Romance, or romance fiction, most famously in the form of the romance novel, is the genre of narrative fiction whose works focus on the romantic love and budding relationship between two or more characters, often concluding with an emotionally satisfying or optimistic ending. As a conventional form of genre fiction, it emerged from pioneering authors writing in modern English, including Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters and Samuel Richardson, and today spans many subgenres and settings while keeping romantic relationships as its central focus.
Facts
Place of Origin Notable ExampleThe Black Moth (1921) by Georgette Heyer, her first romance novel 1 Defining TraitA narrative built around a developing romantic relationship between the central characters that resolves in an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending 1 Romance Novel
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FAQs
How are romance novels expected to end?
They are expected to end happily ever after or at least happy for now.
Romance novels are typically expected to end with a happily ever after, or at least a happy for now. Fans and publishers use the shorthand HEA for the first and HFN for the second. The genre is often accused of being formulaic, and this reliable emotional payoff is a large part of what readers come to it for. Samuel Richardson's Pamela, cited by some scholars as the first popular romance novel, is also credited as the first love story with a standard happily ever after ending.
Connections
Encompasses Form
Features Author
Source Wikipedia: Bram Stoker
Source Jane Eyre (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Patricia Highsmith
Source Wikipedia: Paulo Coelho
Source Wikipedia: Rafael Sabatini
Form Of Genre
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. Wikipedia
WikipediaWikipedia: Romance novel, lead section
The British company Mills & Boon began releasing romance novels for women in the 1930s.
Wikipedia: Romance novel, origins paragraph
Heyer's first romance novel, The Black Moth (1921), was set in 1751.
Wikipedia: Romance novel, Definition section
The Romance Writers of America's definition of romance novels includes only the focus on a developing romantic relationship and an optimistic ending.
View the Source Jane Eyre (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Jane Eyre, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Jane Eyre, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Gothic, Bildungsroman, Romance
Rebecca (novel) (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Rebecca, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Rebecca, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Gothic, romance, mystery, crime
Wikipedia: Bram Stoker
Features Author: Bram Stoker, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Bram Stoker, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Gothic fiction, romantic fiction, horror fiction, vampire literature
Wikipedia: Patricia Highsmith
Features Author: Patricia Highsmith, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Patricia Highsmith, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Suspense, psychological thriller, crime fiction, romance
Wikipedia: Paulo Coelho
Features Author: Paulo Coelho, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Paulo Coelho, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Drama, romance
Wikipedia: Rafael Sabatini
Features Author: Rafael Sabatini, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Rafael Sabatini, Infobox, genre field
Genre: romance, adventure
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