancient Greek romance novels have survived to the present day in a state of near completion Chareas and Callirhoe Leucippe and Clitophon Daphnis and Chloe The Ephesian Tale and The Ethiopian Tale 7 Precursors of the modern popular love romance can also be found in the sentimental novel Pamela or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson published in 1740 Pamela was the first popular novel to be based on a courtship as told from the perspective of the heroine Unlike many of the novels of the time Pamela had a happy ending when after Mr B attempts unsuccessfully to seduce and rape Pamela multiple times he eventually rewards her virtue by sincerely proposing an equitable marriage to her The book was one of the first bestsellers with five editions printed in the first eleven months of release 28 Richardson began writing Pamela as a book of letter templates Richardson accepted the request but only if the letters had a moral purpose As Richardson was writing the series of letters turned into a story 29 Writing in a new form the novel Richardson attempted to both instruct and entertain Richardson wrote Pamela as a conduct book a sort of manual which codified social and domestic behavior of men women and servants as well as a narrative in order to provide a more morally concerned literature option for young audiences This conduct book genre has a long history Jane Austen is an important influence on romance genre fiction and Pride and Prejudice published in 1813 has been called the best romance novel ever written 30 In the early part of the Victorian era the Bronte sisters like Austen wrote literary fiction that influenced later popular fiction Charlotte Bronte in Jane Eyre published in 1847 introduced the orphaned heroine Bronte s love romance incorporates elements of both the gothic novel and Elizabethan drama and demonstrate s the flexibility of the romance novel form 31 While the literary fiction romance continued to develop in the 20th century the new subgenre of genre fiction which first developed in the 19th century started to become more popular after the First World War In 1919 E M Hull s novel The Sheik was published in the United Kingdom The novel which became hugely popular was adapted into a movie 1921 which established star Rudolph Valentino as the top male actor of the time The hero of this book was an iconic alpha male who kidnapped the heroine and won her admiration through his forceful actions The novel was one of the first modern works to introduce the rape fantasy a theme explored in Samuel Richardson s Pamela 1740 Although women were gaining more independence in life publishers believed that readers would only accept premarital sex in the context of rape In this novel and those that followed the rape was depicted as more of a fantasy the heroine is rarely if ever shown experiencing terror stress or trauma as a result 32 The popular mass market version of the historical romance which Walter Scott developed in the early 19th century is seen as beginning in 1921 when Georgette Heyer published The Black Moth This is set in 1751 but many of Heyer s novels were inspired by Jane Austen s novels and are set around the time Austen lived in the later Regency period Because Heyer s romances are set more than 100 years earlier she includes carefully researched historical detail to help her readers understand the period 33 Unlike other popular love romance novels of the time Heyer s novels used the setting as a major plot device Her characters often exhibit twentieth century sensibilities and more conventional characters in the novels point out the heroine s eccentricities such as wanting to marry for love 34 Heyer was a prolific author and wrote one to two historical romance novels per year until her death in 1974 35 Asian romance Edit Pages of the novel Huatu yuan translated into English as A Destiny in Two Paintings collection of the Harvard Yenching Library During the Ming and Qing dynasties in China there was a mass circulation and flourishment of a type of printed romantic novels called caizi jiaren scholar and beauty 36 37 which typically involves a love story between a beautiful and talented maiden and a handsome young scholar 38 Some examples of these novels include Ping Shan Leng Yan Haoqiu zhuan Iu Kiao Li Huatu yuan Qiao Lian Zhu Wu Mei Yuan Bai Gui Zhi Jin Yun Qiao Ting Yue Lou Wu Jiang Xue Lin er bao Ying Yun meng Tiehua xianshi Shuishi yuan Jinxiang ting Erdu mei quanzhuan Qingmeng tuo and Zhuchun yuan They feature themes influenced by the romantic Tang dynasty chuanqi fictions such as Yingying s Biography The Tale of Li Wa and Huo Xiaoyu zhuan as well as the popular works of Song and Yuan playwrights such as Bai Renfu Zheng Guangzu and Wang Shifu These novels reached their peak of popularity in the late Ming and early Qing periods during the 17th century when a myriad of novels of these type were sold and distributed Rise of the category romance Edit In the 1930s the British publishers Mills amp Boon began releasing hardback romance novels The books were sold through weekly two penny libraries and were known as the books in brown for their brown binding In the 1950s the company began offering the books for sale through newsagents across the United Kingdom 39 A Canadian company Harlequin Enterprises began distributing in North America in 1957 the category romances published by Mills amp Boon 40 Mary Bonneycastle wife of Harlequin founder Richard Bonneycastle and her daughter Judy Burgess exercised editorial control over which Mills amp Boon novels Harlequin reprinted They had a decency code and rejected more sexually explicit material that Mills and Boon submitted for reprinting Realizing that the genre was popular Richard Bonneycastle finally decided to read a romance novel He chose one of the more explicit novels and enjoyed it On his orders the company conducted a market test with the novel he had read and discovered that it outsold a similar tamer novel 41 Overall the novels were short and formulaic featuring heroines who were sweet compassionate pure and innocent The few heroines who worked did so in traditional female jobs including as nurses governesses and secretaries Intimacy in the novels never extended beyond a chaste kiss between the protagonists 40 On October 1 1971 Harlequin purchased Mills amp Boon By this point the romance novel genre had been popularized and distributed widely to an enthusiastic audience in Great Britain In an attempt to duplicate Mills amp Boon s success in North America Harlequin improved their distribution and marketing system 42 By choosing to sell their books where the women are they allowed many mass market merchandisers and even supermarkets to sell the books all of which were exactly 192 pages Harlequin then began a reader service selling directly to readers who agreed to purchase a certain number of books each month 43 The beginnings of American romance fiction Edit In the US modern romance genre fiction was born in 1972 with Avon s publication of Kathleen Woodiwiss The Flame and the Flower which was the first of the modern bodice ripper romance novels to follow the principals into the bedroom 44 45 Aside from its content the book was revolutionary in that it was one of the first single title romance novels to be published as an original paperback rather than being first published in hardcover and like the category romances was distributed in drug stores and other mass market merchandising outlets 46 The novel went on to sell 2 35 million copies 47 Avon followed its release with the 