Hey all, The piece I'm working on will have a good deal of romance involved (or at least I want it to). I don't know too much about the genre. Anybody know of some really good classic romance short stories I can check out? You can throw out some novels too, but I was mainly interested in some really good quick reads (preferably staples of the genre). Any help would be appreciated.
I think if you're gonna write romance, you need to have read Pride and Prejudice. All contemporary romance novels are derivative of it to some extent.
To be honest, I preferred the recent re-release, titled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. But that's probably why I write stories about viruses growing into predators and eating people.
Lolita is widely considered to be one of the most sincere romance novels of the past 100 years. Nabokov does a great job in synthesizing the human need for sexuality and affection into one very believable experience.
I have to disagree...Lolita is a great novel, I would never argue that, but as a romance novel? I don't think so....it's not about love and romance, its about abuse, exploitation and manipulation, and while it is very believable, its not at all romantic...
the 'romance genre' is not at all the same as a mainstream, or literary novel that contains elements of romance [some of which have been listed above]... the romance 'genre' is one of the generally worst-written ones, along with fantasy, so if what you're writing isn't for silhouette/harlequin and the like, then don't refer to the 'genre' of 'romance' when asking for advice...
You really should take the time to read difference kinds of romance novels so you know what the audience wants. Contemporary Romance: A Walk to Remeber Confessions of a Shopaholic Pride and Prejudice is probably a must read for a classic and you can read it online for free. http://librivox.org/pride-and-prejudice-by-jane-austen-2 You can also listen to it for free. This reader does a great job. Librivox is an awesome site where you can listen to non-copyrighted classics or read them.
The writings featured in Plato's Synopsium are thematically centred around love. I found the Speech of Aristophanes to be especially profound in resonating mankinds perpetual search for 'the one'.
Ok here's a few: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (I know this has already been mentioned but it's one of the BIG ones) Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks (beautiful and painful at the same time) Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte ( a great example of what love can do to people)
