Romantic Fiction

Between the sickly sweet of Nicholas Sparks and the pure raunch of bodice rippers, romance novels have fallen into disrepute. They're considered (in most cases, rightfully so) to be unrealistic, shallow and poorly written. Such representations of the romantic bond between a man and woman lead invariably to expectations that not only will never, but can never be fulfilled. Why fill our minds with such drivel? More to the point, why let our kids fill their minds with such drivel?

Yet men and women fall in love and get married all the time. Or get married and fall in love, as the case may be. Our best literature examines and chronicles the realities of existence—do we make an exception for matters of the heart? Do we cut out all the bad romance novels....and with them, the works of Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott and George MacDonald?

Just because something can be misused doesn't mean we also need to dispense with its good manifestations. Really, anything can be misused, including those things we value most. Hands aren't bad because people kill each other with them. Words aren't bad because people lie. It's the same with literary genres. Because certain "writers" abuse the romance genre doesn't mean we shouldn't read good romance novels, and even (horror of horrors!) enjoy them.

There are few more universal stories than that of a boy and girl in love. As much as we want to keep our children pure (especially in our debauched society), we also want them to see and appreciate the beauty of true romance. We also want them to understand the difficulties love entails, the self-sacrifice and the frustration, the pain as well as the joy. That's why you won't find any books by Nicholas Sparks or Danielle Steele here, that celebrate one element of love over others, that honor love as a feeling or impulse, but not as a choice or decision.

For that reason, Jane Austen may be the best romance writer of all time. Nothing terribly exciting happens to any of her characters (just as nothing terribly exciting happens to most of us), there are always obstacles to happiness (no romance is truly easy), and yet each honorable romantic attachment ends where it should—in marriage. You'll find all of Austen's books in this section, and many others like them, books that promote purity and honor and humility over the lust and blind passion that fills the romance novels of today.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Anne of the Island
Anne #3
by L.M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
Orphan Stories for
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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Anne of Windy Poplars
Anne #4
by L.M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Aunt Jane's Hero
by Elizabeth Prentiss
from Calvary Press
for 7th-10th grade
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Autumn's Brightness
by Daisy Newman
Special Family Bookshelf Edition, 1989 from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Baronet's Song
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
1st THUS from Bethany House
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Black Rose
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
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Dear Enemy
by Jean Webster
from Yearling
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Dobry
by Monica Shannon; illustrated by Atanas Katchamakoff
15th printing 1967 from Viking Press
for 4th-8th grade
1935 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (2 in stock)
Emily Climbs
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
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Emily's Quest
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
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Fisherman's Lady
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
from Bethany House
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Freckles
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Dover Publications
Romance for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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Gabriel and the Hour Book
by Evaleen Stein
from Yesterday's Classics
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Gabriel and the Hour Book
by Evaleen Stein
from Unknown Publisher
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$4.00 (2 in stock)
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer
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Harvester
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Indiana University Press
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Heidi Grows Up
by Charles Tritten
from Golden Press
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Heidi Grows Up
by Johanna Spyri, Charles Tritten
from Dell Publishing
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$2.50 (1 in stock)
In This Mountain
Mitford Years Book 7
by Jan Karon
from Viking Press
for 11th-Adult
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte
from Dover Publications
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult
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King of Elfland's Daughter
by Lord Dunsany
Fourth Printing from Ballantine Books
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$3.00 (1 in stock)
Little Minister
World Juvenile Library
by James M. Barrie
from World Publishing Company
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Little Minister
World Juvenile Library
by James M. Barrie
from Books, Inc.
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Little Women
Whole Story Series
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by James Prunier
from Viking Press
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$12.00 (4 in stock)
Little Women
by Lousia May Alcott
from Penguin Putnam
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Marquis' Secret
by George MacDonald
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Musician's Quest
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
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Old-Fashioned Girl
by Louisa May Alcott
from Dover Publications
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Pearl Maiden
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
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Pride and Prejudice
Dover Thrift Editions
by Jane Austen
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Pygmalion
Dover Thrift Editions
by George Bernard Shaw
from Dover Publications
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Queen of the Reformation
by Charles Ludwig
1st edition from Bethany House
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Shepherd of the Hills
by Harold Bell Wright
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Shepherd of the Hills
by Harold Bell Wright
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Shepherd of the Hills
by Harold Bell Wright; illustrated by F. Graham Cootes
from A. L. Burt Company
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Shepherds Abiding
Mitford Years Book 8
by Jan Karon
from Penguin Putnam
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Penguin Classics
by Charlotte Bronte
from Penguin Classics
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Shirley
Penguin Classics
by Charlotte Bronte
from Penguin Classics
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Summer
by Edith Wharton
from Bantam Books
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Tutor's First Love
by George MacDonald, edited by Michael R. Phillips
from Bethany House
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Wuthering Heights with Related Readings
by Emily Bronte
from McGraw-Hill
Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade
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