Best Historical Romance Novels of All Time - Top Picks for 2026
Greatest historical romance novels. Regency, Victorian, Scottish Highlands ranked with summaries.
If you’re searching for the best steamy historical romance novels, this guide helps you explore the perfect mix of love, passion, and storytelling set in rich historical periods like the Regency era and beyond.
These romance books blend witty dialogue, emotional relationships, and immersive period drama, giving readers both classic and modern takes on the genre.
From beloved authors like Julia Quinn and Lisa Kleypas to timeless inspiration from Jane Austen, this genre offers everything from light, charming fiction to more passionate and character-driven stories.
Whether you want to discover the hottest historical romance novels, explore classic literature, or find engaging books online, these stories deliver compelling plots, memorable characters, and satisfying romantic journeys.
Popular Steamy Historical Romance Novels
| Title | Author | Sub-Genre / Heat Level |
|---|---|---|
| Devil in Winter | Lisa Kleypas | Regency, Steamy, Hot |
| The Duchess Deal | Tessa Dare | Regency, Funny, Steamy |
| Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake | Sarah MacLean | Regency, Sexy, Racy |
| A Kingdom of Dreams | Judith McNaught | Medieval, Erotic, Steamy |
| It Happened One Autumn | Lisa Kleypas | Regency, Sexy, Romantic |
| The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie | Jennifer Ashley | Victorian, Steamy, Dark |
| A Week to Be Wicked | Tessa Dare | Regency, Funny, Steamy |
| Lord of Scoundrels | Loretta Chase | Regency, Hot, Raunchy |
| When He Was Wicked | Julia Quinn | Regency, Steamy, Sexy |
| Outlander | Diana Gabaldon | Historical, Steamy, Epic |
Other Highly Recommended Historical Romance Novels
- His Lady Mistress by Elizabeth Rolls – Steamy, Erotic, Adult
- The Duke and I by Julia Quinn – Hot, Racy, Regency
- The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn – Steamy, Funny, Romantic
- Devil’s Bride by Johanna Lindsey – Sexy, Medieval, Erotic
- Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas – Hot, Steamy, Regency
1. The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
This book tells about an unforgettable and unforgettable extramarital affair of a middle-aged man that was forged in 4 days.
It took less than two weeks to write this book, and it ranked first on the bestseller list for three consecutive years after its publication.
It was adapted into a movie of the same name, starring Meryl Streep. The author also got rich because of this work.
So far, no novel can surpass its place in my heart. No matter the writing style, the narrative method, or the charm of the story itself are all amazing.
After so many years, I can still clearly remember some fragments and sentences in the book, and I can also remember the scene of myself crying bitterly in the middle of the night when I was reading this book. Many times, I think this book is simply a miracle.
This book presents a kind of deep love, a kind of love rarely seen in modern society. The book states that "such a precise love is only once in a lifetime".
Just like the opening sentence of the novel: "In this world where the promise of gold has been shattered, and love is nothing more than acting on the spot, such an unusual story is worth telling."
In the past few years, I moved or traveled, and always put this book in a close-fitting backpack. I don't want to recommend such a good book to too many people, but I can't help but share it with friends who really love books. The fun can only be grasped the moment you actually open the book.
Wonderful book excerpt:
"I only have one thing to say. I will never tell anyone about this one thing. I want you to remember: in a universe full of chaos, such a clear love will only appear once, regardless of How many lives have you lived, and you will never reappear again."
"Each of us lives in our own past. People will spend one minute getting to know someone, one hour liking someone, and one day falling in love with someone. In the end, It takes a lifetime to forget someone."
2. The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham
Katie, a charming and vain British woman, accepts the proposal of the withdrawn doctor Walter Fein to avoid becoming an old girl.
She left the flashy and empty social circle of London in the 1920s and went with her husband to the Oriental colony of Hong Kong.
Katie, who was dissatisfied and bored with the marriage, began to secretly have an affair with Hong Kong Assistant Chief Secretary Charlie Tangsheng.
After Walter discovers his wife's infidelity, he begins his terrible plan of revenge: Katie must follow him to the mainland of China to quell a cholera plague that is in the midst of a frenzied epidemic.
In the beautiful but dangerous environment of a foreign country, they experienced an emotional wave that could not be imagined or experienced...
In summary, this book is about the awakening of a woman. There are a lot of psychological portrayals in the book, which are simply amazing.
It is both popular and interesting, with philosophy in ridicule. I read it more than three times, almost in one go, and every time I read it differently.
I have already recommended it to many friends around me, and the response is very good.
The film of the same name, adapted from this novel, has also become a classic, but I personally feel that the film is not as refreshing as the novel.
Maugham's books are of very good quality, which is why he is sought after by generations of young people. Maugham is a very smart writer, and he reads amazingly.