1974 publication of Woodiwiss second novel The Wolf and the Dove and two more sexually graphic novels by newcomer Rosemary Rogers Sweet Savage Love and Dark Fires The latter sold two million copies in its first three months of release By 1975 Publishers Weekly had reported that the Avon originals had sold a combined 8 million copies 46 The following year over 150 historical romance novels many of them paperback originals were published selling over 40 million copies 47 The success of these novels prompted a new style of writing romance concentrating primarily on historical fiction tracking the monogamous relationship between a helpless heroine and the hero who rescued her even if he had been the one to place her in danger 18 The covers of these novels tended to feature scantily clad women being grabbed by the hero and caused the novels to be referred to as bodice rippers 44 A Wall Street Journal article in 1980 referred to these bodice rippers as publishing s answer to the Big Mac They are juicy cheap predictable and devoured in stupefying quantities by legions of loyal fans 48 The term bodice ripper is now considered offensive to many in the romance industry 44 In this new style of historical romance heroines were independent and strong willed and were often paired with heroes who evolved into caring and compassionate men who truly admired the women they loved 49 This was in contrast to the contemporary romances published during this time which were often characterized by weak females who fell in love with overbearing alpha males 50 Although these heroines had active roles in the plot they were passive in relationships with the heroes 51 Across the genre heroines during this time were usually aged 16 21 with the heroes slightly older usually around 30 The women were virgins while the men were not and both members of the couple were described as beautiful 52 Category romance adapts Edit Category romance lines were slower to react to some of the changes that had swept the historical romance subgenre Despite the fact that the former Mills amp Boon lines were now owned by a North American company the lines did not have any American writers until 1975 when Harlequin purchased a novel by Janet Dailey 53 54 Dailey s novels provided the romance genre s first look at heroines heroes and courtships that take place in America with American sensibilities assumptions history and most of all settings 55 Harlequin was unsure how the market would react to this new type of romance and was unwilling to fully embrace it In the late 1970s a Harlequin editor rejected a manuscript by Nora Roberts who has since become the top selling romance author because they already had their American writer 56 Harlequin sold almost 70 million of its paperback romances in 1979 through 100 000 supermarkets and other stores giving the company almost 10 of the market for paperback books That year the company began distributing its own books in the United States instead of through Simon amp Schuster s Pocket Books In 1980 Simon amp Schuster formed Silhouette Books to publish its own romance novels beginning what The New York Times called perhaps the most bitter war in American book publishing history 57 The company sought to take advantage of the untapped talent of the American writers 58 They published several lines of category romance and encouraged their writers to create stronger heroines and less dominant heroes Authors were also expected to address contemporary issues where appropriate 59 Silhouette soon saw their market share expand and in 1984 Harlequin acquired them Despite the acquisition Silhouette continued to retain editorial control and to publish various lines under their own imprint 42 Harlequin had also failed to adapt quickly to the signs that readers appreciated novels with more explicit sex scenes and in 1980 several publishers entered the category romance market to fill that gap That year Dell launched their Candlelight Ecstasy line with Amii Lorin s The Tawny Gold Man becoming the first line to waive the requirement that heroines be virgins By the end of 1983 sales for the Candlelight Ecstasy line totaled 30 million Silhoeutte also launched similar lines Desire sexually explicit and Special Edition sexually explicit and longer stories up to 250 pages each of which had a 90 100 sellout rate each month 60 A 1982 survey of romance readers confirmed that the new styles of writing were attracting new readers to the genre 35 of the readers surveyed had begun reading romances after 1977 An additional 31 of those surveyed had been readers for between 6 and 10 years meaning they had become interested in the genre after 1972 when Woodiwiss revolutionary novel was published This means that two thirds of those surveyed joined the genre after it had begun to change 61 The number of category romance lines increased at a rapid pace and by 1985 there were 16 separate lines producing a total of 80 novels per month 62 The sudden increase in category romance lines meant an equally sudden increase in demand for writers of the new style of romance novel This tight market caused a proportionate decrease in the quality of the novels that were being released By 1984 the market was saturated with category lines and readers had begun to complain of redundancy in plots 63 The following year the dampening effect of the high level of redundancy associated with series romances was evident in the decreased number of titles being read per month 64 Harlequin s return rate which had been less than 25 in 1978 when it was the primary provider of category romance swelled to 60 65 Further change Edit The genre continued to expand in the mid to late 1980s as publishers realized that the more popular authors were often those who stretched the boundaries of the genre A 1984 novel by LaVyrle Spencer featured an overweight middle aged hero who had to make drastic changes to his lifestyle to win the heroine while a 1987 Dailey novel involved an ugly hero and a heroine who was searching for her birth mother 66 Jayne Ann Krentz s 1986 novel Sweet Starfire became the first futuristic romance combining elements of traditional romance novels and science fiction 67 The relationships had also modernized by the 1990s it was rare to see a book that featured a man raping his future wife 50 In the mid to late 1980s contemporary romances began to feature women in more male dominated jobs such as offshore oil rigs and the space program The age range of heroines also began to expand so that books began to feature women who had already reached 30 and even 40 Heroes also changed with some authors veering towards a more sensitive man Despite the broadening of some aspects of the plot other taboos remained and publishers discouraged authors from writing about controversial subjects such as terrorism warfare and masculine sports 68 Romance novels began to contain more humor beginning in the 1990s as Julie Garwood began introducing a great deal of humor into her historical romances 69 The romance novel began to expand in other ways as well 70 In 1989 author Jude Deveraux became the first romance author to transition from writing original mass market paperbacks to being published in hardcover Her novel A Knight in Shining Armor became a natural bestseller 12 Several authors found success writing single title romances set in contemporary times and publishing houses began to encourage the growth in the genre Because the novels were set in modern times they could include more of the elements that modern women could relate to and soon began to