Sarah S. G. Frantz

Laura very kindly posted the summary of our edited anthology. And here's the Table of Contents!

New Approaches to Popular Romance Fiction: Critical Essays, edited by Sarah S.G. Frantz and Eric Murphy Selinger:

Despite the prejudices of critics, popular romance fiction remains a complex, dynamic genre. It consistently maintains the largest market share in the American publishing industry, even as it welcomes new subgenres like queer and BDSM romance. Digital publishing originated in erotic romance, and savvy on-line communities have exploded myths about the genre’s readership. Romance scholarship now reflects this diversity, transformed by interdisciplinary scrutiny, new critical approaches, and an unprecedented international dialogue between authors, scholars, and fans. These eighteen essays investigate individual romance novels, authors, and websites, rethink the genre’s history, and explore its interplay of convention and originality. By offering new twists in enduring debates, this collection inspires further inquiry into the emerging field of popular romance studies.

Eric Murphy Selinger and Sarah S. G. Frantz: Introduction: New Approaches to Popular Romance Fiction

Part One: Close Reading the Romance
1. Hsu-Ming Teo: "Bertrice Teaches You About History, and You Don’t Even Mind!": History and Revisionist Historiography in Bertrice Small’s The Kadin
2. Eric Murphy Selinger: How to Read a Romance Novel (and Fall in Love with Popular Romance)
3. Sarah S. G. Frantz: "How We Love is Our Soul": Joey Hill’s BDSM Romance Holding the Cards
4. Mary Bly: On Popular Romance, J. R. Ward, and the Limits of Genre Study

Part Two: Convention and Originality
5. An Goris: Loving by the Book: Voice and Romance Authorship
6. K. Elizabeth Spillman: The “Managing Female” in the Novels of Georgette Heyer
7. Laura Vivanco: One Ring to Bind Them: Ring Symbolism in Popular Romance Fiction
8. Carole Veldman-Genz: The More the Merrier? Transformations of the Love Triangle across the Romance
9. Deborah Kaplan: “Why Would Any Woman Want to Read Such Stories?”: The Distinctions Between Genre Romances and Slash Fiction

Part Three: Love and Strife
10. Robin Harders: Borderlands of Desire: Captivity, Romance, and the Revolutionary Power of Love
11. Jayashree Kamble: Patriotism, Passion, and PTSD: The Critique of War in Popular Romance Fiction
12. Kathleen Therrian: Straight to the Edges: Gay & Lesbian Characters and Cultural Conflict in Popular Romance Fiction
13. Sarah Wendell: You Call Me a Bitch Like That’s a Bad Thing: Romance Criticism and Redefining the Word "Bitch"

Part Four: Readers, Authors, Communities
14. Miriam Greenfeld Benovitz: The Interactive Romance Community: The Case of "Covers Gone Wild"
15. Glen Thomas: Happy Readers or Sad Ones? Romance Fiction and the Problems of the Media Effects Model
16. Tamara Whyte: "A Consummation Devoutly to be Wished": Shakespeare in Popular Historical Romance Fiction
17. Christina A. Valeo: Nora Roberts and Serial Magic

Bibliography
Index
About the Contributors

The book will be released in paperback and in electronic edition (although the electronic edition will not have the wonderful Picasso on the cover).