Yep, That’s a Romance Novel: Three Recommendations for Not-Quite-Romance Readers

Romance is one of the most maligned genres out there. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve gotten the “you like to read what?” response when I’ve mentioned my love of romance novels. A few people have even followed it up with “But you were an English major!” — as though having a literature degree means I should sustain myself solely on a reading diet of dense, postmodern prose written by Serious Authors.

Obviously, romance novels aren’t for everyone. No type of book is. But I’m surprised by how often someone who just told me that they’ll read “anything but romance” follows up that statement by saying they love Book A or Novel B that I would definitely classify as romance, or at least romance-adjacent.

As far as I’m concerned, there are only two inviolable principles to a romance novel:

1) It should be primarily (but not
exclusively) about the romantic
relationship between the protagonists,
even if it’s focused on one person
more than another.

2) It should have a happy ending.

That’s it! If a book does those two things, I’d probably say you could call it a romance novel.

Here are a few recommendations to help you ease your way into reading romance:

E.M. Forster wrote a handful of pretty well-known and well-regarded books (“A Room with a View,” “Howards End“). But you may not have heard of “Maurice,” a novel he wrote in 1913 and 1914 but didn’t publish until 1971. The reason? It was a novel about men falling in love with each other, and it had a happy ending. That’s tough enough to get published today, let alone 100 years ago!

“Maurice” is also a fascinating portrayal of English upperclass society in transition to modernity, but the real draw is the shifting relationships between main character Maurice and his two love interests, uppercrust Clive and lowerclass Alec. There’s tension between what Maurice wants, what Clive thinks he wants, what Alec knows he wants. If you like love triangles, this is a good one. (There’s also a really nice film adaptation, co-starring an incredibly young Hugh Grant.)

Madeline Miller’s “The Song of Achilles” seems to have taken Tumblr by storm of late, so clearly the young folk know all about this one. But in case you’ve missed it, this is a retelling of Homer’s “Iliad” from the perspective of Patroclus, Achilles’ sworn companion and, in this telling, his childhood sweetheart. (The 2004 Brad Pitt movie “Troy” made Achilles and Patroclus cousins, but that’s definitely not the case here.)

If you’re familiar with the “Iliad,” at this point, you may be thinking, “Uh, didn’t you say that it has to have a happy ending to be a romance novel?” I’ll admit that this one stretches the definition of a “happy ending,” but I still think it qualifies because of, as the kids say, “reasons.” (Getting specific about those reasons would, alas, be a spoiler.)

And finally, just try reading (or re-reading) the works of Jane Austen, one of the earliest and best romance novelists out there. Looking for a light romantic comedy with will-they-or-won’t-they tension? “Pride and Prejudice” set the standard 200 years ago. More in the mood for a sweeping tale of past love and old heartbreak? You can grab a box of tissues and get ready to shed some happy tears over “Persuasion.” Want your romantic entanglements with a strong side of sisterly shenanigans? “Sense and Sensibility” might be for you. Usually find yourself drawn to satire, antiheroes and morality tales? “Northanger Abbey,” “Emma,” and “Mansfield Park” are for you, respectively.

Once you’ve made your way through these suggestions, you’ll be well on your way to owning the Fiction Loop’s Romance section. I’ll meet you there.

-Meredith Wiggins is a Reader’s Services Assistant at Lawrence Public Library.