touch on themes such as single parenthood adoption and abuse 70 The 21st century brought additional changes to the genre that included diversifying main characters and plots to incorporate identities that had not previously been represented Scholars of romance novel history have observed that characters with disabilities have been largely underrepresented in mainstream media including romance novels 71 By the early 2000s though more books in the romance genre featured heroes and heroines with physical and mental impairments 72 Mary Balogh s Simply Love published in 2006 features a hero with facial scarring and nerve damage who overcomes fears of rejection due to his physical appearance to enter a romantic relationship and family unit by the end of the novel This was a substantial shift from past narratives where disabled characters were de eroticized and not given storylines that included sex or romantic love 71 Additionally characters with autism have gained more representation in the romance genre since the turn of the century The year 2010 saw Christine Feehan s novel Water Bound featuring a heroine with autism as a significant plot point including a detailed and compassionate portrayal of living and coping with autism citation needed Helen Hoang s 2018 novel The Kiss Quotient for example focuses on the heroine s Asperger s syndrome 73 However it is still rare to find romance novels in which there are characters with cognitive disabilities and they are most likely to be included as secondary characters 73 Since the 1980s many plot lines that were once thought to be taboo by the romance publishing industry have become much more accepted into the mainstream of romance fiction For example in the 20th century it was rare to find a book with a hero who was in the military or professional sports 74 In the 21st century however such characters are relatively common and even have their own sub genres within the romance category 75 By 2000 the covers had begun to evolve from featuring a scantily clad couple to showing a view of the landscape featured in the novel 12 In the earliest Harlequin romance novels heroines were typically nurses and secretaries but as time has passed and women have entered the workforce in larger numbers romance heroines have spanned the career spectrum 76 Modern romance novels now feature more balanced relationships between men and women 18 Critical reception EditSome important literary figures received critical acclaim for their romance novels For instance the Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez received critical praise for his romance novel Love in the Time of Cholera 77 78 Arthur Schopenhauer held that if poets and novelists across continents have not stopped producing romance novels since millennia it is because no other topic is more relevant and so the theme never gets old According to Schopenhauer romance love is more important than other topics because it affects the species not only the individual in the sense that romance and partner choice is generally a prerequisite to have offspring and continue maintaining the human species in future generations of humankind 79 Despite recent rehabilitation and merging of the genre with other genres there is sometimes a negative stigma with the romance novel Some dedicated readers are embarrassed to admit to buying or even reading the books 13 The romance genre has sometimes generated criticism Some critics point to a lack of suspense as it may seem obvious that the hero and heroine will eventually resolve their issues and wonder whether it is beneficial for women to be whiling away so many hours reading impossibly glamorized love stories 13 According to fiction author Melissa Pritchard a romance novel perpetuates something slightly dangerous that there s this notion that there s this perfect love out there and it can distract you from the work of loving yourself 80 Romance novelists attribute the stigma to the fact that romance is according to some a genre written almost exclusively by women for women 13 Romance novelist Jennifer Crusie counters that in the modern romance novel a woman is rewarded with unconditional love only if she remains true to herself 51 while novelist Susan Elizabeth Phillips believes that romance novels are popular because the heroine typically wins sometimes overcoming great odds so that she is no longer a victim 81 Formats EditRomance novels are divided into two sub sets category romances also known as series romances and single title romances 1 Many authors write only within one of the formats but others including Jennifer Crusie and Jayne Ann Krentz have achieved success in both formats 82 Category romance Edit Harlequin novels Category romances are short usually no more than 200 pages or about 55 000 words 83 84 The books are published in clearly delineated lines with a certain number of books published in each line every month In many cases the books are numbered sequentially within the line 1 These novels have widespread distribution often worldwide and a single U S print run remaining on a bookseller s shelves until they are sold out or until the next month s titles are released and take their place 82 Writers for the largest publisher of category romance Harlequin Mills amp Boon can find their novels translated into 26 languages and sold in over 100 international markets 85 To write a successful novel of this length the author must pare the story down to its essentials Subplots and minor characters are eliminated or relegated to the backstory 84 Nonetheless category romance lines each have a distinct identity which may involve similar settings characters time periods levels of sensuality or types of conflict Publishers of category romances usually issue guidelines for each line specifying the elements necessary for a novel to be included in each line 86 87 88 Depending on the current market and perceived reader preferences publishers frequently begin new lines or end existing ones Most recently erotic and Christian lines have been introduced while traditional Regency romance lines have ended 89 Single title romances Edit Single titles novels are romance novels not published as part of a publisher s category They are longer than category romances typically between 350 and 400 pages or 100 000 110 000 words 83 Publishers may release the novels over a shorter period of time for sales and publicity reasons but on average authors write 1 5 novels per year and have one each year published 12 90 Single title novels remain on the booksellers shelves at the discretion of the store 81 Despite their name single title novels are not always stand alone novels Some authors prefer to write several interconnected books ranging in number from trilogies to long running series so that they can revisit characters or worlds Such sets of books often have similar titles and may be labelled as Number 1 in the XXX Series but they are not considered series romances because they are not part of a particular line 91 Subgenres EditSubgenre popularity in the United States 2006 92 Subgenre of marketCategory romance 40 Historical romance 17 Contemporary romance 16 Paranormal romance 9 Romantic suspense 7 Inspirational romance 6 All others 5 Because the definition of a romance novel does not limit the types of plot devices time frames or locations that can be included the genre has grown to encompass a wide variety of material and spawned multiple subgenres Subgenres of romance are often closely related to other literature genres and some books could be considered a