Romance books have been a significant genre within fiction books for many years, as stories exploring the relationships between characters are very popular. Romance books are normally positive in tone, exploring the relationships and love between two people, and generally have optimistic endings, though this is not always the case. They also often involve characters of different social standings, which help makes the relationship incredibly unlikely at the start of the book and the book all the more capturing for it, as the love that the two characters hold for each other can overcome social conventions.

If you have not yet read any romance books, then the following titles may be of interest:

Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was published in 1813, and is a great example of a romance book, though the plot is a little more complicated than most, involving several different relationships. The plot focuses around the wealthy Bennet family, consisting of five daughters, who need to be married, as if their father dies, his estate will go to a male relative and not to them. The story focuses around Elizabeth Bennet, the second of the five daughters, and Mr. Darcy, an initially haughty man of high standing. Elizabeth takes a disliking to him, but later discovers Darcy it is not the bad man that she supposed him to be, and that he puts himself at considerable expense to save the reputation of her family.

Gone with the Wind- Margaret Mitchell
Gone with the Wind was first published in 1936 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. It traces the life of Scarlett O’Hara, initially the somewhat spoiled daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, but finds herself in poverty after the damage inflicted by the American Civil War. It is an interesting novel because it traces the story of Scarlett over 12 years and has a really interesting historical background. She goes through various husbands, but always truly wished she was married to Ashley Wilkes, and cannot help but be secretly scornful of Ashley’s wife Melanie.

Romeo and Juliet- William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet is technically a tragedy, but the strong romance between Romeo and Juliet makes it including in this section of the website. Romeo and Juliet belong to two different families, the Montague’s and the Capulet’s, who are sworn enemies of each other. However they fall in love with each other, hoping to put an end to differences between their families.