Romantic fiction
Romantic fiction is one of the oldest genres in
literature, with a history that goes back at least to the medieval concept of
courtly love, the "cult of the Virgin Mary" and beyond. In this context, the term, "romance", which originally referred to any kind of adventure story, has developed a specialised meaning.
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Medieval and renaissance romance
In the later medieval and Renaissance period, there was an important European trend towards fantastic fiction. Works such as Le Morte d'Arthur and\nAmadis of Gaul spawned a large number of imitators. By 1600, the poor quality of many of the romances had led to them being seen as harmful distractions. Don Quixote is the story of an elderly man driven insane by reading too many romances of chivalry.
These stories generally feature a heroic knight with super-human abilities who fights monsters and giants to win the favour of a beautiful, but ungrateful, princess while strictly following chivalric codes. The main story does not focus on love, but on the adventure. Modern comic books and sci-fi can be seen as the modern successors to these romances.
Romantic novels
\nRomantic fiction may include drama, poetry and short stories, but (in English literature, at least) the term is often regarded as synonymous with the romantic novel: novels based around romantic love. The earliest romantic novels in English appeared during the 18th century. However romantic fiction, if one broadens the term a little, would include such classics as Romeo and Juliet and in foreign cultures the legend of Layla and Majnu. One could indeed look at Greek tales like the Odyssey as romantic fiction.
Romantic novels, in the narrow sense of romantic fiction, include classic literary works such as Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and ''Wuthering Heights.
A common mechanism of the romance novel is unresolved sexual tension, which enables the relationship between the principal characters to build up a powerful erotic charge without actually becoming sexual until the end of the book.
Modern romantic fiction is often looked down on as inferior to "literary" fiction, particularly where it appears to be written to a "formula", such as "doctor and nurse romances", or fantasy historical romances known in the book trade as "bodice-rippers". In the UK, publishing houses such as Mills & Boon and Robert Hale are specialists in the publication of romantic fiction, and the acceptance or rejection of submissions is governed by specific criteria which include the nature of the plot and conduct of the characters. In North America, a similar role is played by the Harlequin publishing company, which now publishes romantic fiction under a number of separate imprints. Although they are not generally popular with men, many women find romance novels to be a form of erotic literature that is as effectively arousing as pornography.
\nRomantic genres
\nThere are a number of sub-genres of romance novel, distinguished by their stock characters:
- Doctor / nurse\n* Historical\n* Aristocrat / commoner\n* Boy from the wrong side of the tracks\n* etc...
See also:\n*
List of romantic novelists
External links
\n* The Romance Novel Database\n*
Personalized Romance Novel\nCategory:Genre