romance subgenre novel and another genre novel at the same time For example romantic suspense novels are often similar to mysteries crime fiction and thrillers and paranormal romances use elements popular in science fiction and fantasy novels Contemporary romance Edit Main article Contemporary romance Contemporary romance which is set after World War II 93 is often what people mean when they refer to a romance novel Contemporary romance novels the largest subgenre are set in the time when they are written and usually reflect the mores of that time Heroines in contemporary romances prior to 1970 usually quit working when they marry or have children while heroines after 1970 usually have and keep a career 94 As contemporary romance novels have grown to contain more complex plotting and more realistic characters the line between this subgenre and the genre of women s fiction has blurred 95 Most contemporary romance novels contain elements that date the books The majority of them eventually become irrelevant to more modern readers and go out of print 95 Those that survive the test of time such as Jane Austen s work are often reclassified as historical romances 94 Over half of the romantic fiction published in the United States in 2004 1 468 out of 2 285 books were contemporary romance novels 96 Contemporary romance novels have twice been chosen by Kelly Ripa to be featured in her Reading with Ripa book club 97 Historical romance Edit Main article Historical romance Historical romance also known as historical novel is a broad category of fiction which the plot takes place in a setting located in the past which Walter Scott helped popularize in the early 19th century with works such as Rob Roy and Ivanhoe 98 Literary fiction historical romances continue to be published and a notable recent example is Wolf Hall 2009 a multi award winning novel by English historical novelist Hilary Mantel However the focus here is on the mass market genre This subgenre includes a wide variety of other subgenres including Regency romance Mass market historical romance novels are rarely published in hardcover with fewer than 15 receiving that status each year less than one fifth of the number of contemporary romance novels published in that format Because historical romances are primarily published in mass market format their fortunes are tied to a certain extent to the mass market trends Booksellers and large merchandisers now sell fewer mass market paperbacks preferring trade paperbacks or hardcovers which prevents historical romances from being sold in some price clubs and other mass merchandise outlets 99 In 2001 778 mass market historical romances were published a 10 year high By 2004 the annual number had dropped to 486 which was still 20 of all romance novels published Kensington Books says they receive fewer submissions of historical novels and their previously published authors have switched to contemporary 96 99 Romantic suspense Edit Romantic suspense involves an intrigue or mystery for the protagonists to solve 93 Typically however the heroine is the victim of a crime or attempted crime and works with a hero who tends to be in a field where he would serve as a protector such as a police officer FBI agent bodyguard or Navy SEAL 100 101 By the end of the novel the mystery is resolved and the interaction between the hero and heroine has evolved into a solid relationship 100 These novels primarily take place in contemporary times but authors such as Amanda Quick have broadened the genre to also include historical timeframes 102 Like all romances romantic suspense novels must place the development of a relationship between the protagonists at the heart of the story The relationship must impact each decision they make and increase the tension of the suspense as it propel the story In turn the events of suspense must also directly affect the relationship and move the story forward 103 Romantic suspense novels tend to have more clean language without the emotional intimate descriptions often used in more traditional romances 103 Because the mystery is a crucial aspect of the plot these novels are more plot driven instead of character driven 103 This blend of the romance and mystery was perfected by Mary Stewart who wrote ten romantic suspense novels between 1955 and 1967 Stewart was one of the first to seamlessly combine the two genres maintaining a full mystery while focusing on the courtship between two people 104 In her novels the process of solving the mystery helps to illuminate the hero s personality helping the heroine to fall in love with him 105 Paranormal romance Edit Main article Paranormal romance Paranormal romance blends the real with the fantastic or science fictional The fantastic elements may be woven into an alternate version of our own world in an urban fantasy involving vampires werewolves and or demons or they may be more normal manifestations of the paranormal humans with psychic abilities witches or ghosts Time travel futuristic and extraterrestrial romances also fall beneath the paranormal umbrella 93 106 These novels often blend elements of other subgenres including suspense mystery or chick lit with their fantastic themes 107 A few paranormal romances are set solely in the past and are structured much like any historical romance novel Others are set in the future sometimes on different worlds Still others have a time travel element with either the hero or the heroine traveling into the past or the future 15 Between 2002 and 2004 the number of paranormal romances published in the United States doubled to 170 per year A popular title in the genre can sell over 500 000 copies 108 Many paranormal romances rely on the blend of contemporary American life with the existence of supernatural or magically empowered beings human or otherwise Sometimes the larger culture is aware of the magical in its midst sometimes it is not Some paranormal romances focus less on the specifics of their alternate worlds than do traditional science fiction or fantasy novels keeping the attention strongly on the underlying romance 102 Others develop the alternate reality meticulously combining well planned magical systems and inhuman cultures with contemporary reality Science fiction romance Edit These books time travel fantasy science fiction and futuristic blend romance with fantasy or science fiction and they often overlap the paranormal subgenre While exploring their alternate worlds they also offer a fully developed romance The sensuality level in these novels varies from chaste to very sexy 109 Over the years many publishers have included futuristic fantasy and science fiction romances in their contemporary series lines for example Harlequin Temptation Harlequin Superromance Silhouette Special Edition Today these romances are published by most major publishers including Berkley Books Harlequin s LUNA and MIRA Pocket Books Kensington Books Dorchester Publishing Avon Books and NAL The e Book publisher Ellora s Cave has published many erotic romances with fantasy themes and other worldly heroes and heroines 110 There is overlap in these subgenres Steampunk is science fiction mixed with alternate history which takes place during the Victorian era It mixes historical elements with technology think of the television series The Wild Wild West 1965 1969 Authors to check out include M K Hobson and Gail Dayton 111 The first futuristic romance to be marketed by a mainstream romance publisher Jayne Ann Krentz s Sweet Starfire was published in 1986 and was a classic road trip romance that