A major feature of his works is that he uses a blade-like style to portray humanity in three parts. He is very good at telling stories, with humorous language, with a sense of ridicule, and it is both fun and knowledgeable to read. His works are my personal favorite.
Original excerpt:
"I have no illusions about you. I know you are stupid, frivolous, and empty-headed, but I love you. I know your intentions, your ideals, you are snobbish and vulgar, but I love you. I know you are a second-rate guy. , But I love you. To appreciate the things you are passionate about, I do my best to show you that I am not ignorant, vulgar, gossiping, and extremely stupid. I take great pains. I know that wisdom will shock you, so everywhere Be cautious, and be sure to act like a fool with any man you associate. I know you married me only for your own personal benefit. I love you so deeply, I don’t care about it."
3. Letter From an Unknown Woman by Stefan Zweig
This book is about a strange woman. At the last moment of her life, she was soaked in the infatuation of her life. She wrote a tragic and moving letter, revealing her 18-year-old self to a famous writer. Secret love and dedication.
This book has a strong sense of substitution and makes people excited. You can see a humble soul hiding in a dark corner, obsessed with an arrogant man, dedicating her youth and body at all costs, even if she doesn't hold hope, whispers, or greets. What kind of obsession is this? Is it ignorance or courage?
This book uses the first-person letter to unfold the story step by step. It feels like a gleam of flowers and feels inexplicably distressed, and the tenderness between the lines is very moving. How could there be such an infatuated woman in the world? I cried when I watched it.
Book excerpt:
"Except for you, there is no one I can love. But who are you? You have never recognized me. You walked by me, like walking by a river, you stepped on my body, it’s like stepping on a rock. You always walk, walk, and keep walking forward, but you let me pass away my whole life in waiting."
Wonderful book excerpt:
"I am always nervous for you, trembling for you; but you have no feeling about it, just like you have a pocket watch in your pocket and you have no feeling for its tight spring; this spring is patiently in secret Counting your hours for you, calculating your time, accompanying you around with its inaudible heartbeat, and you have glanced at it only once during its tick-and-tick millions of seconds Take a look."
"How stupid I have done! I kissed the doorknob that your hand touched. I stole a cigar butt that you threw away before you entered the door. I regard this butt as a holy thing because your lips touched it. At night I ran downstairs with excuses a hundred times and went to the alley to see which of your rooms was still lit. This way I can feel your invisible existence and get close to you in my imagination."
4. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The work describes a 15-year-old middle school student, Michael, who meets a 36-year-old train conductor, Hannah, and the two maintain a deformed sexual relationship.
In the heat, Hannah mysteriously disappeared, leaving Michael in a daze. Hannah is an emotionally unstable woman who likes to hear Michael read literary books for her, except that Michael knows almost nothing about Hannah.
Until Michael entered the university, participated in the court internship as a law student, and when he was listening to the trial of the criminals in the Nazi concentration camp, he knew Hannah's true identity.
Whether in Germany or China, this novel has always been regarded as an anti-Nazi masterpiece. The film "Reading of Life and Death", adapted from the novel, starring Kate Winslet, won the 81st Oscar for this film.
This is a novel with a very good reading experience. It is profound and moving. The language is concise and restrained. It does not have the verbose feeling of some foreign novels.
It is particularly shocking to read to the end, and I can no longer control my emotions. Thinking back many years later, the details of the story are vivid.
Kafka said, "The book must be an ax to pierce the frozen sea in our hearts." This book is just like that.
Book excerpt:
"When she fell asleep in my arms, the sound of sawmills in the yard fell silent, the crows were singing, and there were only fainter and darker colors left in the kitchen, I was also immersed in infinite happiness. "
"Sometimes, I feel that she also seems to be distressed by her coldness and ruthlessness. It seems that she also longs for my warmth, my apology, my guarantee, and my plea. Sometimes I think she conquered too easily. But no matter what, I have no choice."
5. The Devil Gets The Better of Love by Hande Altayli
Adler did not want to warn the kind-hearted Mr. Hedgehog, nor the equally warm Sinan, nor the calm and steady Levent, but Omar, who repeatedly broke her heart.
Why do they fall in love with each other? Perhaps, they regard each other as the legacy left by their aunt Julie De; perhaps, they are just attached to each other's bodies; perhaps, in their eyes, love is a kind of pain, the burning sensation of fire.
Or, love doesn't need a reason at all, can't help it, and can't get rid of it.
But even if they love each other again, they still can't be together. Obviously, the crowd confirmed the opponent at a glance, but they still had to look for it and go around.
This is not pressure from others or the world; it is a psychological battle between themselves and themselves.
The author said in the book:
"She found that people in love will inevitably be broken up by a turbulent river. This is a river full of fear, anxiety, self, expectation, doubt, and worry... You only have one chance, only one, go Wade across the turbulent and turbid river, and arrive at the lover who is waiting for you on the other side: only when you believe in his love, the suspension bridge across the river will appear."
