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To be considered of the romance genre, a novel should adhere to the following criteria: If a novel does not fulfill those conditions, many fans of the genre are likely to claim that it belongs to a related genre, such as women's fiction, or that it is just a mainstream fiction novel. 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. 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. 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. Romance publishers The publishing house Harlequin Enterprises Ltd, conventionally shorted to Harlequin, along with its British arm Mills and Boon, is best-known for publishing romantic fiction. Currently, there are several large houses publishing romances, including Avon Books, an imprint of the HarperCollins publishing house. Category and single title novels Romance novels are divided into two sub-sets, category romances (also called series romances) and single title romances. Category romances The term "category romances" derives from the fact that the books are published in clearly delineated categories, with a certain number of books being published in each category every month. Their alternative name, series romances, came from the sequential numbers sometimes printed on the books' spines. Category romances are short (usually no more than 250 pages), and have a low purchase price compared to other fiction books. Category romances are further divided among different lines. A line is a series of books with a distinct identity. The books in a particular line 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 in to each line. Category romances have widespread distribution--often worldwide--but a finite print run. They stay on the shelf only until they are sold out or until the next month's titles within the same line take their place upon the shelf. As of 2005, Harlequin is the only major player in category romance, though Avalon, Avon and other publishers are slowly gaining momentum, publishing dozens of titles per month in ten-plus different lines, ranging from squeaky-clean stories geared to the Christian reader, to super-spicy, semi-erotica. Some publishers of Regency romances and ethnic romances also publish in monthly series. Single title romances 'Single Title' novels are any novels not published as part of a publisher's line. They are longer than 'category' romances and average around 350 to 400 pages. 'Single Title' is a publishing term, as authors frequently write several interconnected books ranging in number from trilogies to long-running series. Such sets of books often have similar titles. Publishers may release them over a shorter space of time for sales velocity and publicity reasons, but on average authors publish two titles a year. 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. Romantic genres Romance is a sprawling genre which has spawned multiple sub-genres: Sub-genres of romance frequently draw on other genres. Romantic suspense draws on mysteries, crime fiction and thrillers, and paranormal romances use elements popular in science fiction and fantasy. 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. See also List of romantic novelists Popularity of romance novels Romance novels are most popular in the United States and Canada, where it is the best-selling genre. In North America in 2002, sales of romance novels generated US$1.63 billion and comprised 34.6% of all popular fiction sold - by comparison, general fiction comprised 24.1% and mystery, detective and suspense fiction comprised 23.1%. Over 2000 romance novels were published, and there were 51.1 million romance novel readers. 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: Many of these terms, and more, were created and or popularized at All About Romance (www.allaboutromance.com). See also | |||||||
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