The Evolution of Romance Novels: From Chivalric Tales to Modern Empowerment

Romance novels have woven their way into the fabric of literature, evolving from medieval tales to modern masterpieces that champion themes of empowerment and diversity. I, Tanisha, your guide on this literary journey, promise to uncover how these love stories have transformed over the centuries, from the chivalric tales of Tristan and Isolde to the sultry sagas gracing supermarket shelves today. Through the lens of iconic works by the Brontë sisters to the sizzling pages of "Onyx Storm," romance is more than just a genre—it's a reflection of cultural shifts and personal empowerment.

Join me as I explore the digital revolution that has democratized publishing, allowing voices from all walks to contribute to the rich tapestry of romance novels. Platforms like Wattpad have not only broadened access but also amplified diverse stories that celebrate LGBTQ and multicultural themes. Whether you're a fan of romantic comedies or thrillers, there's a tale waiting to captivate your heart and mind. Grab your favorite cozy spot and tune in to celebrate the transformative power of love through the literary world.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:40

Greetings and salutations and welcome to another episode of Wellness Through Reading. I am your host, tanisha. This podcast is dedicated to keeping reading a daily habit as a form of self-care. On this podcast I talk about all things books, genres, research, articles and all the health benefits of reading daily. Also books that I'm currently reading, and so much more.

Speaker 1: 1:00

So today's episode is all about love and books, the rise of romance, exploring love through the pages. Let's dive right on in, shall we? So I definitely have noticed just in my own reading how much more romance I have been reading lately. Normally I'm an adventure, horror, thriller type of girl, but romance novels are basically novels. That love obviously is the central theme and obviously over the past weeks some of the top selling fiction books have been romances really. So let's start talking about the origin of romance in literature and let's see so a romance form of romance in literature comes down to Song of Roland or Tristan and Isabel, and really it kind of goes back to the medieval tales of chivalry, courtly love shaped by early perception. What romantic love can really be like? That type of romantic? The guy asking the father for the girl's hand in marriage, all that fun jazz, and it's kind of making, especially with, like, the Bridgerton series and everything it's making its resurgence back into mainstream culture. And so when we go from there to the evolution of romance through the 19th century, the growing popularity of romance novels in the victorian era, we get, you know, the charlie bronte uh, emily bronte works of riven heights, jane eyre and so the rise, really, of women's novels as a genre focused on emotional journeys, domestically and romantic love. So then the birth of the modern romance, so the shift toward more modern romance. With the 20th century of holocaust romance novels you know the very steamy books that you see at the checkout counters at the grocery stores it really becomes more mass, popular and yeah, and really in turn has become a global phenomenon. So the intersection of romance and feminism I definitely feel like that's kind of where romance has been going, the rise of female empowerment in the romance novels, especially for late 20th century onward.

Speaker 1: 3:01

Contemporary romance novels often reflect themes of independence, equality and sexual liberation. I've definitely noticed that too, especially with this last book I read onyx storm. If you've been following me on tiktok under literary lover, also on instagram as well too, you know I've just finished reading it. I took my time reading onyx storm, because I really want to just take my last. I think with iron flame I read it too fast and that's why I didn't enjoy it. But with onyx storm I took my time. I got off social media and just read it little by little each day until I got to the end and really, though it's it, while it is a fantasy, it's more romance than fantasy really.

Speaker 1: 3:38

Um, if, for those of you who are new to the fantasy genre, it's a great way for romance readers to get into fantasy, and it does do a lot of the world building, which is very new in fantasy as well. But it does cater more on relationships, not only on the male female relationship of violet and zayden, but also on bisexual relationships, gay relationship. It's very sexually fluid, if you hear me. So you definitely see a lot of that by, like Soren Galt being like the main character in that arc and she being obviously woman empowerment. She has a disability, so you have disabled net as well too, so there's a lot there.

Speaker 1: 4:18

As far as contemporary romance goes and I mean romance, I mean really the landscape of romance novel has got really evolved so much. It's really you can go from romantic comedies all the way up to dark romance with like the cat and mouse theories, um, and also romantic thrillers as well too. We have a huge influence of digital platform like wattpad, self-publishing and online book community as well too. So you don't even need to go to these big publishing book houses anymore. You can just self-publish online, and I think one of the key things I really like about that is that the diverse representation of romance as well too Like I said, lgbtq romance, multicultural romance, body positivity so it does help with, does make sure that everyone is included. You know, love is love. That's how I feel and also a modern bestseller, colin hoover now, I know a lot of people listening to this are huge colin hoover fans. Can I just say I am not one of those people. It ends with us was not my favorite.