Adler and Omar didn't trust each other. Adler's childhood experience and Orma’s dead love made them lose their sense of security.
They have been suspicious, jealous, and shrinking. Obviously, love is humble, but pretending to be proud. So they escaped, and they went to find their spiritual sustenance.
In "After Goodbye, Say Goodbye", Handy Astley's writing is delicate and sincere, and the entanglement of inner narration and feelings is pure and passionate.
She strips the head-headed woman in love to the core. Regarding Adler's feelings, we are bystanders watching the fire. We watched her go through fire and water, and finally exchanged for a broken heart.
You stand on the bridge and watch the scenery, and the people watching the scenery look at you. You have a heart of fists, but you are not entrusted with it.
6. Miss You: A Novel by Kate Eberlen
What is love? This question seems very simple, but it also seems very complicated to investigate carefully. Perhaps, in the end, a very definite answer cannot be drawn.
Those who haven’t seen each other for a long time will usually comfort each other with the phrase "If the two loves last for a long time, how can they be in the morning and evening?"Those who don’t feel too much together every day, and occasionally have to partake.
I complained that "the world lasts for a long time, and this hate lasts forever."...not to mention, like Kate Eberion’s "Miss You" in the novel "Miss You", the two young people like Tess and Gus What kind of words should be used to "suffice it in a word" for the love in the time; even if it is replaced by Tess and Gus themselves, I am afraid they can't explain all this.
Why not use the simplest two words, "missing you," to summarize it? These two words don't seem to have such deep emotions, but they have a kind of power that penetrates time and space, which lasts for a long time but remains consistent.
The loyalty is here, and the true love is here too, loving your stalwart body, but also the position you insist on and the land under your feet!
Kate Eberlein's "Miss You" is a book destined to talk about love, but it is more about how to face the difficulties in life, how to get out of the cage that you have constructed, and how to reconcile after confronting the people around you.
Just as Tess finally let go of not going to college because of his sister, Gus finally walked out of the influence of his brother's death on him.
Despite all kinds of betrayal and derailment, Tess eventually forgave her ex-boyfriend and girlfriend. Although she was not willing to take her daughter away from her ex-wife, Gus was finally able to give up the work she had never wanted to do and start a new attempt.
In the sixteen years they have missed, two seemingly parallel and disjoint lines have spawned many branches, which have been converging and diverging, and finally entangled together.
All encounters in this world are reunions after a long time.
7. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
It tells a love story that is unimaginable for ordinary people, and it is far-reaching and profound. The heroes and heroines seem to be completely out of sync, but they went from being unfamiliar to acquaintances, and their lives were completely changed because they intruded on each other.
The story is laughable and tear-jerking to read. It's warm and upward power is both affectionate and inspirational, and it is beautiful and heartbreaking. The humanistic feelings in the book are also embarrassing and gratifying.
I want you to be well. Some seemingly quiet words, a seemingly warm story, but when you plan to leave or hide your face in contemplation, in the bottom of your heart, gently put a sharp knife.
You have to believe that in this world, there will really be such a person who will treat you well for free.
Before I met you, I was Clark, a small-town girl who carried the burden of family and made a living. She had never seen mountains or rivers, never watched the sea, never heard a concert, never experienced diving, and Paris is just in my imagination. , No, it’s Paris that I haven’t even thought about...
Before I met you, I was Will, a seriously ill, disabled teenager with no dignity, betrayed by his girlfriend, tortured by illness, and had many unfinished dreams, including bungee jumping and skydiving. However, I just want to end myself...
Six months of getting along, one hundred and eight days and nights, is incomparable for many years of life. Clark became confident, began to have dreams, and experienced a more exciting world, while Will began to become optimistic and began to show a smile. Discover the beauty of life.
However, the pain is still there. Will still choose to use euthanasia to end his pain. Clark said, even if you are not there, I will always love you here.
The end of Will's life cannot prevent the eternity of Clark's love.
In the dark, it has its own arrangement; all encounters will leave traces, engraved in the heart, or accompany a lifetime.
We meet a lot of people in our lives. Some make you happy, some make you sad, some make you confident, and some make you silent.
No matter which kind, it is growth. This book reminds me of some important people and important things in my past life.
8. The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig
After graduating from Ludwig University, he worked in the factory of Privy Advisor G. His talent and diligence won the favor and appreciation of the privy adviser.
He first suggested that Ludwig move into his villa so that he could be on call and lean on him as a confidant.
Unexpectedly, he was rejected by the arrogant Ludwig. Soon, the boss's condition worsened, and he had to stay in bed for a long time.
He once again asked to hire a young man as a personal secretary and move into his villa. For his own future, Ludwig reluctantly agreed.
