Romance

Often derided as an inferior form of literature romance as a literary modeor genre defies satisfactory definition dividing critics scholars and readersalike. Th... » 

Often derided as an inferior form of literature romance as a literary modeor genre defies satisfactory definition dividing critics scholars and readersalike. This useful guidebook traces the myriad transformations of romancethroughout literary history and claims that its elusive and complex natureserves as a touchstone for larger questions of literary and cultural theorysuch asHow does the history of romance as a category force us to rethink thehistoricisation of literary genres?What definitions can we provide for our own time to help us recognise andanalyse new forms of romance?To what extent is the resistance to romance a resistance to the imaginativeforce of literature?The case for romance as a concept is presented clearly and imaginativelyarguing that its usefulness to contemporary critics can be maintained if it isregarded as a literary strategy rather than a fixed genre. In encouraging thereader to consider the fluidity of literature Romance will be of equal valueto all students of historical and comparative literatures and of modernliterary forms. «