Romance novels have long been looked down on for their undemanding language, basic story tropes and of course, sex scenes. But French publishers are taking note as a new generation of authors, inspired by English-language bestsellers, are writing for a growing audience of young women, many of whom are choosing to read books for the first time.
The French publisher Hugo did not start out with romance novels, but today, the books represent about 60 percent of its business.
“It’s a big part of the business, it’s huge,” says Benita Rolland, who is in charge of the publisher’s international romance division.
But these are not the romance books of the past, with their euphemistically described sex scenes and covers featuring long-haired, bare-chested men.
New romance, or young adult romance, is a recent phenomenon – books most often written by self-published young women, many of whom started as readers.
Reader to writer
“I'm a big fan girl,” said CS Quill, a popular French romance writer, who still sees herself as a reader first and foremost.
She has always been attracted to love stories and started writing her own as a teenager. The work she posted on an online self-publishing platform drew notice from a publisher, which launched her career.
She insists that romance is more than sex scenes – though they do feature in her books.
“Romance is more complicated than you think,” she says, pointing to character development and plot twists that she believes adds depth.
And she pushes back against those who look down on romance as fluff.
“People still believe that this is not true literature. They're absolutely wrong,” she says. “There is evolution of the characters, their feelings about their place in society, their issues.”
Listen to this story on the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 114:
From US to France
New romance is a genre that developed in the English-speaking world, following the success of EL James's erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey, published in 2011.
Editor Rolland started paying attention to the genre about 10 years ago when self-published authors like Anna Todd started gaining popularity.
“When I saw what Anna Todd did in the States, I thought we should give it a try,” she explains.
Hugo bought the rights for Todd’s best-selling After series, which Todd originally wrote on the Wattpad online storytelling platform.
“And I remember the first time Anna Todd came to Paris, we went to the Fnac [bookstore] for a signing and she entered the room and the girls were crying, yelling,” recalls Roland.
“I thought I was with the Beatles! It was incredible.”
French touch
Rolland then went on a search for French authors, who were themselves starting to publish online.
Many were writing stories set in the US with American characters. CS Quill’s series Campus Drivers is about the romantic escapades of four American university students.
“One of my books is set in France, and the others are in the US, because I need to travel when I write,” she explains. “And maybe maybe because I read a lot of English books or American books.”
She says her approach is French, even if she struggles to pinpoint what that means.
“It’s maybe in the expressions we use,” she says. “It’s another culture, so we have another way to of seeing things.”
But romance, she insists, is universal. Plus the genre has specific structures built into it.
“There is a kind of contract when you write a romance, and as a reader you expect certain things, like a happy ending,” she explains.
Other tropes, like the love triangle or the “enemies-to-lovers” set-up, give readers a frame.
“There are clichés, and we know the tropes,” she says. When readers see a spark developing between sparring characters, “we know that they hate each other, and then they love each other. It’s so satisfying.”
Romance community
For Rolland, what makes France’s romance writers unique is that they connect with their French fans in their own language.
“The authors really have a community. And every single day they post something online about their lives, something about their books, something about what they’re writing next,” explains Roland. “It's not just the book, it’s almost a way of life.”
Merveille, a 19-year-old student who joined hundreds of other young people buying new releases and chatting to authors at the romance section of the Paris Book Fair this spring, says following writers online is part of the appeal.
“I like to see how an author works out how to write a new book,” she says.
She likes romance novels because their stories are engaging and draw her in: “It plunges you into another universe.”
Fans say the books offer intrigues and mysteries, along with the sex.
“That’s part of it, but it’s not all of it,” says Romane, 20, a friend of Merveille who has accompanied her to the fair, and like her has an armful of books.
“There are things that plunge you into a completely different universe. Some are set in fantasy world, or in the world of mythology. It makes you imagine something beyond your own life.”
Creating readers
This, arguably, is the role of fiction – to open up a new world. But romance, with its familiar tropes and simple writing, has the added benefit of being easy to read.
“I like escapism, and I can read these books a bit without pressure, without having to dig too deep to find the story,” says Emma, 18, who also has a stack of books in her hands.
She admits to not reading much other than romance, which has given her new enthusiasm for books.
“The thing I like about romance is that we have made many girls read,” says editor Rolland.
Romance even draws young fans away from social media, she says: “This generation is reading.”
For Romane, getting to know the authors, who are young women like herself, also validates her own tastes.
“We are told at school that we don’t know how to read, or we are losing the French language,” she says. “And you realise there are many young writers who are starting out and are succeeding, and they know how to write.
“It shows that young people are not as stupid as everyone thinks.”
Listen to a report on romance novels in France on the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 114.