He stepped into the boss's house and saw his wife for the first time. The beautiful, noble, kind, and honest wife made him feel like a spring breeze, and a passionate love developed between the two.
At this moment, the boss sent Ludwig to Mexico to set up a branch factory. In a foreign country, he lived for a year and finally came to the moment of returning home. Unexpectedly, when the First World War broke out, the two people were blocked and separated.
The end of the war was far away, and Ludwig could not bear the loneliness of marrying a wife and having children on the other side of the ocean.
However, the battle that had lasted for four years ended suddenly. Ludwig's heart was not at peace again. He resumed contact with his wife.
He learned that the privy counselor had passed away and his wife was safe, so he took the opportunity to return home from a business trip. He visited his wife and asked her to visit Heidelberg again.
However, after experiencing the initial excitement of the reunion, they suddenly discovered that there seemed to be an invisible wall between them, and they could never find the good things in the past.
A brief comment on the list
- Can love go through all the trials?
- The answer is: no
- The only thing that can't go back in memory,
- But memory will also accompany us through the journey of a lifetime.
9. The Foam Of Days by Bens Boris Vian
This is a ridiculous and unbelievable story, and this is another touching and tear-jerking story. Klein and Chloe fell in love, but Kloe got an incurable disease shortly after their marriage—a "water lily" grew on his chest. Sick loves Alice, but is arrested for stealing a book.
Alice was so angry that Sick indulged in Jean Sol and set fire to the bookstore, and was buried in the flames. Nicholas and Isis are improper, and lovers will never get married.
A brief comment on the list
- There are many ways to love,
- But the one that suits you is the best
- There are only two things in this world that last forever,
- That is to talk about love with beautiful girls in various ways,
- And the music of the New Orleans School or the Duke of Ellington,
- Everything else should disappear,
- Because everything else is ugly.
10. The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
A love story. It's not just about love.
In 1975, Kemal, a 30-year-old married man who was married, fell in love with his poor relative, the 18-year-old pure and beautiful girl Fusong.
But the love between the two came and went. Kemal wanted to find his lover's heart, and it had been eight years since then, but it was still too late...
Everything about Kemal Afsong, everything that Afsund loved, and even touched. The infatuated, sad man collects all the objects that his sweetheart has touched, such as salt shakers, puppy decorations, thimbles, pins, hairpins, ashtrays, earrings, playing cards, keys, fans, perfume bottles, handkerchiefs, brooches... and even 4213 cigarette butts.
Kemal completed 1743 museums in fifteen years and created a unique "Museum of Innocence". All the objects are regarded as treasures of this love museum to commemorate his lost love.
Relying on Kemal’s passion, Pamuk has a wise meditation on time, desire, and possession, which is rich in the details and meaning of the author’s young life in the city: domestic brands, movie stars, streets, and classes.
The intricate social relationship between tradition and modernity. It seems that the Museum of Innocence is not commemorating Fusong but Istanbul.
A brief comment on the list
- If there is no way to possess you,
- Then collect all the things you have used.
- After you leave,
- The world became a huge museum for me.
11. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
In the real world of Aristotle, there are two very obvious orientations in his values, which we call Extrinsic Value and Intrinsic Value.
Extrinsic Value is external, generally based on external factors, it represents a relatively broad concept, rather than people's subjective wishes. Intrinsic Value comes from people's introverted thinking, that is, doing something completely out of their own ideas does not require any return, and can even sacrifice time and other important things in exchange.
At this time, Aristotle stood up and proposed the Ultimate Goal. He believed that everything has an end, and the ultimate goal of people's actions is happiness. Even if they do things they don't want, they are all trying to make the results more in line with them. subjective will.
But what does this have to do with this book? The protagonist Ari, also known as the first person of the book, has been searching for the purpose of his existence. From the beginning to the end, he has no idea of what he wants and wants. It is not until the end that he knows that it is Dante who makes him really happy, and it is he and Dante.
His love made him angry and made him jealous. Aristotle said that happiness is because that's something that doesn't need any help from others. Because happiness is something that people can do by themselves, and that is basically what everyone is after. Through the support of his parents and Dante's initiative, Ari finally broke through himself and got what he wanted. The author here has a different understanding from Aristotle.
The names of the two people in the book are a joke by the author and a reflection of the two genres. Aristotle represents the easygoing school, which symbolizes reality and integrity, while Dante represents the romantic school, which symbolizes bravery and sensibility. It just corresponds to the character characteristics of their characters, but the funny thing is that in this book, Aristotle likes to write poetry, and Dante can draw...
This book is good, both in-depth and in perspective. A while ago, the author said he was working on a sequel to this book, and I'm looking forward to more Ari and Dante stories.
12. The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The story is basically about a 16-year-old girl with lung cancer and a 17-year-old boy with bone cancer who met in a cancer support group, shared the process of life, and fell in love. When I first started, I was attracted by some of the author's witty little humor.