Speaker 1: 5:23

I don't like how she kind of romanticized domestic violence. I understand that she was just trying to understand, because she also talked about it. I actually read an interview that she said Talking about how to explain how her own mother was abused by her partner and how she took her a long time to understand why she stayed for so long, and so through these books she was able to heal from that, but I definitely felt like there should have been a big disclaimer, not only in the books but also the movie as well too. I didn't go see it and I know all the drama with everything that happened. The irony of it all is a book about domestic violence and everything that's happening with the two main actors, but I will say the book talk movement has helped to progress the romance genre so much so now, just I said, the last book I mentioned was on a storm by Rebecca Rios.

Speaker 1: 6:15

It was a number one best-selling book by a female author for the past like decade, I think. I saw on the New York Times. Actually, according to the New York Times, rebecca Yarrow's Honored Storm is the fastest selling adult novel in 20 years, and I must say I had already pre-ordered the Kindle, the book with the sprayed edges, and the audiobook as well too. So I've been doing all three. Honestly, I'm on my second reread of it right now and I gotta say it was just fun, it was entertaining, it was very modern in its speaking and whatnot, but obviously it definitely kind of goes back to that medieval, courtly type of love. And obviously dragons I mean hello, dragons, dragons, more dragons. More on that later, but I will say, though, what this world now, really, it's just a lot more love. I gotta say, with all the politicking and everything that's been going on, a great way to just defuse from all of that is to really just dive in and just take some time out and just read about happiness and joy and whatnot, and, honestly, though, I will find that I am less stressed out when I'm reading about love than I'm reading about all the other genres as well, too, because it's just more fun. Also, the spicy scenes are a lot spicier as well, too. So just a little bit of that. So that was my main topic for the day romance and novels.

Speaker 1: 7:39

I also want to go into a little bit about my 20 February 2025 intentions. So my intentions this month is to journal daily, save roughly $500 to my emergency fund um, I'm trying to get back into exercising as well, too. I got, like this Pilates bar, that I've been using drink water at least eight ounces sorry, 64 ounces daily, and read at least four new books. So, uh, so far, I've been doing pretty good on my reading goals. I got so far 13 out of 50 books read, so I'm doing all right. I'm getting ahead. I had a really great month last month. That's what it is. I really wanted to get ahead this time because last month, last year, I did not do well on my reading goals, so I'm doing better this year. Tell me what you. What about you? What are your intentions for this month? What are your reading goals for this month? Let me know in the comment section below. So another part of this podcast that I really want to do I really want to encourage my readers to also get a journal and start journaling as well too.

Speaker 1: 8:40

Not just journaling for reading, but also for your own personal um benefit as well too. Here on the wellness through reading podcast, I can talk about not all things reading, but wellness as well too, and journaling is definitely a big part of that can help with wellness. Journaling is a more reflective and person. It's more reflective and it can be personal. It's a space to express thoughts, emotion, experiences. Some of its key benefits include emotional clarity. It can be personal. It's a space to express thoughts, emotions and experiences. Some of its key benefits include emotional clarity. It can help process feelings, reduce stress and gain insight on emotional states. It can also do self-discovery. It fosters personal growth by allowing you to explore thoughts and behaviors leading to greater self-awareness, creativity. Writing freely in a journal can boost creativity and problem solving skills. And also one of my favorites, mindfulness. I encourage being present and helps track personal growth of or over life events over time.

Speaker 1: 9:32

So now that we've reached the end of this pocket, I mean I've decided that to help really grow the podcast, I'm gonna do two podcasts for a week. I'm gonna do one on Sundays where I'm gonna just talk more about wellness, and then one during the middle of the week where I'm gonna do like a full book review. So this week, drum roll, we're gonna do part one of the Onyx Storm podcast. I'm gonna talk about things that I read, theories that I have coming up, and so if you are interested and want to hear more, please hit that subscribe button. Share with family and friends also. Also, you can follow me on tiktok, while we have it, god literary lover, and also on instagram at wellness through reading. I'm also up on youtube as well, too. Podcast episodes will be uploaded twice a week, one on Sundays, one on Wednesdays. And with that, I thank you so much for listening. I hope you all have a great super bowl sunday and I'll see you again on wednesday. Bye.