just happened to be set in a separate galaxy 67 This genre has become more popular since 2000 Krentz attributes the popularity of this romance genre to the fact that the novels are at heart classic historical romances that just happen to be set on other worlds 67 Fantasy romance Edit Main article Romantic fantasy Fantasy romance also known as romantic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction describing a fantasy story using many of the elements and conventions of the romance genre Romantic fantasy has been published by both fantasy and romance lines with some publishers distinguishing between fantasy romance being more like a contemporary fantasy novel with romantic elements and romantic fantasy with more emphasis on the romance elements of the story 112 Time travel romance Edit Main article Time travel romance Time travel romances are a version of the classic fish out of water story In most the heroine is from the present day and travels into the past to meet the hero In a smaller subset of these novels the hero who lives in the past travels forward into his future to meet the heroine A successful time travel romance must have the characters react logically to their experience and should investigate some of the differences both physical and mental between the world the character normally inhabits and the one where they landed Some writers end their novels with the protagonists trapped in different time periods and unable to be together to the displeasure of many readers of the genre 113 Inspirational romance Edit Inspirational romance as the market exists today combines explicitly Christian themes with the development of a romantic relationship 93 In 2004 167 novels were published in the inspirational romance subgenre 96 These novels typically do not include gratuitous violence or swearing and the central courtship is chaste Sex if it is present at all occurs after marriage and is not explicitly detailed Many novels in this genre also focus on the hero or heroine s faith turning the love story into a triangle the man and the woman and also their relationship with God 114 Themes such as forgiveness honesty and fidelity are common 115 The first line of series inspirational romances debuted shortly after the 1980 U S presidential election when Silhouette launched their Silhouette Inspirations line The books were aimed at born again Christians and were marketed in religious bookstores The Silhouette Inspirations line was closed after Harlequin acquired Silhouette in 1984 because it was not profitable 116 However other Christian publishers continued to produce romance novels including historical and contemporary and Harlequin later rejoined the market with the 1998 launch of its Steeple Hill and Love Inspired lines 117 Young Adult romance Edit Young adult romance are romance novels where young adult life is centered The subgenre is believed to have been started in 1942 with varying degrees of popularity throughout time The romance between two characters is the central focus of the book however other aspects of young adult teen life are also explored often with coming of age themes and navigating relationships While most romance ends with happily ever after happily for now is generally accepted due to the age of characters Young adult romance has its own subgenres which include contemporary fantasy sci fi LGBTQIA and more LGBTQIA romance Edit LGBTQIA romance has been a fast growing subgenre especially with the rise of indie publishing and social media granting access to doors that are normally closed Male male romance leads the subgenre but lesbian bisexual transgender genderqueer and ace spectrum or asexual and aromantic fiction are all featured prominently with multiple small publishing houses leading the way The romantic relationship is the central story and focus is usually taken off of trauma Black Love romance Edit Black love romance is a romance where both main characters and majority of supporting characters are black The abolitionist and suffragist Frances E W Harper wrote what was arguably the first African American romance novel Iola Leroy in 1892 The subgenre started growing in the early 80 s along with other romance subgenres Black love historical romance novels center the love and happiness of its main characters and usually includes black history and black people standing in solidarity 118 Political and social commentary is the norm with a large majority of books expressing explicitly abolitionist and activist views In contemporary black love themes of activism are not as dominant however normally are still included 119 Popular authors include Beverly Jenkins Alyssa Cole Rebecca Weatherspoon Kennedy Ryan and Christina C Jones Multicultural romance Edit Multicultural romance typically features a hero and or heroine who is African American although some multicultural lines also include Asian or Hispanic heroes or heroines or interracial relationships 120 The first line of multicultural romance novels Arabesque was launched by Kensington Books in 1994 BET Books purchased the line in 1998 and the number of new authors that they publish has continued to expand each year BET has also developed some of the Arabesque novels into made for television movies 121 In 1999 Kensington Publishing launched the first line of Latino romance novels ENCANTO The ENCANTO novels were originally released in two ways a bilingual Spanish English version and a Spanish only version Two novels were published every month until late 2001 when the line went into hiatus Despite the demise of the line several of the ENCANTO authors have continued writing novels with Latino protagonists namely Sylvia Mendoza Tracy Montoya Caridad Pineiro Berta Platas Lara Rios and Lynda Sandoval Although romance novels featuring African Americans and Hispanic protagonists are becoming more popular those featuring Asian or Asian American characters are rare Author Tess Gerritsen believes this is due to the fact that there are fewer Asian American women who read romances We read romances because we want to feel good about love in order to do that the reader must identify with the heroine 122 Erotic romance Edit Main article Erotic romance novels Erotic romance is a blend of romance and erotica Erotic romance novels are characterized by strong sexual content but can contain elements of any of the other romance subgenres Erotic romance novels tend to use more frank language avoiding many of the euphemisms used in books with milder content These novels also usually include more sex scenes often focusing more on the sex act rather than being a more traditional love scene and may include more unusual positions or acts 123 Despite a greater emphasis on the sex scenes however erotic romance is distinguishable from traditional pornography Pornography concentrates on the sex acts but erotic novels include well developed characters and a plot that could exist without the sex acts 124 In a vast majority of erotic romance novels the sexual act progresses the plot or furthers the character development in some way and are critical to the story Erotic romances lengths run from short stories to single title novels Some of these are published as part of a category such as Harlequin Blaze while others are published as part of an anthology and are only novella length Even single title erotic romances may be as short as a novella however 123 Many of the publishers of erotic romance are either small press publishers or electronic book publishers Writers often have more leeway as to what types of erotic acts