3 Elements That Make Historical Romance Successful | Jane Friedman

I have come late in life to this popular genre. Yet what began as curiosity is fast developing into an obsession. In the past few months, I have read or listened to approximately fifteen different historical romances. Apart from the sheer pleasure of the experience, I've learned a great deal about what makes a story worth reading and why the genre is so appealing. My interest-as a historian and historical novelist-is in romances set in the past. But minus the historical setting, I think most of my observations apply to any good romance.