Because such a theme is easy to write as a Korean drama, Korean dramas or tragic love stories are never something I would take the initiative to watch. But the description at the beginning makes me think this book is not what I expected from this kind of story.
Seeing this, I want to say that I have not read many novels about cancer patients or life and death. So I can't comment on whether this book is innovative or not. I haven't read any other books by this author, so I won't be disappointed that this one isn't as good as his previous books. The above two points are basically the main negative comments I have seen on Goodreads, a foreign book review website.
For me, the whole book has a lot of thought-provoking and moving points. And these points do not necessarily love. It is people's thinking about the value of life, life, and love. In addition to the two protagonists, the stories of some supporting characters are also very interesting. The protagonist's story is left to those who are interested in this book to discover for themselves. I'll omit this part of the plot.
For example, a man with eye cancer had to undergo eyeball surgery because he wanted to control his cancer. He was going to become blind, so his girlfriend broke up with him before his surgery. Because there is no way to break up with a blind man, there is no news after the operation.
When he got acquainted with the heroine and talked about it, the heroine expressed different opinions, saying that it is not that nice of you either.. being blind and everything. The boy said it is not my fault. The heroine said I didn't say it is your fault. I am just saying it wasn't nice. [This sentence is just based on impression]
I feel very moved. She feels cancer patients are like a ticking time bomb; when you die, you hurt everyone around you. Can one person blame another for their selfishness? For a minor, how to deal with a lover who is blind and is likely to die. The same principle can be applied in many ways.
A person who is suddenly seriously ill, suddenly bankrupt, and suddenly becomes abnormal because of some changes, maybe it is not your fault that these things happened, but because of this, people around you suffer with you, "it wasn't nice".
Some people can't be hurt by these things, like parents, like those who can't leave you. And for those who have a way to leave you, one should accept without complaining, because it also makes sense if one can control the scope of harm in one thing.
13. Five feet apart
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott
When I first read this book, it was not difficult to understand because I read the introduction, and I wanted to read the English original. When I saw the comments, some people said that this book is too affectionate and young.
Maybe I personally think that the protagonists of this book are two teenagers, always with an idealistic color, and have the courage to do nothing. My tears were not high, and I was really moved to cry when I saw the back, maybe it was a yearning for a beautiful thing.
I originally thought it was a bit inexplicable that the two of them knew each other and liked each other, but a lot of times, the mutual admiration between two people was an inexplicable beginning. This slightly closed space of the hospital is home to all kinds of patients, and their disease prevents them from getting close to each other, and the existence of each other may even pose a threat to their lives.
The article is explained from a double perspective, allowing readers to better understand what happened, and what they are thinking, and the context is clear. In the beginning, the heroine, who looked tough and confident, opened her own channel and shared her story. In the beginning, the male protagonist was rebellious, adventurous, and lived in the present without caring about the future.
Two completely opposite people, from disliking each other to sympathizing with each other, actually don't seem to be so bloody. The heroine's vulnerable side is slowly excavated in the middle of the story. Her fear, lack of confidence in the scars on her body, and her desire to give up a precious opportunity in the end all let us see a more complete side of this character.
The male protagonist no longer resists treatment because of the appearance of the female protagonist and begins to cherish life, or more precisely, the time he spends with the female protagonist.
As living people, as I read, they seem to move in front of my eyes, creating scenes in the story. Every collapse, every joy, and every tangle of theirs affects my mind. So by the end, the emotions follow. I don't think this is an overly sensational book with no connotation. Maybe because I'm about the same age as the hero and heroine, I read their stories as if they were my friends, and I watched it all from the sidelines.
The last, the last, is an open ending. There is no great joy or great sadness, the author finally said, hoping that more people will pay attention to this disease, and new treatments can be developed to help them; I also hope.
14. Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
There are several books on my pillow all year round, one of which is Pride and Prejudice. It has been with me for almost ten years. Many nights I can't sleep, and I will casually open it to read a passage, whether it is Darcy or Elizabeth at the ball. The spark-splashing confrontation was still Mrs. Bennett's neurotic nagging. Jane Austen's wit always captivated me, and I smiled knowingly and then reminisced about a familiar plot.
She has never left the country town where she lives, so her books have never had any historical plots, indignant accusations, or revelations of the dark world. The ability to write over and over again the ordinary characters in her life, their little happiness, their little troubles, their little calculations, and their little scheming.
Although those stories all happened in the English countryside of the 19th century, they are still lively and vivid today. Not a great writer, but she is definitely the smartest writer in my heart, the most lovely woman Jane Austen wrote of those women who still live in our world today, a little like Charlotte, cool. Sober, grasp the opportunity decisively, and choose a marriage that does not require love.
Some are like Lydia, rash and naive, thinking that they are brave for love, but they are actually just bargaining chips for worldly interests.
