Love makes the world go round - it's an old adage, but is still alive and well in romance novels, music and movies around the globe. It is the most common element in all mediums as in life itself.
So when did ‘love’ in literature start? It is thought the 1740 novel, Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson was one of the earliest true romance novels. The narrative relates a courtship told entirely by the female protagonist. A century later, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice epitomized the genre and in many ways launched the genre we know so well today.
Modern romance novels are divided into multiple genres:
Contemporary.
Historical.
Romantic suspense.
Paranormal.
Gothic
Time-travel
LGBT
Science fiction.
Fantasy.
Western
Time-travel.
Inspirational.
Multicultural.
Erotic.
These in turn are divided into sub-genres: (and more appear annually)
Adventure, African-American, chick-lit, dark fantasy, erotica, futuristic, interracial, mainstream, menage a trois, military, M/M, multi-cultural, mystery/thriller, Regency, rock n' roll, single title, sweet, traditional, urban fantasy, World War II-era, Yaoi and young adult etc.
The sheer volume of choice available to authors (and ultimately readers) within this one genre is mind boggling. No matter your preferred genre, you can adapt it to include the 'romance' trope. Given this free range of setting, era, time and place; as long as you have boy meets girl (or more commonly boy meets boy OR girl meets girl) as the theme, your narrative can be included under either one, or more sub categories.
There are still the corset rippers, as they used to be called, but now a day’s reader choice is much wider. For an author, the flexibility in this one genre, allows for a more personal viewpoint through their own favored format and style of writing. The idea of romance is a personal one, affected by our own experiences and preference. This perspective changes as we grow older and experience the trials and tribulations of love and the ways it affects our lives directly or indirectly. The heights of that first blush, to enduring love, to broken and heart ache, it is universal to us all. And thereby is the fundamental core of why romance is so popular, we sympathize, liken and see ourselves within the stories, and empathize with the characters in one way or another.
As we know two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying and optimistic ending. 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. Other definitions of a romance novel may be broader, including other plots and endings, or more than two people, or narrower, restricting the types of romances, or conflicts.'
I have explored ‘romance’ in several sub-genres, where the ‘love’ element plays a part within a larger narrative.
In my speculative fiction novel, Life in Slake Patch, my protagonist, Evan, had to abide to matriarchal laws forbidding daily contact with his loved one and ultimately changes everyone’s loves fundamentally. In The Twesome Loop I follow my female protagonists in finding love through a reincarnation link, with surprising revelations. The Rython Kingdom fantasy dealt with a troubadour falling for a good sorceress and the ultimate joining of souls. This novella was complimented by Rython Legacy, after reader pressure to write a sequel and covers the story of the initial sorceress’s granddaughter’s story. In my steampunk novel, The Commodore’s Gift, my protagonist, Owena finds a champion willing to accept her unorthodox views on the strict Victorian etiquette for women. As you can see each novel has a main device plot with added romance.
It is interesting to note that when I was investigating branding of my work, it became clear my novels all have a 'love' based theme, although not always romantic love. I have dealt with eros (sexual passion), storge (parental), philia (friendship), pragma (longstanding love), and philautia (self-love) in my narratives. I think this reveals that there are no limits as to how we write and therefore reflect love in our stories.
Find out more at https://www.instagram.com/mandyevebarnett/.
The RV Book Fair 2024 Special.
Article published in The Relatable Voice Magazine - November 2024. Downolad the full magazine at:
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