can be included when working with an electronic publisher than they would have when working with a print publisher 123 The market for erotic romances has been growing rapidly leading some publishers to create new lines for these types of books 125 Some subjects are still considered taboo even with erotic romance Themes such as pedophilia incest and bestiality are discouraged by all publishers 123 The market for erotic romances has grown rapidly Ellora s Cave an electronic publisher that focuses on erotic romance became the first electronic publisher recognized by the Romance Writers of America as a legitimate publisher 124 Ellora s Cave went out of business at the end of 2016 126 Several other smaller presses largely focused on erotic romance have also closed up shop including Samhain Publishing closed 2017 127 and Loose Id closed 2018 128 Changeling Press 129 focused on short form erotic romance is still publishing as of March 2021 Chick lit Edit Chick lit or chick literature is named after the readership it attracts women in their twenties and thirties and it is said to be inspired by the 1996 novel Bridget Jones s Diary Some of the dominant themes of chick lit are a single woman s journey through career high powered work environment personal life relationships motherhood and parenting Some subcategories of this genre are baby lit and mummy lit 130 Markets EditNorth America Edit The romance fiction market has been impervious to the overall economic recession with faithful readers spending up to 40 a month on romance novels in 1982 10 That year paperback romances totaled 300 million in sales and the total audience was estimated at 20 million readers A survey of 600 regular romance readers the same year found that they mirror the general population in age education and marital and socioeconomic status Over half of the women had at least some college education and 40 were employed full time 60 of the women surveyed read at least one romance every two days The women admitted to reading romances as an antidote to stress for mental escape and to learn about history and new careers 131 As of 1982 update at least 25 of all paperbacks were romance novels 132 by 1991 they comprised 46 of all mass market paperbacks sold in the US This expansion was due in part to voracious readers with over half of Harlequin s customers purchasing 30 novels per month By this time the romance novel audience had become more educated with 45 having a college degree and more than half of the audience worked outside the home 133 By the 2000s romance had become the most popular genre in modern literature In 2008 romantic fiction generated 1 37 billion in sales with 7 311 romance novels published and making up 13 5 of the consumer book market Over 74 million people claimed to have read at least one romance novel in 2008 according to a Romance Writers of America study The study reported that 9 5 of romance readers identified themselves as male and that romance readers were more likely to be married or living with a partner According to the RWA 84 of romance buyers were women and 16 were men 134 Of the entire American population 24 6 read at least one romance novel in 2008 96 International markets Edit Along with cowboys and horses the authors were told to skip ethnic heroes for European readers and not to let family members steal too much of the limelight But secret babies sell quite well as do marriages of convenience or arranged marriages and of course alpha heroes Stoecker said The New York Times 2004 135 74 8 million people read an English language romance novel in 2008 24 Harlequin sells more than 4 books per second half of them internationally Author Heather Graham attributes this to the fact that emotions translate easily 136 In the United Kingdom over 20 of all fiction books sold each year are romance novels 137 Although romance novels are translated into over 90 languages 45 most authors of women s fiction are from Great Britain or North America 135 In France where over 12 million romance novels are sold each year all are translations 45 as are almost all Harlequin novels in Italy Some publishing companies in Germany refuse to allow their romance authors to use their own names fearing that readers will not buy a romance novel that does not have an American pseudonym 135 The Anglo Saxon perspective in the fiction at times can be much less successful in a European market Although Italy is the strongest foreign market for the chick lit sold by single title imprint Red Dress Ink in that country romance readers do not care to read books about cowboys as this type of occupation was not common in their culture The paranormal romance genre is not popular in countries such as Poland and Russia although historical romance tends to be very successful 135 Inspirational romance does not sell well in Europe where romances that feature babies are very popular 45 German readers enjoy reading more erotic romance novels 135 and some German translations of English romance novels expand or insert love scenes into otherwise tame stories The alternate scenario also occurs as other German translators censor the love scenes 135 138 As of 2014 romance is the most popular literary genre in Russia chosen 13 of respondents especially among the younger audience 139 In 2004 sales of romance novels in Australia increased 28 over the year before Between 1999 and 2004 there was an increase of 40 50 in the number of new titles released Harlequin which received 20 000 unsolicited manuscripts each year found that women are 99 of romance readers 140 Awards EditFurther information Romance Writers of America Awards The most prestigious and notable awards for romance novels are the RITA Awards which are presented annually by the Romance Writers of America to the best novels in romantic fiction 141 Another notable award is the Romantic Novel of the Year Award RoNA through the Romantic Novelists Association 142 The award is separated into categories Contemporary Romance Historical Romance Romantic Comedy Fantasy Romance Romantic Thriller Romantic Saga Shorter Romantic Novel Debut Romance NovelSee also Edit Novels portalAmish romance Charles Boon Dark romanticism List of romantic novelists Gerald Rusgrove Mills Romance film Shakespearean comedyNotes Edit a b c d e f g The Romance Genre Romance Writers of America Archived from the original on November 26 2013 Retrieved November 26 2013 a b c Romance Literary Terms October 26 2016 Retrieved March 12 2021 Scott Walter Maning Susan ed Essay on Romance Prose Works Vol vi p 129 Scott Walter 1992 Introduction Quentin Durand Oxford Oxford University Press J A Cuddon The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory 4th edition revised C E Preston London Penguin 1999 p 761 gt Northrop Frye s Anatomy of Criticism 1957 New York Atheneum 1966 p 307 a b c d Reardon Bryan P 1989 Collected Ancient Greek Novels Berkeley University of California Press pp 1 16 ISBN 0 520 04306 5 Retrieved May 28 2017 Regis Pamela 2007 A Natural History of the Romance Novel University of Pennsylvania Press Home Corporate Harlequin Retrieved January 22 2019 a b c Expanding Romance Market New York Times March 8 1982 Retrieved May 24 2007 Definition of Romance Cambridge Dictionary Retrieved March 12 2021 a b c d e What s in a Name Publishers Weekly July 2 2001 Archived from the original on February 12 2008 Retrieved April 30 2007 a b c d Gray Paul March 20 2000 Passion on the Pages Time Archived from the original on January 13 2005 Retrieved April 23 2007 Crusie Jennifer March 2000 I Know What It Is