Some are like Mei. They do vulgar things, but their hearts are very eager for their love.
Some are like Jane, weak and kind, passive and reserved, watching love disappear without the courage to keep it, and the vain sister Bingley, the innocent Miss Darcy, of course, there are women like Elizabeth.
Gentle and firm, intelligent and open-minded, she has never compromised even at the cost of lifelong loneliness. She thoroughly understands all disappointments and flaws, but understands them with tolerance. She is such a good girl to be cherished, just like Jane Austen, and the reality is that it's impossible for such happiness to appear.
Jane Austen was never married. Her only good friend is her sister Cassandra. Her wit and naughtiness, her stubbornness and tenderness, finally did not wait for someone as worthy as Darcy to appreciate her. There are many friends around, and there are women like Jane Austen.
They are talented and have the courage to face life seriously. They are also working hard to enrich their hearts and feel the beauty of the world with their hearts. They also know how to properly take care of themselves. The fire loved others, but now they are all alone. They are like pink and white peaches and plums blooming in the valley. Even if no one appreciates them, they must live richly. They understand life. They should live for themselves.
The story always feels a kind of inexplicable whitewashing of peace, but arrogance and prejudice have never felt this way. All women got their best ending. She gave them happiness, that is, her own happiness. She taught us like this, Don't despair of the world because of a little loneliness, so this ending doesn't make people feel a little blunt.
It's all within reach of happiness and warmth. Continue to hold good hope, not because of naivety, but because we believe in ourselves and have the ability to make ourselves happy no matter what. Whether that person will come or not, in the end, we are all the most beautiful and unique women.
15. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
It finally snowed in Chicago this afternoon, and I sat by the window reading the novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" that I had been reading for the past few months. I was in tears twice reading this book. This is a beautifully written novel; the text is very simple but reveals a rare innocence.
This is an epistolary novel. The story takes place in the early 1990s and describes the life of the protagonist, Charlie's first year of high school through a dozen letters. Charlie has a brother who is very good at sports and a sister who is very good at grades. He is a sensitive and delicate little brother at home. In the face of strong brothers and sisters, he always seems reticent and gets much less attention from his elders.
At school, he was the gregarious wallflower boy, never in a relationship and with few friends. He is immersed in his own world. He likes bands like The Smiths, Pink Floyd, and Nirvana. He likes to make mixed tapes of his favorite songs and give them as gifts to others.
Like every high school work, there are prom, graduation, and after-party in it, but this book is not just about growing up and how to face life positively, because the tone of the whole book is very gloomy. You can tell by the psychedelic garage rock songs Charlie listens to, and there are several marijuana-smoking scenes in the book.
This book not only writes pure love about first love, first date, and first kiss, but also involves the dark side of drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, abortion, suicide, molestation, and so on. Charlie's world is complicated because when he was young, he had to deal with so many things that were heavy in the adult world, and Charlie's world was very simple; he was so simple, all he needed was friends and the warmth of the family.
Charlie is always between two extremes. The psychological shadow and inferiority of his childhood made him a little autistic. Although his feelings about the world are so deep and interesting, he can't integrate into the real world, and he has no idea about his talent. I don't know. Until he met two of his favorite people in the world - his best friends Patrick and Sam...
I want to use words like bohemian and rebellious charm to describe Patrick and Sam, respectively, but I feel that this is not enough to express their special charm. It is better to quote the original words from the two paragraphs of the book. When Charlie was hospitalized, Patrick came to visit him. "The best thing about Patrick is that even when you're in a hospital, he doesn't change.
He just cracks jokes to make you feel better instead of asking you questions about feeling worse." He's such a cool guy, and kind and caring to his friends. Charlie was very fond of Sam the first time she met her.
Sam treated him tenderly like a big sister and taught him a lot. He gradually fell in love with Sam, and Sam already had a boyfriend. She clearly refused, but to meet him, but I'm still very good with Charlie, and it's not the kind of ambiguity, but like before, it has the tacit understanding of good friends and the warmth of sister and brother.
On Christmas day, when they exchange gifts, Sam tells Charlie that her first kiss was a shadow of childhood, and she kisses Charlie and says, "I want to make sure that the first person you kiss loves you, okay?"
This is a book about the friendships that grew up in alcohol, marijuana, and rock and roll. It is also a book written in the same genre as "The Catcher in the Rye", "The Great Gatsby", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "The Fountainhead", and so on. Find yourself in the book.
I especially like that the author uses very simple sentences to accurately convey some subtle feelings, and the songs mentioned in the book provide readers with a channel to experience the book from an auditory point of view. The selected songs are really suitable for the book. situation.
The most memorable sentence is that Charlie, Patrick, and Sam were in the car together, their favorite song called "Landslide," was playing loudly in the car, and they drove the car faster when passing through the tunnel, feeling the tunnel. The wind was howling, they screamed happily, and Charlie said, "I feel infinite".
