Love it or hate it, the romance novel is the highest grossing literary genre. Its history is long and winding (like your favorite romance novel), and romance novels are full of tropes reflected upon its history. It has been the subject of intrigue, derision, and shame in literary discourse long before the modern genre as we know it existed.

Originally released by Knowledgemotion, 2018. Streaming video file encoded with permission for digital streaming by Infobase on February 21, 2020.