‘An Introduction to Popular Romance 2’ by Laura Vivanco

The modern popular romance novel, as a form of fiction which has “a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending” (RWA, “About”), has many recognised subgenres, including historical, paranormal, religious, science fiction and suspense, not least because the plot of the romance combines extremely well with those of many other forms of … Continue reading “‘An Introduction to Popular Romance 2’ by Laura Vivanco”

‘An Introduction to Popular Romance 1’ by Laura Vivanco

Romance, as Barbara Fuchs has observed, “is a notoriously slippery category. Critics disagree about whether it is a genre or a mode, about its origins and history, even about what it encompasses” (1). I’d like to discuss first some definitions of popular romance and then its “origins and history.”  Pamela Regis, author of the influential … Continue reading “‘An Introduction to Popular Romance 1’ by Laura Vivanco”