16. Seriously, I'm kidding
Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen is the most handsome woman I've ever seen; she's wearing canvas shoes, skinny jeans, a plaid shirt, and a fitted suit, her eyebrows are raised, and her pale blue pupils are like holes. Admittedly, it's the first time I've seen her. I fell in love with her when she was there.
no matter whether men or women saw her, they would fall in love with her;
Not to mention that her thin lips kept saying interesting things, and the temperament exuded from her body made me want to become her immediately.
Seriously… I'm kidding;
reading Ellen's monologue can be like reading a novel, watching three months of shows in one afternoon; this book is a wise little woman, at the time of afternoon tea, the words spoken with a smile; relaxed Funny; I don't like to read too much and think too much, and if you'd like to tell me a joke, I'd be happy to hear what you have to say; actually I didn't figure out what's funny about it, or even heard what you said; because when I look at you talking, the lips have already made me intoxicated;
17. Norwegian Wood
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
It seems that too many people started contacting Murakami because of "Norwegian Wood". However, "No" is just an anomaly in Murakami's works; it is an exploration of the realistic style of Murakami. After this exploration, he never tried a similar way of writing again. From this, it can be roughly guessed that for him personally, <No> was somewhat wrong.
However, as the most special, approachable, and popular among Murakami's works, "Noh" is easier to accept in a wider range than other works. Sometimes, when it comes to Haruki Murakami, it must be "Norway".
"No" is indeed very good, and Murakami has gained more recognition through this work. If it wasn't for "No" paving the way ahead, he probably wouldn't have reached the point where he is almost a household name today. Because after all, the audience of his mainstream works is actually not that many.
If you come into contact with Murakami's other works because you like "Noh", especially because you are lingering on those pure and beautiful loves and want to see more similar things, then it is a pity, and most likely you will be disappointed.
Indeed, many voices of disappointment begin with "No" and linger next to works that should have received higher ratings. Do you feel that "Wuwuwu" doesn't know what it says, "The Shape of a Strange Bird" is bizarre, and does Murakami change his tenderness and deal with some absurd fates that he doesn't know so-called all day long?
Are you reading, often confused and anxious because you don’t know where the plot will take you, and after watching the whole work, you haven’t gained more than some fantastic experience and interesting wording and sentence making?
It's not the problem with the work, but the introduction is wrong. Murakami is not your cup of tea.
Why can't I destroy the acquired heart, read it in sequence quietly and casually, and then read it in depth again and again, until the hidden tentacles in the book finally reach the depths of the heart slowly and clearly?
However, if what you like is the clean and alienated language, the tireless details, the desolation that permeates life, the confusion that seeks but ultimately finds nothing, and the overwhelming, unspeakable loneliness, maybe you should try it. Take a look, it may be an unexpected surprise.
Not to mention the additional hallucinations, such as the various life experiences that can be regarded as a silent wind, like the passage of time, or a heavy, surly, and incomplete life to explore and think about.
From a certain point of view, it is precisely this "Norwegian Forest" that has become a small barrier for most of Murakami's novels and is slightly misleading to the well-known Murakami.
18. Our Souls at Night
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Kindle recommends reading for an hour and a half, which should be a relatively easy-to-understand novel. So much fast reading every day that I almost want to give up on the slow pace at the beginning of the novel. After Jamie came, it might feel like a beautiful sunset story, but instead, there was some hope in my heart.
In our current life, there are so many rules and regulations, so many secular visions that we care about, and so many responsibilities and obligations that need to be undertaken. Maybe one day, when I reach 70 years old, when I get old, when I no longer have the ability to contribute to this society, maybe I can really start to enjoy life and enjoy the intimacy between people who are not afraid of the world.
It's like putting down all the masks in the middle of the night, lying relaxed in bed, and chatting with you about the past and present. It would be nice if the novel ended here. But perhaps the author still found out in the last moments of his life that there is no real freedom in life. "Darling, are you cold tonight?" This is the chance for respite that we find within the framework. People are desperate and seem to be full of strength.
Do you think you have the right to decide your own choices when your life is too late? Actually, not, from the time you came to this world to the time you left, you were always struggling with other people's choices and your own choices, and in most cases, you lost. It's as if you came into the world without a choice, and it's as if Eddie chose not to be separated from Louie.
But don't despair, even so, there may be someone who will hold your hand gently at night, tell your ordinary and ordinary life, smell the air with you when it rains, and listen to the sound of the rain. Even with so many limitations, your souls can comfort each other "at night".
And anyway, life has always been like this, so how can it be bad now? Anyway, until old age is constantly fighting and compromising, so now these denials, pressures, and doubts seem so normal. Because so-called bad is just the norm, and happiness is accidental.
