Guides to the Genre

From this page you may return to the main Romance Scholarship page or go directly to

• Academics Who Write Romance
• Academic Online Essays (not published in academic journals or volumes)
• Autobiographies and Biographies of Romance Authors
• Bibliography
  • Bibliography A-C - the first part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
  • Bibliography D-G - the second part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
  • Bibliography H-L - the third part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
  • Bibliography M-O - the fourth part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
  • Bibliography P-S - the fifth part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
  • Bibliography T-Z - the final part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
• Bibliography of Scholarship in Languages Other than English.
• Dissertation Abstracts
• Romance in the Media - lists news items/features items about romance.
  • Romance in the Media A-I
  • Romance in the Media J-Z
• Romance Resources for Academics - lists romance-related resources which may be of interest to academics.
• Writers on Romance - lists items written about the genre by romance authors but not published in academic journals or books.

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Bérard, Sylvie, Julia Bettinotti and Gaëlle Jeannesson, 1996. 

Les 50 romans d'amour qu'il faut lire (Québec: Nuit blanche).

Bontly, Susan W. and Carol J. Sheridan 

Enchanted Journeys Beyond the Imagination: An Annotated Bibliography of Fantasy, Futuristic, Supernatural and Time Travel Romances, (Beavercreek, OH: Blue Diamond Publications). Various volumes, 1995 and 1996.

Bouricius, Ann, 2000. 

The Romance Readers' Advisory: The Librarian's Guide to Love in the Stacks (Chicago: American Library Association).

Campbell, Lee, 1995. 

The romance series index and checklist: your guide to finding new keepers among old books (Parkersburg, W. Va. : Grace Enterprises).

Carpan, Carolyn, 2004. 

Rocked by Romance: A Guide to Teen Romance Fiction (Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited).

Charles, John, Shelley Mosley, Joanne Hamilton-Selway, and Sandra Van Winkle, 2007. 

Romance Today: An A-to-Z Guide to Contemporary American Romance Writers (Westport, Conn: Greenwood Publishers). Table of Contents from WorldCat.

Clevenger, Lisa, Jeanne Macho, and Shannon McCravy, 1998. 

The Alternate reality romance guide: A reader's and collector's resource for the paranormal sub-genres, (Beavercreek, OH: Blue Diamond Publications).

Falk, Kathryn, 1982. 

Love's Leading Ladies (New York: Pinnacle Books).

Falk, Kathryn, Melinda Helfer, and Kathe Robin, 1989. 

Romance Readers Handbook. Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. : Romantic Times, c1989

Fallon, Eileen, 1984. 

Words of Love: A Complete Guide to Romance Fiction (New York: Garland). Some further details via Google Books

Flesch, Juliet, 1995. 

Love Brought to Book: A Bio-Bibliography of 20th-Century Australian Romance Novels (Melbourne: National Centre for Australian Studies).

Guiley, Rosemary, 1983. 

Love Lines: The Romance Reader's Guide to Printed Pleasure (New York: Facts on File).

Henderson, Lesley and D L Kirkpatrick, 1990. 

Twentieth-Century romance and historical writers (Chicago : St. James Press). [This may be a revised edition of Vinson, see below. See also Vasudevan below.]

'Historical Romance

A Reader's Checklist and Reference Guide, 1999. : Checkerbee Checklists (CheckerBee Publishing). Table of Contents

Hubbard, A.P., 1984. 

A century of romance : including historical novels, period romances, gothic & romantic suspense, & family sagas from 100 modern storytellers, together with check-lists of authors' work, including bibliographical, biographical, and critical notes, (Richmond, Va. : Richmond Book Shop).

Jaegly, Peggy J., 1997. 

Romantic Hearts: A Personal Reference for Romance Readers (Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press).

Kay, Mary June, 1986. 

The romantic spirit: a romance bibliography of authors and titles (San Antonio, TX : MJK Enterprises).

Little, Denise, Laura Hayden, and Nora Roberts, 2003. 

The Official Nora Roberts Companion (New York: Berkley).

Mussell, Kay, 1981. 

Women's Gothic and Romantic Fiction: A Reference Guide (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood).

Mussell, Kay and Johanna Tuñon, 1999. 

North American Romance Writers: 1985-1995 (Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow).

Orr, Cynthia, and Diana Tixier Herald. 2013.

Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests. Section on romance fiction. 7th edition. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Ramsdell, Kristin. 1987. 

Happily Ever After: A Guide to Reading Interests in Romance Fiction (Littleton, Colo: Libraries Unlimited).

Ramsdell, Kristin, 1997. 

What Romance Do I Read Next?: A Reader's Guide to Recent Romance Fiction (Detroit, MI: Gale Research).

Ramsdell, Kristin, 1999. 

Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre (Englewood, Colo: Libraries Unlimited).

Ramsdell, Kristin. 2012. 

Romance Fiction: A Guide To The Genre. 2nd. ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Ramsdell, Kristin, 2018. 

Encyclopedia of Romance Fiction. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood, 2018. Excerpt

Reno, Dawn, and Jacque Tiegs, 1995. 

Collecting romance novels (Brooklyn : Alliance Publishers).

Romance by the Number: Numerical Listing of Romance Series, 1993. 

(Baton Rouge, LA: Twilight Pub. Group).

Romance Forever Magazine, 1996-????. 

(Brooklyn, NY : Forom Pub. Corp). WorldCat details

Sheehan, Sarah, 2010. 

Romance Authors: A Research Guide. (Santa Barbara,CA: Libraries Unlimited)

Strasbourg, Rudolph, 1978. 

Strasbourg's catalogue and guide to the romances (Redondo Beach, CA : Strasbourg).

Vasudevan, Aruna (ed.) and Lesley Henderson (consulting editor), 1994. 

Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers (London: St. James). [Preface to the 1st and 2nd eds. by Kay Mussell; preface to the 3rd ed. by Alison Light.]

Vinson, James (ed.) and D.L. Kirkpatrick (associate ed.), 1982. 

Twentieth-Century Romance and Gothic Writers (Detroit, MI: Gale). [With a preface by Kay Mussell.]

Wendell, Sarah and Candy Tan, 2009. 

Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels. New York : Simon & Schuster.

Wyatt, Neal, Georgine Olson, Kristin Ramsdell, Joyce Saricks, and Lynne Welch. 2007. 

"Core Collections in Genre Studies: Romance Fiction 101." Reference and User Services Quarterly 47, no. 2: 120-126. Online version available from RUSQ