When I Read It Defining the Romance Genre Romance Writer s Report PAN Archived from the original on May 2 2006 a b Submission Guidelines Dorchester Publishing Archived from the original on April 30 2007 Retrieved April 30 2007 a b 9 Love Stories with Tragic Endings Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved March 12 2021 a b c 9 tragic love stories to read after seeing Me Before You Entertainment Weekly Retrieved March 12 2021 a b c White Pamela August 15 2002 Romancing Society Boulder Weekly Archived from the original on September 4 2007 Retrieved April 23 2007 Gold Laurie July 30 1997 Laurie s News and Views Issue No 30 All About Romance Novels Archived from the original on February 11 2007 Retrieved April 23 2007 Bellafante Gina August 8 1994 Affairs to Remember Time Archived from the original on September 30 2007 Retrieved April 23 2007 Gold Laurie March 1 2005 At the Back Fence Issue 197 All About Romance Novels Archived from the original on February 12 2007 Retrieved April 30 2007 Bly Mary February 12 2005 A Fine Romance The New York Times Retrieved April 16 2007 Faircloth Kelly April 28 2005 Who Wrote the Book of Love The Harvard Independent Archived from the original on May 12 2012 Retrieved April 23 2007 a b c Ogas Ogi April 30 2011 The Online World of Female Desire The Wall Street Journal Retrieved May 4 2011 Hank Melissa March 5 2007 Of supple breasts and manly chests TV Guide Archived from the original on April 3 2007 Retrieved April 16 2007 Listopia gt F F Book Lists Goodreads Listopia gt M M Book Lists Goodreads Regis 2003 pp 63 64 66 Doody Margaret June 21 2018 An introduction to Pamela or Virtue Rewarded The British Library Retrieved December 16 2019 Regis 2003 p 75 Regis 2003 p 85 Regis 2003 pp 115 117 Regis 2003 pp 125 126 Regis 2003 p 127 Regis 2003 p 125 The term 才子佳人 caizi jiaren meaning a handsome and talented man and a beautiful woman INTERPRETING LOVE NARRATIVES IN EAST ASIAN LITERATURE AND FILM Ordered amp cross referenced list of key words phrases abbreviations and main ideas berkeley pressbooks pub Berkeley Library University of California The caizi jiaren storyline as the notes below indicate refers specifically to a Ming Qing dynasty stereotypical narrative shape however the fundamentals are exceptionally old and widespread in East Asia It remains I would suggest one of the standard storylines of modern East Asian romantic dramas and films caizi 才子 and jiaren 佳人 which far from conveying the full connotations of the original words have been translated as scholar and beauty Broadly speaking the terms can be applied to any hero and heroine in classical Chinese representations of love and courtship In a narrow sense however caizi jiaren refers exclusively to a model of romantic stories in popular drama and fiction that flourished in late imperial China 13th 19th centuries McMahon Keith 1994 The Classic Beauty Scholar Romance and the Superiority of the Talented Woman section The Remarkable Woman and Her Relationship with the Man In Zito Angela Tani E Barlow eds Body Subject amp Power in China Chicago University of Chicago Press p 233 ISBN 0226987264 The talented and independent woman is not new in Chinese literature nor is her attachment to a handsome scholar Her concentration in beauty scholar romances of the early to mid Qing however is a clear identifying feature of these novels Able to do as well or better than the man such a woman often dresses as a man in order to move about more freely than custom ordinarily allows she goes out to get what she wants rather than waiting for things to come to her in her inner chambers One of her mottos is Though in body I am a woman in ambition I suprass men BGZ chap 1 6 Mills amp Boon Our History Harlequin Mills and Boon Archived from the original on October 13 2007 Retrieved July 19 2007 a b Thurston 1987 p 42 Regis 2003 p 185 a b Regis 2003 p 156 Thurston pp 46 47 a b c Athitakis Mark July 25 2001 A Romance Glossary SF Weekly Retrieved April 23 2007 a b c d Zaitchik Alexander July 22 2003 The Romance Writers of America convention is just super New York Press Retrieved April 30 2007 a b Thurston pp 47 48 a b Darrach Brad January 17 1977 Rosemary s Babies Time Archived from the original on November 13 2007 Retrieved July 17 2007 Thurston p 67 Thurston p 72 a b Grossman Lev February 3 2003 Rewriting the Romance PDF Time Archived from the original PDF on July 12 2007 Retrieved April 3 2007 a b Crusie Jennifer 1998 This Is Not Your Mother s Cinderella The Romance Novel as Feminist Fairy Tale In Kaler Anne Johnson Kurek Rosemary eds Romantic Conventions Bowling Green Press pp 51 61 ISBN 9780879727772 Archived from the original on February 2 2009 Thurston p 75 Thurston 1987 pp 46 47 Regis 2003 pp 155 156 Regis 2003 p 159 Regis 2003 pp 158 183 184 Walters Ray October 12 1980 Paperback Talk The New York Times pp A47 Regis 2003 pp 156 159 Regis 2003 p 184 Barrett Mary Ellin January 9 1983 Pure as the Driven Slush PDF Family Weekly Archived from the original PDF on September 27 2007 Retrieved May 24 2007 Thurston pp 127 128 Regis 2003 p 157 Thurston p 188 Thurston p 128 Thurston p 190 Thurston p 109 a b c Gelsomino Tara 2002 Review of Smoke in Mirrors Romantic Times Archived from the original on October 4 2007 Retrieved July 26 2007 Bird Sarah August 16 1991 Rules of the Game Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on October 13 2007 Retrieved July 19 2007 Susan Wiggs And Now as usual Something New All About Romance Novels May 25 2003 Archived from the original on September 28 2007 Retrieved July 25 2007 a b Park Michael Y August 28 2002 Reading True Romance Fox News Retrieved April 30 2007 a b Schalk Sami 2016 Happily Ever After for Whom Blackness and Disability in Romance Narratives The Journal of Popular Culture 49 6 1241 1260 doi 10 1111 jpcu 12491 Cheyne Ria 2013 Disability Studies Reads the Romance Journal of Literary amp Cultural Disability Studies 7 1 37 52 doi 10 3828 jlcds 2013 3 S2CID 145383450 a b Alter Alexandra July 7 2018 The Changing Face of Romance Novels The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved October 16 2019 Luscombe Belinda December 5 2011 Veteran Affairs Time ISSN 0040 781X Retrieved October 16 2019 Sports And Romance Novels A Match Made In Hockey www wbur org Retrieved October 16 2019 Witmer Karyn August 28 2006 Of Books and Baby Boomers All About Romance Archived from the original on July 14 2007 Retrieved April 30 2007 Kakutani Michiko April 6 1988 Books of The Times Garcia Marquez Novel Covers Love and Time The New York Times Thomas Pynchon s 1988 review of Love in the Time of Cholera The New York Times Schopenhauer Arthur 2013 The Metaphysics Of The Love Of The Sexes FV Editions Hall Melissa Mia February 23 2004 Wickedly Savage Passions Publishers Weekly Archived from the original on November 13 2007 Retrieved April 30 2007 a b Leopold Todd August 11 2000 Writing from the heart CNN Retrieved April 30 2007 a b Eykelhof Paula Macomber Debbie July 31 2006 Romancing the Store Publishers Weekly Archived from the original on November 13 2007 Retrieved April 16 2007 a b Hamilton Melissa Romance Categories The Different Kinds of Romance Romance Ever After Archived from the original on August 4 2007 Retrieved April 16 2007 a b Regis 2003 p 160 About Romantic Fiction Romance Novelists Association Archived from the original on May 6 2007 Retrieved April 23 2007 Eykelhof Paula Writing Guidelines Harlequin Everlasting Love eHarlequin com Archived from the original on September 27 2007 Retrieved April 16 2007 Jeglinski Melissa Writing Guidelines