Romance Fiction is an escapist literature that draws people into it’s grasp as a form of escaping from the burdens of their real lives. Being once written by women for women, romance fiction now claims a readership that is 9.5% male (as mentioned in the Romance Writers of America 2009 readership statistics) and has a few male authors in the romance industry.
Nicholas Sparks has become a household name for his romances that have gained world acclaim in the movie industry. One of the major romance publishing companies; Harlequin, has said it sells an average of four books a second in the United States alone. This article takes a look at how this burgeoning genre of fiction took it’s first steps and how it since become such a force to be reckoned with.
The Beginning of Romance Fiction
In the 1100’s the medieval French courts became obsessed, for the first time, with the idea of what we call courtly love. Instead of looking at marriage as a business contract, people began encouraging love in a relationship and focusing more on passion, purity and the beauty of love.
Our first romances come from this period. Wandering balladeers traveled the country side spreading tales of courtly love and the idea spread like wildfire throughout all Europe. The literature of this time elucidated on these concepts of courtly love and Arthurian tales took root. The story of a roman king in England who lopped off a couple heads, became the King Arthur of old. A man whose story consists of loyal and valiant knights, love triangles, and a passionate love you would do anything for. These Arthurian tales also included two people by the name of Tristan and Isolde, a couple who now have a love story of their own.
How Romance Fiction Changed Throughout History
In early romances women were not the main character, partly due to the fact that women could not read or write at that time. Men wrote the novels, with lots of action and adventure of course, and infrequently mentioned a woman. The hero was usually facing horrors, monsters, and grave peril in order to win a fair maiden’s heart by the end. Shakespeare himself, wrote action stories above the affairs of the heart. Romeo and Juliette was not intended as a romance and yet it has become one of the greatest love stories of all time and has influenced many that came after.
The novel widely known as the first romance fiction story, was about a woman holding tight to her virtue and a man pursuing the woman through forceful means, lies and coercion before finally ending up married to her. The two volume novel: Pamela: Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson, is a tale of love between a maid and squire, a relationship frowned upon in that era.
In 1794 Anne Radcliffe brought gothic romances alive. Men and women alike, read romances by this great author. The Mysteries of Udolpho, perhaps her most famous tale, had a brief cameo in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Anne Radcliffe leaned far from the idea of women being emotional and weak and created situations where they had to be rational, a masculine concept in that day. The author’s work became known as “dreadful novels” because she based her plots on the Victorian passion for terror and the bizarre, and became the best-selling author of her day because of it.
Victorian England brought about publishing companies targeting women for marketing for the first time. In 1797 Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice and turned the tide of romance fiction. Now there were smaller sub-genres in the greater romance fiction genre. Jane Austen brought regency romance into the mix, with her witty female protagonists, tales following the quintessential romance formula and plotlines set in the social circles of regency England.
Romance Fiction History in the 19th and 20th Century
During the 19th century romance fiction continued to flourish. The Sheik by E.M. Hull brought rape fantasies to romance fiction. Kidnapping romances caused the hero to rescue the damsel, where as romances involving rape, made the heroine feel her body was the betrayer and she usually wound up in love with her assailant and married to him by novel’s end. However, it was during the 20th century that romance novels really took off, particularly with mass-market paperbacks. Mills and Boon Publishing noted the great interest for romance fiction during World War One and focused on romances during the Great Depression of the 1930’s, when escapist literature was in demand.
Readership increased to working women in the 1930’s and Harlequin Publishing adopted mail order romances to meet the readers needs. Romance fiction was spreading across the globe, with Harlequin now publishing in over 90 languages.
To read more about the history of romance fiction and the golden age of romance novels, click here.
Jessica Hastings - Jessica Hastings is a published author/poet, professional reviewer, and avid reader. Schooled in journalism and creative writing, she ...
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