This blog post has reviewed the information provided online, from reader star ratings on Amazon and Goodreads, to the % liked by Google users, in order to compile a top five list of the best Romance novels ever.
I have also provided some comparable top 5 lists, compiled by those brave enough to have the audacity to even combine the millions of books ever written in this genre into some form of list, and assume to be an authority on the Romance novel. Searching online, many websites just give a list in no particular order, others have conducted polls of readers or compiled used book sales. Each list is different. There is no unified agreement. It is a volatile subject. Every reader, passionate about Romance, has their own opinion and their absolute favourite.
During the course of my research, I questioned whether enduring classics should have an automatic place in the list because of their cultural impact, influence on the genre, endurance and readership? It seems that perhaps their influence and popularity is waning, with the quality of writing that has been published in the genre recently, and newer novels are now over taking them in popularity and reverence? Even uttering these questions, I know that I am treading on dangerous ground…
So, with that in mind, here are four websites, with some authority and a good reputation that have provided a numbered list:
Sources: Goodreads: Best Top Romance Novels of All Time – list created and voted on my Goodreads members The Oprah Magazine: Best Romance Novel of All Time by McKenzie Jean-Philippe Reader’s Digest: The 10 Best Romance Novels of All Time by Reader’s Digest Editors and Good Housekeeping: Best Romance Novels by Caroline Picard
It is interesting to see how each list has a different no. 1, but all have reoccurring favourites: Gone with the Wind, Pride and Prejudice and The Thorn Birds each appear three times in the four lists, although each book only reaches the number 1 spot once.
Now onto the lists compiled by the star rating reviews of readers Amazon, Goodreads and Google:
Goodreads star rating:
Google users % liked:
It Ends with Us, which ranked no. 1 on the Good Housekeeping list, also ranked no. 1, based on reviews, on all three online lists. Gone with the Wind appears on two lists. Pride and Prejudice and The Thorn Birds appear only once.
Based on the information I could find, here is my overall ranking of the best romance novels ever:
These results are based on online reviews only, other criteria could be taken into account, accurate information that I do not have available online such as book sales, expert opinions, endurance, quality of writing, and influence. Even if I did have, not all of these criteria can be accurately measured.
However, my list throws up some interesting results: a recent novel, 2016, has topped the poll among online readers! Here is a brief overview of the top 5 books:
- It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover –released in 2016, this book won the Goodreads Choice Awards 2016. It is a tragic love story, set in the US, detailing the doomed romance between Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid. The tag line: “Sometimes the one who loves you is the one who hurts you most.”
- Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman – released in 2007, this book is a coming of age romance of Elio Perlman, set in Italy, that tells the story of the obsessive love he experiences for another man Oliver, ultimately ending in heart break.
- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – released in 2012, this tragic love story, set in the UK, has sold over 29 million copies and tells the story of Louisa Clark, a woman who falls in love with a paralyzed man, Will Traynor, that she also happens to have been employed as caretaker to.
- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon – released in 1991, it won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for best Romance of 1991. This story is a historical multi genre novel which contains an exciting love story with an agonisingly heart breaking decision for the main character, Claire. “It focuses on the second World War era nurse Claire Randall, who travels through time to 18th century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with the dashing Jamie Fraser.” Wikipedia
- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – released in 1936, this romance novel has sold 30 million copies and is a Pulitzer Prize winner. It is set in Georgia during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era. The story follows Scarlett O’Hara in a coming of age love story, in tragic and heart breaking circumstances.
These stories have many similar themes: tragedy, heartbreak, coming of age. The themes are complicated, thought provoking, controversial subjects. They evoke extreme emotional reactions to the story lines and leave the reader in tears at their favourite character’s anguish.
It remains to be seen if the newer books on the list stand the test of time to become timeless classics.