LEADER 04746nam 22006735 450 001 9910781735303321 005 20210528170039.0 010 $a1-283-21194-7 010 $a9786613211941 010 $a0-8122-0310-0 024 7 $a10.9783/9780812203103 035 $a(CKB)2550000000050866 035 $a(OCoLC)759158238 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10491990 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000646901 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11435712 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000646901 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10589356 035 $a(PQKB)11429857 035 $a(DE-B1597)449175 035 $a(OCoLC)979591620 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780812203103 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3441533 035 $a(EXLCZ)992550000000050866 100 $a20190708d2013 fg 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|||---||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 12$aA natural history of the romance novel /$fPamela Regis 210 1$aPhiladelphia :$cUniversity of Pennsylvania Press,$d[2013] 210 4$d©2003 215 $a1 online resource (xiii, 224 pages) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a0-8122-1522-2 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 209-218) and index. 327 $tFrontmatter --$tContents --$tPreface: The Most Popular, Least Respected Literary Genre --$tPart I. Critics And The Romance Novel --$t1 The Romance Novel And Women'S Bondage --$t2 In Defense Of The Romance Novel --$tPart II. The Romance Novel Defined --$t3 The Definition --$t4 The Definition Expanded --$t5 The Genre'S Limits --$tPart III. The Romance Novel, 1740-1908 --$t6 Writing The Romance Novel'S History --$t7. The First Best Seller: Pamela, 1740 --$t8 The Best Romance Novel Ever Written: Pride And Prejudice, 1813 --$t9 Freedom And Rochester: Jane Eyre, 1847 --$t10 The Romance Form In The Victorian Multiplot Novel: Framley Parsonage, 1861 --$t11 The Ideal Romance Novel: A Room With A View, 1908 --$tPart IV. The Twentieth-Century Romance Novel --$t12 The Popular Romance Novel In The Twentieth Century --$t13 Civil Contracts: Georgette Heyer --$t14 Courtship And Suspense: Mary Stewart --$t15 Harlequin, Silhouette, And The Americanization Of The Popular Romance Novel: Janet Dailey --$t16 Dangerous Men: Jayne Ann Krentz --$t17 One Man, One Woman: Nora Roberts --$tConclusion --$tWorks Cited --$tIndex --$tAcknowledgments 330 $aThe romance novel has the strange distinction of being the most popular but least respected of literary genres. While it remains consistently dominant in bookstores and on best-seller lists, it is also widely dismissed by the critical community. Scholars have alleged that romance novels help create subservient readers, who are largely women, by confining heroines to stories that ignore issues other than love and marriage.Pamela Regis argues that such critical studies fail to take into consideration the personal choice of readers, offer any true definition of the romance novel, or discuss the nature and scope of the genre. Presenting the counterclaim that the romance novel does not enslave women but, on the contrary, is about celebrating freedom and joy, Regis offers a definition that provides critics with an expanded vocabulary for discussing a genre that is both classic and contemporary, sexy and entertaining.Taking the stance that the popular romance novel is a work of literature with a brilliant pedigree, Regis asserts that it is also a very old, stable form. She traces the literary history of the romance novel from canonical works such as Richardson's Pamela through Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Brontė's Jane Eyre, and E. M. Hull's The Sheik, and then turns to more contemporary works such as the novels of Georgette Heyer, Mary Stewart, Janet Dailey, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Nora Roberts. 606 $aRomance fiction, English$xHistory and criticism 606 $aRomance fiction, American$xHistory and criticism 606 $aPopular literature$zEnglish-speaking countries$xHistory and criticism 606 $aFICTION$2bisac 606 $aRomance / Historical / General$2bisac 610 $aCultural Studies. 610 $aLiterature. 615 0$aRomance fiction, English$xHistory and criticism. 615 0$aRomance fiction, American$xHistory and criticism. 615 0$aPopular literature$xHistory and criticism. 615 7$aFICTION 615 7$aRomance / Historical / General 676 $a823/.08509 700 $aRegis$b Pamela$0596054 801 0$bDE-B1597 801 1$bDE-B1597 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910781735303321 996 $aA natural history of the romance novel$93759881 997 $aUNINA