In the face of the various levels set by this world, the mutual embarrassment between family members is the worst. They were supposed to protect each other from the outside world or to support each other in difficult situations, but sometimes they do it all in the name of love.
I really hope that I will not superimpose these sufferings on my children in the future, and I hope that they will spend their energy fighting against the world instead of breaking this cycle with me.
19. Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories
Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov
Love is but one's fantasy, one's self-indulgence, one's resort.
We indulge ourselves in love in order to be detached from reality, to escape from reality. Every time reality crushes our faith, we resort to love, soothing ourselves with the fancy that we are engaged in something higher than real life.
Everything, in reality, can become trivial and indifferent only when we cling to something higher and unattainable. Sometimes, what we love is the self-image reflected, or we imagine to be reflected, in our lover's eyes.
There is a beautiful description of their love near the end of the story: “It seemed to them that fate had intended them for one another, and they could not understand why she should have a husband, and he a wife.”
Nonetheless, they must know that their affair can never be converted into a husband-and-wife relationship, because marriage is part of reality, and that means all the fantasy of their affair will be disillusioned at once.
Consequently, although it seems they are so near to reaching a decision for their future, to start "a new beautiful life", they would never do. Love is a fantasy; therefore, it has something more genuine than reality.
20. Essays In Love
Essays In Love by Alain De Botton
If you are sentimental, proud in your heart, elegant in manners, you have suffered from love anxiety, you are currently in a state of broken love, or you don't know what your other half is thinking.
If you feel that it is difficult for anyone to understand you, the comfort of your friends is useless, you have been autistic or abstinent for a time, you have thought about seeking psychotherapy or religious support, or even have thoughts of suicide, then you need an experience similar to you.
But not so cynical or even empathetic and thoughtful people to communicate their thoughts, then you can choose to read "Essays In Love", you will find that Alan is simply your soul confidant, and you will feel more comfortable after reading it.
People who are conquered by love and tortured by love in this world have the same psychological feelings, whether they are yellow-skinned or white-skinned, whether they are great writers or nobodies, whether they are famous nobles or ordinary white-collar workers.
The ending is kind and gives hope. When Cupid shoots an arrow of love at a person again, that person will still feel that the former despair turned out to be just a deep disappointment.
Students who hope to learn some love methodology don't need to read this book. Although Alan has made notes for love, he knows that notes and high scores are not necessarily related. Seeing through love and winning love are two different things.
I don't know why he wrote this book. He was born into a wealthy family. He should not be using his talents to earn royalties. Maybe he was just doing nothing to commemorate some of his immature thoughts and behaviors in the past.
Why should I watch it? I'm just interested in the love thinking of a person who has dabbled extensively in religion, psychology, philosophy, ethics, art, architecture, and literature.
After reading this book, I also entered several other major works, such as "Consolation of Philosophy", "Anxiety of Identity", and "The Art of Travel". I must say, this book also has something that impressed me, but it is very interesting. It happened not to be written by him, but the quote of Elias quoted: "It is not difficult to see through the world, but it is of no use to oneself."
There is a passage in the book that discusses "mature love" and "immature love":
Mature love is commendable in almost every way, and it works by being acutely aware of each person's strengths and weaknesses. Mature love is full of self-control, does not idealize things, and is free from envy, masochism, or obsession. Mature love is a sexual friendship that is harmonious, pleasing, and responsive (perhaps this explains why many people who understand desire do not call this painless emotion love).
Immature love (though not so much related to age) is a story that oscillates between idealization and disappointment, a precarious state of ecstasy, bliss, and drowning feeling, and overwhelming abhorrence, in which the feeling of finally finding a sweetheart is accompanied by a feeling of loss that has never been experienced before. The logical end of immature (because of absolute) love is death, either symbolically or in the true sense of the word.
The climax of mature love is building love together and trying to avoid the daily feuds (Sunday newspapers, forcing each other to change their pants, the remote control) that lead to the breakdown of love. Immature love does not accept compromise, and once we refuse to compromise, we embark on a road of no return to the end.
For someone who has already experienced the pinnacle of immature passion, the decision to marry is an unbearable price - it would be better to drive off a cliff and end it all
Conclusion
Based on reality is the soil for literary creation, and the source and inspiration of romanticism come from reality, not divorced from reality.
Enthusiastic and unrestrained language romanticism's literal characteristics of expressing emotions. The words and sentences of historical romantic literature are extremely sophisticated and strive for perfection.
Because of this characteristic, many works of historical romantic literature have become representative works of "aestheticism".
Brilliant and colorful imagination, historical romantic literature often uses metaphors and symbols in image creation.
Above, I share a few award-winning historical romance novels.
For me, it is not only the period romance novels but also a spiritual force, a memory of the past.
🎭 This post is part of our Genre Fiction Hub — featuring the best books in horror, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, and thriller.