Reading the Romance

A man I was working with recommended this book to me, when he heard about my novel, while it was in the making. I got hold of this book and already after the first chapter I understood why. Janice Radway investigates how Harlequin novels have such a large audience. In essence it is because romance novels always end well, as opposed to life, that keeps being complicated. It taught me that I’m a very romantic person. This was something I had never regarded as a positive trait so of course I failed to see just how important romance was and… show more.

Radway’s book was invaluable to me as a way to read the structure of Chica Lit, which depends on tropes and language from contemporary romance fiction. Her approach, which included a study of women who read nothing but romance in their time off, made many things clear about the pull of romance and its conventions for women. Her approach to the language and psychology of romance fiction also clarifies what makes these fictions, including Chica Lit, so appealing to women of all ages. This book came out in 1984 but is still for my money the best on romance fiction… show more.

If there is anything that snobs hate more than popular literature, it’s popular literature that’s popular with women. Especially young women, middle-aged women, and older women. 

Radway really revolutionized the historic study of readers with this book. It has some weaknesses, but there are many many more things that it gets right, starting with the premise that you shouldn’t just assume why people read. But ask them.