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Romance novel

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A romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. To be considered a part of the romance genre, a novel should place its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."[1]

Romance is the most popular genre in modern literature. In 2004, romantic fiction generated $1.2 billion in sales, with 2,285 romance novels published. Almost 55% of all paperback books sold in 2004 were romance novels, and this genre made up 39% of all fiction sold that year. Over 64 million people claimed to have read at least one romance novel in 2004, according to a Romance Writer's of America study, a 26% increase over their 2001 study. Twenty-two percent of romance readers identified themselves as male, and the romance readers were split evenly between people who were married and those who were single. People of all ages read romance novels, with one percent of readers younger than 13, and forty-two percent of them have at least a bachelor's degree.[2]

Contents

[hide]

[edit] What is a Romance Novel

[edit] Definition

According to the Romance Writers of America, the main plot of a romance novel must revolve around the two people as they develop romantic love for each other and work to build a relationship together. 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." 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."[3]

As long as a romance novel meets that twin criteria, it can be set in any time period and in any location. There are no specific restrictions on what can or cannot be included in a romance novel. 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."[4]

Romance novels are sometimes referred to as "smut" or female porn.[5][6] 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.[7] Because the vast majority of the romance novel audience are women, most romance novels are told from a woman's viewpoint, in either first or third person.[8]

Others believe that all romance novels are similar to those of Danielle Steel, featuring rich, glamorous people traveling to exotic locations.[9]

Some romance novel readers would claim that the genre has additional restrictions, from plot considerations such as the protagonists meeting early on in the story, to avoiding possible themes, such as neither hero nor heroine committing adultery in the course of their relationship developing. However, these are not hard-and-fast rules, and some writers deliberately write stories that may put off some readers in order to push the genre's boundaries.

Disagreements have surfaced regarding the firm requirement for a happy ending, or the place of same-sex relationships within the genre. 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). Although classic romance novels always have a heterosexual pairing, with the growing acceptance of same-sex relationships in mainstream culture, some might also argue for the inclusion of storylines featuring same-sex couples.

[edit] 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 Jayne Ann Krentz and Jennifer Crusie, have achieved success in both formats.[10]

[edit] Category Romance

Category romances are short (usually no more than 200 pages).[11] The books are published in clearly delineated categories, with a certain number of books published in each category every month. In many cases, the books are labelled sequentialy numbered within a category.[1] These novels have widespread distribution--often worldwide--but a finite 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.[10] Writers for the largest publisher of category romance, Harlequin/Mills & Boon, can find their novels translated into twenty-six languages and sold in over 100 international markets.[12]

Category romances are further divided among different lines, which have a distinct identity, and may share similar settings, time periods, levels of sensuality, or types of conflict. Publishers of category romances usually issue guidelines to authors for each line, specifying the elements necessary for a novel to be included in each line.[13][14] Depending on the current market and current 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.[15]

[edit] Single title romances

Romance novels which are not published as part of a publisher's category are known as single-title novels. These novels are longer than category romances and average around 350 to 400 pages.[11] Publishers may release the novels over a shorter space of time for sales velocity and publicity reasons[16], but on average authors write 1.5 novels per year and have one each year published.[17]. Single-title novels remain on the booksellers' shelves at the discretion of the store.[18]

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.[19]

[edit] SubGenres

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 sub-genres. Sub-genres 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.

The primary subgenres of the romance novel include:

Contemporary Romance

Contemporary romance, which is set after World War II.[20] Chick lit often falls under contemporary romance.[citation needed] Over half of the romantic fiction published in 2004 (1468 our of 2,285 books) were contemporary romance novels.[2]

Historical Romance

Historical romance is set before World War I.[20] This subgenre includes a wide variety of other subgenres, including Regency romance. About twenty percent of all romance novels published in 2004 fell into the historical romance subgenre.[2]

Romantic Suspense

Romantic Suspense involves an intrigue or mystery for the protagonists to solve.[20] Typically, however, the heroine is the victim of a crime or attempted crime,[21] 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.[22] By the end of the novel, the mystery is resolved and the interaction between the hero and heroine has evolved into a solid relationship.[21] These novels primarily take place in contemporary times, but authors such as Amanda Quick have broadened the genre to also include historical timeframes.[23]

