romance classics

Which books would you consider to be classics in romance and why?

I guess that depends on which definition of "classic" you prefer. I tend to apply the one which defines classic as "having lasting signficance or worth; enduring".

I own a lot of novels originally published during the "British Romantic" Period, which I consider having lasting significance and worth, including Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion by Jane Austen; Far From The Madding Crowd and Tess of the D'Urbevilles by Thomas Hardy; Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott; the works of Elizabeth Gaskell; even Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

I also think several contemporary authors, including some who have had "firsts" in the world of romance publishing, like Kathleen Woodiwiss and Jude Devereaux would be considered authors of "classic" romance when other definitions of the word are applied.

CC

CC, by your definition, Tristan and Isolde and Romeo and Juliet would certainly fit. Then there's Wuthering Heights.

I can't count the number of books (romance or other) which have had a plotline similar to R&J -- star-crossed lovers, younger generation ignoring prejudices of older one, etc., etc.

As a word "classic" takes on a wide area of meaning. I love Wuthering Heights, but never think of it as romance because to me it's a different type of classic--the type read in school. The thing is, it is about a romance so it does fall into romance. I was thinking more like Woodiwiss, Devereaux and the likes when I posted the original message. Now I see how broad my question was. I was looking more for modern classics, but please list any classic romance you see fit.

From Dictionary.com:

ro·mance1 /n., adj. roʊˈmæns, ˈroʊmæns; v. roʊˈmæns/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation{n., adj. roh-mans, roh-mans; v. roh-mans} Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, -manced, -manc·ing, adjective
–noun
1. a novel or other prose narrative depicting heroic or marvelous deeds, pageantry, romantic exploits, etc., usually in a historical or imaginary setting.
2. the colorful world, life, or conditions depicted in such tales.
3. a medieval narrative, originally one in verse and in some Romance dialect, treating of heroic, fantastic, or supernatural events, often in the form of allegory.
4. a baseless, made-up story, usually full of exaggeration or fanciful invention.
5. a romantic spirit, sentiment, emotion, or desire.
6. romantic character or quality.
7. a romantic affair or experience; a love affair.
8. (initial capital letter) Also, Romanic. Also called Romance languages. the group of Italic Indo-European languages descended since a.d. 800 from Latin, as French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Provençal, Catalan, Rhaeto-Romanic, Sardinian, and Ladino. Abbreviation: Rom.
–verb (used without object)
9. to invent or relate romances; indulge in fanciful or extravagant stories or daydreams.
10. to think or talk romantically.
–verb (used with object)
11. Informal.
a. to court or woo romantically; treat with ardor or chivalrousness: He's currently romancing a very attractive widow.
b. to court the favor of or make overtures to; play up to: They need to romance the local business community if they expect to do business here.
–adjective
12. (initial capital letter) Also, Romanic. of, pertaining to, or noting Romance: a Romance language.
(Origin: 1250–1300; ME romaunce Romanic language, composition in such a language

what about Gone With the Wind? To me that is a classic romance.

My list is certainly not the only ones I think of as classic. I could probably spend hours thinking of more.

I also think some authors, like Nora Roberts and Linda Howard are going to be considered by many as writing classic romance because of the sheer volume of stuff they publish.

KJ, on one of the earlier threads, we discussed (dissected?) Wuthering Heights and whether it is a pure romance.

CC

Georgette Heyer

Oh and probably Barbara Cartland and Grace Livingston Hill would also be considered classic romance.

Victoria Holt perhaps?

Edited to add: When I was a little girl, my Grampa of all people used to read Barbara Cartland all the time and I always thought she looked so fancy on the back cover!

CC--Thanks for mentioning the Wuthering Heights thread. I'll have to search it out....unless you would happen to have a link to it. :-s

Gracer--I've been told to read some Heyer. Could you suggest a specific title to start with? I'm told the language can be a little bit of a problem. Just a little bit, though. Those things don't bother me (i.e. Wuthering Heights).

Definitely Victoria Holt! My grandma used to give me her books when I was little. They're a little dark, but things always turn out alright in the end. I remember one in particular The Pride of the Peacock. Sorry the touchstone is wrong. Anyway, the heroine marries some guy involved in the opal trade in Australia. I want to say 1800s? I think there is an insane woman involved that keeps trying to kill the heroine but suspicion falls upon her husband or something like that.

The Wuthering Heights thread is about 2/3 of the way down the list of threads.

CC

I think of "Romance Classics" as romances that are "must read" romances. Just like there is a cannon (sp) of literature for each period and country, etc...I believe that there is a cannon of romantic literature...

In my cannon would be...

