What do I mean when I say "romance"? The Romance Writers of America website offer this simple definition:
"Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying and optimistic ending.
A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around individuals
falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer
can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story
is the main focus of the novel.
An Emotionally-Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance,
the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship
are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love."
Head over to www.rwa.org for a whole bunch of interesting articles and statistics. For a small fee, librarians are eligible to become an affiliate member. Check it out!
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre are romances.
Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet are love stories, but are not romances.
Wikipedia has an extensive article under "Romance Novel" which is a good overview of the genre.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_novel