Paranormal Romance

Paranormal romance includes urban fantasy, futuristic, and Time-travel themes.[20] Between 2002 and 2004, the number of paranormal romances published in the United States doubled to 170 per year. A popular title in this genre can sell over 500,000 copies.[24]

Inspirational Romance

Inspirational romances contain spiritual themes, most often Christian in nature.[20] In 2004, 167 novels were published in the inspirational romance subgenre.[2] These novels typically do not include gratuitous violence or swearing, and the central courtship is very chaste. Sex, if it is in the novel 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."[25] Themes such as forgiveness, honesty, and fidelity are common.[26]


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.[27]


Romantica (a blend of romance and erotica) is often named as a sub-genre; the term is a trademark owned by growing electronic publisher Ellora's Cave. The common non-trademarked term for the sub-genre is erotic romance. Erotic romance includes romance novels from all the other romance sub-genres, as these books are predominantly romance novels that are characterized by strong sexual content.

[edit] Origins of the romance novel

The earliest English novels in this genre appeared in the 19th century. Pride and Prejudice (1813) by Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Brontë, and Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë are highly-regarded as classic romantic novels.[16]

Romance novels can also trace their roots back to gothic novels, if not to the idea of the "roman" itself through the romance (genre), a heroic prose and narrative form of medieval/Renaissance Europe.

Ann Radcliffe's gothic novels influenced writers ranging from Jane Austen (who parodied it in her Northanger Abbey), Charles Dickens, and the Brontës.

In the 1970s and 1980s, many romance novels were characterized by weak females who fell in love with strong alpha males who gave them orders. By the 1990s, the genre had grown, and today it is unlikely that a book which featured a man raping his future wife would be published.[28]

[edit] Romance Novel Market

The publishing house Harlequin Enterprises Ltd, conventionally shortened to Harlequin, along with its British arm Mills and Boon, is best-known for publishing romantic fiction. As of 2007, Harlequin is the largest publisher of category romance, releasing 500 titles each month in 25 different languages, representing every major market in the world.[29]

Other publishers, including Avalon and Avon are also releasing category romance novels, usually several dozen per month. Some publishers of Regency romances and ethnic romances also publish in monthly series.[30]

Currently, there are several large houses publishing romances, including Avon Books, an imprint of the HarperCollins publishing house. Lately E-Publishers have been making in-roads into the romance market, notably Amira Press with multicultural romance, Samhain Publishing, Siren Publishing, Ellora's Cave, Twilight Fantasies Publications [1] , Changeling Press, Mojocastle Press and Loose ID.

The following are the largest publishers of single title romance novels, in term of the number of titles published in 2002:

Harlequin also publishes some single title romances under its HQN, Signature, Silhouette, and Mira imprints.

[edit] International Markets

Although romance novels are translated into dozens of languages, the majority of authors of these works are from Great Britain, the United States, Canada, or, to a lesser extent, Australia. This leads to a more Anglo-Saxon perspective in the fiction, which 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.[31]

Some publishing companies in Germany refuse to allow their romance authors to use their own names, fearing that the German audience will not buy a romance novel that does not have an American pseudonum. German readers enjoy reading more erotic romance novels,[31] 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 the love scenes.[32]

[edit] Genre Criticisms

The romance genre is one of the few to have a "cultural stigma," with some dedicated readers even embarrassed to admit to buying or reading the books.[3] Fans of the genre often claim that the perceived stigma is due to the fact that romance is the only genre "written almost exclusively by women for women."[3] Critics point to a lack of suspense, as it is 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."[3]

[edit] Genre slang

Like many other fan groups, romance novel readers have developed terminology to allow them to talk about the specifics of romance novels quickly and easily. Some common terms include:

  • duke of slut - a promiscuous male aristocrat, usually seen in historical romances.
  • fake rake - a man whom everybody presumes to be promiscuous (a rake), but who is not.
  • HEA - an abbreviation of "[and they lived] happily ever after", the phrase which traditionally ends fairy tales; it refers to the happy ending that romance novels must have.
  • H/H - shorthand for referring to the Hero/Heroine as a couple.
  • TSTL - an abbreviation of "too stupid to live"; this usually refers to a heroine whose behaviour is so dumb that the reader finds it difficult to believe that she has survived so long, or that she will manage to avoid getting herself killed soon.
  • Secret baby - refers to a plot line in which the father does not know of the existence of a child.

