The Rise And Staying Power Of The Romance Novel
For those who can easily sink into the fantasy of a good book, there's no greater escape in the world. Gone are the every day struggles and worries of reality; replaced by the fictional drama provided in the pages of a novel. For those who love to read, it is truly a gift; a reprieve for the mind and a journey of the imagination. No other genre of fiction has been credited with delivering such fantasy as the romance novel; popularized by women worldwide and continuing to hold court as the guilty pleasure of many a generation.
The romance novel dates back as early as the 19th century with English novels of this genre penned by such literary greats as Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, and Jane Austen throughout the 1800s. Clearly their stories - Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights, respectively, have stood the test of time, validating once again the enormous popularity of the field.
In general, fictional romance tells the story of a romantic relationship between two people - the meeting, courtship, conflict and strife, and, finally, the happily ever after ending - demonstrative of a love conquers all plot line. There are typically two separate types of the romance novel - the series, which is classified by different elements such as the same characters from book to book or the same time period. The series novels are typically short and inexpensive. The single title novel is longer than its series counterparts and is considered a stand-alone story.
Even within the romance genre there are several sub-classifications that further categorize the story. Such sub-classifications include contemporary romance - detailing the modern love story; historical romance - stories that take place in a particular time period of the past; fantasy/horror/science fiction romance - integrating a love story into an existing atmosphere; and suspense - which infuses romance into a thriller or mystery.
Romance is so very much in the air, that there are even companies dedicated to helping your write your own love story. Anyone interested in having their relationship immortalized in the pages of a romance novel, need only visit any one of the websites devoted to such offerings; you give them your personal information and they deliver to you a personalized novel.
This particular genre continues to be a best seller in North America, beating out all other types of fiction in the United States and Canada. Harlequin, best known for publishing exclusively romance fiction, continues to be the largest publisher of the romance genre in the world.
Romance authors - in delivering these pleasurable reads - have been elevated to a stardom of their own. Such contemporary romance authors as Nora Roberts, Jude Deveraux, and Barbara Taylor Bradford enjoy enormous popularity as fans follow the characters and stories to see what happens next.
As long as we - as a society - continue to look for daily ways to escape the grind of every day life, the romance novel will always be a popular and enjoyable diversion.
About the Author
Still looking for the perfect romance? Try visiting http://www.MyRomanceLife.com, a website that specializes in providing romance advice, tips and resources including information on the
romance novel.
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