In Honour of Valentine's Day
I'd like to pay tribute to a few of my favorite romance books. Romance novels were a big part of my life when I was much younger and I still remember many of the plots and characters. Scarlett O'Hara's headstrong disposition kept me riveted through Gone With the Wind's one thousand pages. The shy and humble unnamed heroine in Rebecca was closer to my personality, but I didn't appreciate her until my adult years. I preferred feisty heroines like Pride and Prejudice's Elizabeth Bennet.
I especially love historical novels They transport me to other places and eras. The first classic romance I read at age twelve was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, which was to be the catalyst to a genre that would sweep me away to foreign countries with castles and manor houses and brooding gentlemen, hidden secrets, family curses and sometimes insane wives locked in the attic.
I prefer happy endings, although some of the greatest love stories end tragically. I still have a second edition of Jane Eyre with yellowed pages and black leather binding, which I found in a secondhand bookshop many years ago. Unfortunately the text is underlined with pen (don't blame me) and it isn't worth much, but to read from this volume makes me believe I am part of C. Bronte's world.
The following list of great romance novels is not in order of preference
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Possession by A. S. Byatt
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
I know I've left a few romance novels off my list
Anything written by Georgette Heyer and Rosamund Pilcher deserve to be mentioned. I'm sure you've noticed that my list of great romance novels does not include books with vampires and werewolves. Please don't judge me. I really do love horror novels, but my list is for human lovers only.
Since my adolescent years I have held a fascination for Pre-Raphaelite artists and poets, probably because they represent Gothic romantic themes. Many of the titles on my list are Gothic novels that I never tire of reading. The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott is a poem so I left it off the list, but it's breathtaking.
Do you agree with my list? What is your favorite romance novel of all time? ♥
I also loved the books on your list. A couple of other come to mind - Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" and a more modern classic in the same vein "The French Lieutenant's Woman" by John Fowles. Fowles novel succeeded in capturing Hardy's style, but in the movie version the director chose to intersperse the original story with a modern one about the actors making the movie. Even though Meryl Streep made a marvelous woman scorned, Fowles' original story was strong enough to stand on its own without any manipulation.
ReplyDeleteI forgot about 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'. I must admit I've never read 'The French Lieutenant's Woman', but I love Meryl Streep. I don't know why directors feel they must change plots for the screen, especially from classic novels.
ReplyDeleteOf course my list was very short. I tried to keep it to ten favourites, but couldn't. I find the classic romances were much more than just romance novels. So many were Gothic, mysteries, adventure or intrigue. Today authors think they can write in only one genre, but the masters knew better.
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