New Approaches to Popular Romance Fiction: Critical Essays

by Sarah S.G. Frantz, Eric Murphy Selinger (Editor)

Despite the prejudices of critics, popular romance fiction remains a complex, dynamic genre. It consistently maintains the largest market share in the American publishing industry, even as it welcomes new subgenres like queer and BDSM romance. Digital publishing originated in erotic romance, and savvy online communities have exploded myths about the genre's readership. Romance scholarship now reflects this diversity, transformed by interdisciplinary scrutiny, new critical approaches, and an unprecedented international dialogue between authors, scholars, and fans. These eighteen essays investigate individual romance novels, authors, and websites, rethink the genre's history, and explore its interplay of convention and originality. By offering new twists in enduring debates, this collection inspires further inquiry into the emerging field of popular romance studies.

Genres: Nonfiction, Romance, Literary Criticism, Academic

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2012

About the author

Sarah has a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Michigan. She co-edited two academic collections, "Women Constructing Men" and "New Perspectives on Popular Romance Fiction." She is President of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance and has published academic articles on Jane Austen, J.R. Ward, Suzanne Brockmann, Joey Hill, and scenes in which the romance hero breastfeeds from the heroine.

Sarah also works as a freelance editor and BDSM fiction advisor at Alphabet Editing. She is an acquiring editor at Riptide Publishing, where she has the privilege to edit top male/male authors like Marie Sexton, L.A. Witt, Aleksandr Voinov, Kim Dare, Alex Beecroft, Heidi Cullinan, and many many others.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to use this as a text for the genre romance class I'm teaching this spring. It's a good collection of essays that consider some central questions and issues in the study of the genre.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent study of current and past trends in romance writing. This book should be read by every author who's making a career of romance writing. I didn't agree with 100% of the contributors' conclusions--I think just as sometimes a cigar was just a cigar to Freud, sometimes a romance novel is simply an entertaining read where the author wasn't purposefully (or even unconsciously) inserting words like "glittery" to make a point.

Nonetheless, the essays are well-researched and thoughtful, and a valuable contribution to popular studies. The price may put off some readers wishing to access the book. As is so often the case, small academic presses have to charge more than large publishers. However, New Approaches to Popular Romance Fiction is now in the public library system in the US, which means it's accessible through ILL (Inter-Library Loan).

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much needed addition to the scholarly conversation about genre romance, filled with intelligent essays that ask scholars to give up outdated paradigms and which push the field in exciting new directions. The introduction's overview of previous scholarship in the field is particularly helpful for scholars new to the field.

[Lesley Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great to see some considered, contemporary discussion of popular romance fiction.

[Kait Wolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting insights into a genre I love, despite all its faults.

[Sydney McKay · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5