Many of these terms, and more, were created and or popularized at All About Romance (www.allaboutromance.com).

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Romance Novels--What Are They? (English). Romance Writers of America. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  2. ^ a b c d Romance Writers of America's 2005 Market Research Study on Romance Readers (English). Romance Writers of America (2005). Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  3. ^ a b c d Gray, Paul (March 20, 2000). Passion on the Pages (English). Time. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
  4. ^ Gold, Laurie (July 30, 1997). Laurie's News and Views - Issue #30 (English). All About Romance Novels. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
  5. ^ Bly, Mary (Ferbuary 12, 2005). A Fine Romance (English). The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  6. ^ Faircloth, Kelly (April 28, 2005). Who Wrote the Book of Love? (English). The Harvard Independent. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
  7. ^ Hank, Melissa (March 5, 2007). Of supple breasts and manly chests (English). TV Guide. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  8. ^ Shepherd, L. (February 22, 2007). How to Write a Romance Novel (English). How To Do Things. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  9. ^ Bellafante, Gina (August 8, 1994). Affairs to Remember (English). Time. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
  10. ^ a b Paula, Eykelhof; Debbie Macomber (July 31, 2006). Romancing the Store (English). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  11. ^ a b Hamilton, Melissa. Romance Categories: The Different Kinds of Romance (English). Romance Ever After. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  12. ^ About Romantic Fiction (English). Romance Novelists' Association. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
  13. ^ Eykelhof, Paula. Writing Guidelines: Harlequin Everlasting Love (English). eHarlequin.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  14. ^ Jeglinski, Melissa. [hhttp://www.eharlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=553&chapter=0 Writing Guidelines: Silhouette Desire] (English). eHarlequin.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  15. ^ Industry Statistics (English). Romance Writers of America (2005). Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  16. ^ a b What's in a Name? (English). Publishers Weekly (July 2, 2001). Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  17. ^ Author Statistics (English). Romance Writers of America. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  18. ^ Leopold, Todd (August 11, 2000). Writing from the heart (English). CNN. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  19. ^ Ward, Jean Marie. Eloisa James: REgencies with a Shakespearean Twist (English). Crescent Blues. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
  20. ^ a b c d e Romance Novels--Subgenres (English). Romance Writers of America. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  21. ^ a b Romantic Suspense (English). Text in Transit: A guide to genre in Popular Literature. The Canada Research CHair Humanities Computing Studio (May 21, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  22. ^ Day, Michele (August 13, 2002). Love stories with suspense, humor top charts (English). The Enquirer (Cincinnati, Ohio). Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  23. ^ Marble, Anne M. (2001). The Subgenres of Romance (English). Writing-World.Com. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  24. ^ Luscombe, Belinda (February 19, 2006). Well, Hello, Suckers (English). Time. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
  25. ^ Duffy, Martha (November 13, 1995). The Almighty To The Rescue (English). Time. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
  26. ^ Layne, Sandy (2001). Christian Romance Novels? (English). Write to Inspire. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  27. ^ Dunford, Natalie; Lucinda Dyer, Karen Holt, and Judith Rosen (December 1, 2003). Toujours l'Amour (English). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  28. ^ Grossman, Lev (February 3, 2003). Rewriting the Romance. Time. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
  29. ^ Kay, Samantha (22 March 2007). The History of the Harlequin Romance Novel (English). EzineArticles. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  30. ^ The Mystery of Harlequin Romance (English). MyRomanceLife (2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
  31. ^ a b Povoledo, Elisabetta (October 18, 2004). Women's Fiction for Europe: 'No cowboys, no babies' (English). International Herald Tribue. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
  32. ^ Fritsche, Vivien (July 1999). Impressions from a Romance Reader Overseas (English). All ABout Romance. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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