Is romance fictions popularity mostly an American phenomenon?
Harlequin, the largest publisher of romance novels, publishes over 120 titles a month, they are sold in over 100 international markets and published in over 25 different languages. More than one third of American women have read a book published by Harlequin. The sheer popularity of this company alone demonstrates why we should be studying romance novels. So how did one of the most ridiculed forms of fiction become an area for scholarly research? It is only in the past 30 years that scholars have started to examine this much maligned but popular genre. In the 1970s, the rise of feminism shaped scholarly questions and research about the role of women in history, literature, politics, and society. And romantic fiction can reveal something about these topics? First, they show us that women are socialized to expect and find fulfillment in marriage. (An understanding also affirmed in any number of films that we label “chick flicks.”) Second, they provide insight into how views on romance, g
