“Ummmm . . .” I thought for a moment. “Chrétien de Troyes.”
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“I don’t think I’ve heard of that one before.”
About ten years later, I was in journalism school and looking for something to write a big, long story about for my masters project. I’d heard somewhere that romance was the only genre in publishing that was dominated by women, and that was the reason it was given so little respect. (It’s probably the only instance in literary history where a man has to publish under a woman’s name.) I thought that was something to hang a story on. So I started setting up interviews with romance writers and editors, and I started to read. And it was really fun!
There is a lot more to say about romances and publishing and high and low art and gender politics. But maybe you should start by reading one. There are some good recommendations here. The two romances I always recommend to people who ask are Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Crusie is a wonderful writer, funny and stylish, and Fast Women has a lot to say about what makes a good marriage. It’s also a murder mystery. Outlander is a time travel/adventure/science fiction hybrid. It’s about 600 pages. The first time I read it, I remained motionless on the couch for an entire day, except for turning pages and attending to bodily functions. Which is, I think, the highest compliment you can give to any book, regardless of genre.
