Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre

In the past decade the number of romance books and authors has skyrocketed; the genre has diversified in type, plot and characters; more readers have become fans; and even the scholarly community has begun focusing attention on this genre. Ramsdell's book responds to the tremendous changes of the last decade in this popular genre. It provides an overview of the romance genre as a whole (for example, definition, history, reasons for appeal) and discusses each of the major romance subgenres in individual chapters. A discussion of research aids (for example, current scholarship, collections, periodicals, awards, organizations, publishers) and sections on readers' advisory and collection development are also included. A revision of the author's Happily Ever After: A Guide to Reading Interests in Romance Fiction (Libraries Unlimited, 1987), this book has been entirely updated and rewritten. It includes new sections on alternative reality romance, ethnic/multicultural romance, and developing the collection - including a suggested core collection list. Suitable for librarians involved in readers' advisory, this book should also be of interest to bookstore owners, romance fiction writers, general readers, and scholars researching this popular genre.