Author reveals the passion between the pages.

USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Ellen Carter uncovers the history of romance fiction and why she loves writing it.

Romance fiction may be one of the most misunderstood genres in literary history. But to dismiss it as simply light-weight, disposable fiction is to ignore its long and fascinating history.

In a literary context, romance comes from ‘Romans’ and is used in the same context as the ‘romance’ languages of Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian. It refers to the storytelling style made popular by the Romans that focuses on a main character who is on a quest for some noble good.

Famous examples include Medieval chivalric romances such as the Arthurian legends and The Knight’s Tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales which also included elements of courtly love.

A more modern example of this type of romance can be found in any number of film westerns where our stoic cowboy is on a quest and there is either a romantic interest for the hero or between supporting characters.

The supernatural elements, and otherworldly creatures that characterised the earliest chivalric romances, appeared again in the mid-18th century Gothic romances which influenced the writings of Scottish author Sir Walter Scott.

Ultimately true love wins out and by the beginning of the 19th century, the romance novel as we recognise it today was born, written by famous names, such as Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell, Victor Hugo and Thomas Hardy.

As the 20th century dawned there was a further split in the genre which continues to this day – ‘the romance’ and ‘the love story’.

Every romance is a love story, but not every love story is a romance. The defining difference between the two is that a romance always ends with a ‘happily ever after’. A love story does not guarantee a happy ending – see the films Love Story, The Fault in Our Stars and The Notebook, as examples.

One of the reasons I write romance – specifically historical romantic suspense – is the ability to put my characters through serious personal journeys and have them become better, stronger and wiser people at the end of the tale. And more in love, of course.

My characters have had to deal with PTSD, family betrayal, political betrayal and murder.

As a historical novelist, I just love deep diving into events of the past and bringing history to life for modern audiences. My stories have been set in some of the most fascinating periods of history including the apogee of the Roman Empire, the Norman Conquest, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the era of the Ottoman slave trade.

So, if you’ve not read a romance novel before, why not give one a try? You might just find a whole world of new fiction to enjoy.

Elizabeth’s latest novel, A Curio for The Count, was published on 19 January. She can be followed on her website, elizabethellencarter.com