Favorite Romantic Novels
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE What's your favorite romantic novel? And I ain't talkin' Harlequin Romances, where they plow each other's gardens and she touches his turgid member. I mean like, the great love stories of all time in book form.
I love Jane Eyre. I love her quiet love, the way she sees the goodness in Rochester, even when he's a blustering idiot. An oldie but a goodie.
I also love The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken. It's about a librarian who develops a soft spot (love, even?) for the town's giant. It's so beautifully written, you can't tell where the lines between frienship and love blur.
I actually also loved The Time Traveler's Wife (book, not movie). I love that it's really a story about her disguised as a story about him. Hmmm...methinks I need a re-read.
Reader Comments (15)
Definitely Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice and now, Twenties Girl by Kinsella
It made me tear up at the end. Unrequited love. *sigh*
I'm embarassed to say, I've NEVER in my whole life read a romance novel.
Not sure why I haven't.
Jane Eyre, hands down!
I've read all the Victorian romance novels by the Bronte sista's but I must say, Jane Eyre really stuck to me.
I've never read any other romance novels, but I have a feeling I would love The Time Traveler's Wife.
Not really a romance novel, but I love Little Women! They do all fall in love, right? And I love that Jo chooses the poor professor because he's interesting and smart. And I also love that they eventually run the boys school together. A good love story, it's just told over a couple books. (Really, I just love Marmi.)
And Jane Eyre is my favorite novel of all time.
Pride and Prejudice. Most definitely. Reading it right now, and getting all caught up in the language. Meg Ryan's character's description of it in You've Got Mail pretty much sums up my feelings toward that book.
Oh I loved The Time Traveler's Wife. I couldn't put it down. Then I raced out to see the movie the day after I finished it (and dragged my poor bf with me) and I was so disappointed. But the book is amazing.
I love Pride and Prejudice...and I actually loved the Kiera Knightly movie version (though of course, the BBC version with Colin Firth is quite amazing if you're willing to sit through 12 hours of footage).
I'll have to try Twenties Girl!
And Sami, there are good romance novels and there are decidedly bad ones. All the ones mentioned here in the comments are fantastic!
I think Little Women totally counts, too!
Ok, I will admit, that when I'm looking for shamelessly mindless romance reading, I turn to Nora Roberts. I do want to stress the shamefully mindless part. But all time favourite romance is tough. I've read so many books! I'm going to go with Austen's Persuasion. I know many will vote for P&P or Emma first, but don't discount Persuasion. It's more about the steadfastness of love, and what is more romantic than that?
Why couldn't this post be about favorite romantic porn book? *Sigh*
pride and prejudice (colin firthhhhh), jane eyre, witch on blackbird pond, hmmmmm anne of the island.
Hmmm...Dube. I'm actually thinking of doing a cheesy romance novel contest for you all. Stay tuned for details!
The Professor - Charlotte Bronte. I loved the friendship part, not just the love story.
And I'm a bit of a sucker for Anna Gavalda's contemporary love stories.
P&P is always lovely, and although it's tragic, I have to say that Ian McEwan's Atonement knocked me on my tush when I read what *really* happened between Briony's sister and her lost love.
Thank you so much for the recent comment on my blog (sorry it took me so long to see it)!
Wow, I actually just started reading Jane Eyre yesterday. So far (Ch. 4), I really like it. :)
I enjoy the Twilight series, which I feel is a lame thing to say, but it's true. I love all love stories! Even unconventional/weird ones like Wuthering Heights.
Hi Heidi! You're welcome. :) You'll love Jane Eyre. I actually found it to be a pretty quick read even though it's a "classic".