Silhouette Desire eHarlequin com Archived from the original on September 30 2007 Retrieved April 16 2007 Toth 1998 p 519 Industry Statistics Romance Writers of America 2008 Archived from the original on July 23 2010 Retrieved July 23 2010 Author Statistics Romance Writers of America Archived from the original on March 17 2016 Retrieved July 23 2010 Ward Jean Marie Eloisa James Regencies with a Shakespearean Twist Crescent Blues Retrieved April 23 2007 Romance Literature Statistics Overview Romance Writers of America 2007 Archived from the original on December 23 2007 Retrieved November 29 2007 a b c d Romance Literature Subgenres Romance Writers of America Archived from the original on July 27 2010 Retrieved July 23 2010 a b Ramsdell 1999 p 43 a b Ramsdell 1999 p 44 a b c d Readership Statistics Romance Writers of America 2008 Archived from the original PDF on July 27 2010 Retrieved July 23 2010 The Year in Books 2003 Mass Market Publishers Weekly November 17 2003 Archived from the original on November 13 2007 Retrieved April 30 2007 Christiansen Rupert 2004 1988 Romantic Affinities Portraits From an Age 1780 1830 reprint ed London Pimlico pp 192 96 ISBN 1 84413421 0 a b Dyer Lucinda June 13 2005 Romance In Its Own Time Publishers Weekly Archived from the original on November 13 2007 Retrieved April 30 2007 a b Romantic Suspense Text in Transit A guide to genre in Popular Literature The Canada Research Chair Humanities Computing Studio May 21 2005 Archived from the original on May 27 2008 Retrieved April 30 2007 Day Michele August 13 2002 Love stories with suspense humor top charts The Enquirer Cincinnati Ohio Retrieved April 30 2007 a b Marble Anne M 2001 The Subgenres of Romance Writing World Com Retrieved April 30 2007 a b c Clayton Becci My Heroine is in Love With the Killer Romantic Suspense 101 Heart of Denver Romance Writers Archived from the original on September 29 2007 Retrieved July 30 2007 Regis 2003 pp 143 144 Regis 2003 p 146 Paranormal Romance Text in Transit A guide to genre in Popular Literature The Canada Research CHair Humanities Computing Studio May 25 2004 Archived from the original on May 12 2008 Retrieved April 30 2007 Arthur Keri 2007 Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy defining two popular subgenres The Romance Writers of Australia Archived from the original on April 22 2007 Retrieved April 30 2007 Luscombe Belinda February 19 2006 Well Hello Suckers Time Archived from the original on June 15 2006 Retrieved April 23 2007 Grant 2007 p 230 Grant 2007 p 231 Palmquist 2012 p 68 William C Robinson October 2004 A Few Thoughts on the Fantasy Genre University of Tennessee Knoxville Archived from the original on March 2 2009 Retrieved January 18 2009 Marble Anne M September 2002 Writing Time Travel Romances Writing world Com Archived from the original on June 26 2007 Retrieved July 30 2007 Duffy Martha November 13 1995 The Almighty To The Rescue Time Archived from the original on January 14 2005 Retrieved April 23 2007 Layne Sandy 2001 Christian Romance Novels Write to Inspire Retrieved April 30 2007 Thurston pp 190 192 Love Inspired Facebook page Facebook Retrieved August 28 2012 Bell Carole V February 21 2020 Black Romance Novels Matter Too Shondaland a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Bell Carole V February 29 2020 15 Must Read Black Authored Historical Romance Novels of the Last 25 Years Dunford Natalie Dyer Lucinda Holt Karen Rosen Judith December 1 2003 Toujours l Amour Publishers Weekly Archived from the original on November 13 2007 Retrieved April 30 2007 Adlerstein David September 8 2000 Multicultural Book Room South Florida Business Journal Retrieved April 30 2007 Nguyen Lan September 2005 The Color of Romance Audrey Magazine Archived from the original on April 6 2007 Retrieved April 30 2007 a b c d Marble Anne M January 2005 Getting to Know the Erotic Romance Field Writing World Com Archived from the original on February 11 2007 Retrieved July 30 2007 a b Cooper Posey Tracy 2004 An End to Euphemisms Is Erotica Right for You Writing world Com Retrieved July 30 2007 Avon Red Avon publishers Retrieved May 11 2008 End of Ellora s Cave UNSUITABLE Samhain Publishing Ltd It s all about the story Smhn com March 1 2017 Retrieved February 17 2022 Publisher Loose Id is Closing December 2 2017 Win Free Books For A Year Changeling Press LLC Women s Sci Fi Futuristic Dark and Urban Fantasy Paranormal and Contemporary Romance Changelingpress com Retrieved February 17 2022 Parv Valerie 2004 The Art of Romance Writing 2nd ed Australia Allen amp Unwin p 8 ISBN 1741143748 Thurston Carol April 1983 The Liberation of Pulp Romances PDF Psychology Today Archived from the original PDF on July 12 2007 Retrieved May 24 2007 McDowell Edwin January 10 1982 The Paperback Evolution The New York Times p 7 Retrieved March 15 2018 Linden Dana Wechsler Rees Matt June 6 1922 I m Hungry But Not For Food PDF Forbes Archived from the original PDF on July 12 2007 Retrieved May 24 2007 MyRWA The Romance Genre Romance Reader Statistics Archived from the original on December 22 2013 Retrieved December 5 2014 a b c d e f Povoledo Elisabetta October 18 2004 Women s Fiction for Europe No cowboys no babies The New York Times Retrieved April 23 2007 Larsen Kristin August 9 2005 Romance Writers are Passionate About Their Work Voice of America Archived from the original on September 16 2008 Retrieved April 30 2007 Labour of love a boon for Mary Cambridge Evening News June 14 2007 Archived from the original on July 3 2007 Retrieved July 19 2007 Fritsche Vivien July 1999 Impressions from a Romance Reader Overseas All About Romance Archived from the original on April 13 2007 Retrieved April 23 2007 What do we read in Russian The Rating Center June 4 2014 Retrieved December 31 2014 Bantick Christopher February 13 2004 A Quiver Through the Bookshelves The Age Melbourne Retrieved April 30 2007 Romance Writers of America RITA Awards Archived January 13 2010 at the Wayback Machine Romantic Novelist s Association AwardsReferences EditGrant Vanessa 2007 Writing Romance 3rd ed Bellingham Self Counsel Press ISBN 978 1 55180 739 3 Palmquist Susan 2012 How to Write a Romance Novel Winchester U K Compass Books ISBN 978 1 78099 467 3 Pianka Phyllis Taylor 1998 How to Write Romances Cincinnati Writer s Digest Books ISBN 0 89879 867 1 Ramsdell Kristin 1999 Romance Fiction A Guide to the Genre Englewood CO Libraries Unlimited Inc ISBN 1 56308 335 3 Regis Pamela 2003 A Natural History of the Romance Novel Philadelphia Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN 0 8122 3303 4 Thurston Carol 1987 The Romance Revolution Urbana and Chicago University of Illinois Press ISBN 0 252 01442 1 Toth Emily 1998 Wilma Mankiller Gwendolyn Mink Marysa Navarro Barbara Smith Gloria Steinem eds The Reader s Companion to U S Women s History Boston Massachusetts Houghton Mifflin Company ISBN 0 395 67173 6 Nishikawa Kinohi Romance Novel The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature Ed Hans Ostrom and J David Macey Jr Westport CT Greenwood Press 2005 1411 15Further reading EditLuther Jessica Luther March 18 2013 Beyond Bodice Rippers How Romance Novels Came to Embrace Feminism The Atlantic Roy Pinaki Bodice ripper and Feminism A New Perspective Gender Issues in India Challenges and Strategies Ed Som S Kolkata Rupali 2017 ISBN 978 93 81669 69 3 pp 6 13 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Romance books Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Romance novel amp oldid 1151860745, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.