Flame and the Flower Kathleen Woodiwiss
A Knight in Shining Armor Jude Deveraux
Scandal by Amanda Quick
The Bride Julie Garwood
Whitney My Love Judith McNaught
Secret Fire Johanna Lindsey
Carolina Moon Nora Roberts
Wallflower Series Lisa Kleypas

To me these books create a kind of key stone upon which I judge a lot of other books. I also just picked a lot of my favorites by each author listed above but could pick authors whose body of work as a whole make me feel like they have classics...

Early Elizabeth Lowell (medieval series)
Linda Howard (Mackenzies)
Nora Roberts/JD Robb
Janet Evanovich when she wrote for Loveswept

I could go on and on...and probably did!!! Sorry!!

kj - I recently started reading Heyer. I am now going through all the books available through my library. I really enjoyed These Old Shades and laughed out loud more than once while reading The Talisman Ring. The language does take a bit of getting used to, but I enjoy the subtlety of the exchanges.

Beret: That's just what I was looking for, actually. Just a list of books that I should make sure to read. I read the first three Plum books and didn't care for them too much. The first made me chuckle, but the other two didn't have the same oomph for me.

Vera: I'll look up both those titles and put them in my Amazon cart. Thanks for the input.

I'm not new to romance, but there is a lot of it I have not read and would like to.

KJ, I have a "fire list", books I would grab first if my house was on fire. I don't consider them classics, per se, but they are "must-reads" which I highly recommend to anyone who will listen. The list is heavy on historical romance. I'd be happy to post the titles, but I don't want to overwhelm anybody. There are probably 65 books on the list, and I add to it every month.

CC

I would have no desire to go back into a burning house for books. After my husband and dogs are out, the only thing I would go back in for are pictures and my writing.

Am I the only one?

morph- I'm sure it's meant in more of a metaphorical sense. More like, what's the last book you'd be willing to part with perhaps... After all, I don't think my husband and kids would appreciate it if I stopped to grab my beat up old copy of A Prayer for Owen Meany on the way out the door in the middle of a fire! ;)

RE #12:

I've been trying to get a copy of Pride of the Peacock since forever. The only other Victoria Holt novel I've read is Spring of the Tiger, and I did enjoy that book.

And I'm making my way through Georgette Heyer's romances. I've liked all of them so far.

I hadn't thought of it...but I suppose a fire box would work. Then you wouldn't have to rescue them from fire! lol. I can see it now, all of us secreting our stashes away in a fire box. :)

haha you know a fire box is not a bad idea...

It would have to be a large firebox. I parted with a bunch of books back in the 80s and now regret having done it.

aznstarlette: Have you tried used bookstores? Sometimes that's the only way to find out of print titles.

Mary Jo Putney's historicals. I especially like One Perfect Rose.

kj -

YES, i've hit almost all the used bookstores in my area but no such luck. i requested it on bookmooch.com but i don't think she's available anymore. she had the only copy posted :/

azn, this is the Victoria Holt Pride of the Peacock book? Fantastic Fiction shows that it's available from several Amazon resellers for as little as $0.97. Look on the right-hand side of the screen for US Amazon links.

In addition, if you scroll down on the page at FF you'll see 321 copies listed as available for as little as $1.00 according to AbeBooks.

According to FF, Holt was a pseudonym for Jean Plaidy, which might also help you find a copy.

Link - thank you so much for taking the time to look that up. like i commented to kj, i don't really buy books online so looking at these sites would not have even occurred to me lol i'll just have to take the plunge then - thanks again!

For regular online buyers, Fantastic Fiction is a very good resource.

azn, for what it's worth, I've been buying from Amazon and Thriftbooks and Target and even (once) from some supplier of Dirt Devil stick vacuum bags, all online, and I've never ever had a problem. It can seem a little scary, handing over credit card info, but remember that even if there is fraud, typically the card company eats it because of the public relations disaster it would be if it did not.

Grins. I'm not recommending you go hogwild, now, hear? ;)

I buy practically everything but groceries online, and if I could find a story that delivered to Podunk, SC, I would even buy those that way. I have never had a problem, but I make sure I always order from a secure source. If any of you have a paypal account, many online merchants will accept payment through it, and your credit card information and personal information is not given to the merchant when you use it.

The only drawback I see to internet shopping is that SC charges a sales tax on items bought outside the state, which I have to report on my income tax return every year.

CC

I buy most of my books online via Amazon and TLA. I still like to peruse a bookstore and always look to see what they have at the grocery store. Most of my holiday shopping is also done online.

Like a few people said, make sure you have a secure connection and only buy from trusted web sites.