Why so many romance stories take place in Regency-era England

Jane Austen's novels are set in late Georgian, Regency-era England

Historians call the period from 1811 to 1820 England's Regency era, named after George Augustus Frederick, who was prince regent from 1811 (and would later become King George IV). While Austen is often considered a romance novelist, some scholars argue her novels also raise questions about societal norms around class and gender.

A medievalist explains how romantic love emerged as a cultural concept

Many long-form stories written in English were originally considered "romances," a term derived from the Old French word for "the speech of the people." But changes in medieval culture, triggered by a number of 12th-century church reforms, led to a new interest in what we now consider romantic love, including a new view of marriage as a pursuit of love rather than a transaction. Those new perspectives were then reflected in the period's popular stories, including stories in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales."

The novel broke new ground by offering realistic stories

In this brief interview, Terry Castle, an English professor at Stanford, explains the origins of the early British novel. Castle details how the novel was produced for a newly literate middle class interested in recognizable characters and stories “about life as they knew it” rather than Greek and Roman myths or medieval romances. She also explains why a newly enfranchised female demographic was attracted to the fiction of writers like Jane Austen and Virginia Woolf.

Why romantasy is so popular on social media

Much of romantasy's success is thanks to social media, especially TikTok, where posts tagged as #BookTok or #Romantasy often propel titles to mainstream popularity. This deep dive into the trend interviews fans and marketers to explain why the genre's steamy content does so well online.

A detailed analysis of romance novel covers through history

A lot has changed in the romance genre over time, a fact that's clearest in the way that the books are marketed to consumers. This interactive data visualization surveyed decades of romance book jackets, finding that raunchy, realistic paintings of scantily clad models have largely been replaced by vibrantly colored illustrations, often with the characters drawn as cartoons.

Why dystopian literature remains popular

Yale English professor Joe Cleary argues that dystopian literature’s continued relevance is due to a torrent of additional societal anxieties and that the streaming adaptations of dystopian classics "The Handmaid’s Tale" and "The Man in the High Castle" have expanded the genre’s popularity, introducing new audiences to its tropes.

How Harlequin became the most famous name in romance fiction

The publisher, which began as a modest family operation in 1949 in Winnipeg, took off when it noticed its bestselling titles were romance novels. That success intensified as it began selling its titles in grocery stores during the 1970s. This deep dive explores its meteoric rise and how that would set the stage for the genre for years to come.

Some argue that Queen Victoria's wedding started the ripple effect that led to the modern-day wedding-industrial complex

This Vogue article takes you inside the details of Queen Victoria's nuptials, from the dress to the bridesmaids drama. Learn all about the wedding that changed the wedding industry forever.

Listen to some of romance's leading writers discuss the genre

In this interview from 2022, romance novelists Helen Hoang (author of the "Kiss Quotient" series) and Emily Henry ("Beach Read," "People We Meet on Vacation," and more) discuss both loving and subverting the conventions of the genre.

The unexpected rise of the global romcom

The romantic comedy has mostly fallen out of favor in the US, but it's booming in other parts of the world, including India, Nigeria, and South Korea. Rebecca Liu talks with film scholars and industry veterans to unpack why that happened and whether an American romcom renaissance is possible.

Lord Byron was Romanticism's chief heartthrob

A prolific and often controversial figure in life and death, Lord Byron helped shape romanticism and left an enduring literary legacy, including creating the archetype of the Byronic hero. But Byron was more than just an artist—he was also a romantic era celebrity and predecessor to the modern rock star.

Before romanticism, the Enlightenment was the dominant force in art

The Enlightenment was a period of discovery, innovation, and political change. Roman and Greek visuals came into fashion in reaction to the excess and wealth of royalty and the church. Romanticism rebelled against the rigidity of neoclassicism's simplicity and structure.

Winston Churchill said he was comforted by 'Pride and Prejudice' during World War II

The prime minister was bedridden in a hospital with pneumonia in 1943. In his memoirs, Churchill recalls how Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" comforted him, especially because its characters remained calm amid the political turbulence of the time.

The origins of British pub names

An estimated 50,000 pubs dot the streets and countrysides of Britain, many of which have histories going back centuries. This deep dive traces the origins of some of the most common pub names to the medieval era, including favorites Red Lion, Crown, and Royal Oak. Learn why such names were originally chosen and how they have come to evolve in recent centuries in this comprehensive overview.

Take a tour of Charles Dickens' London

Much of Dickens' fiction concerns Victorian London and its people. This tour of the city, led by Dickens biographer Simon Callow, walks you through significant sites, like the place where Dickens' parents were married, the shoe-blacking factory where he worked as a boy, and the place where he created his first magazine.

Why the British royal family changed its name

Before 1917, British royals didn’t have last names—only dynastic titles. But during World War I, anti-German sentiment led King George V to replace “Saxe-Coburg-Gotha” with “Windsor.” In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II added “Mountbatten” for some descendants, but the rule isn’t binding—future monarchs can change it.

British royal history from a literal bird's-eye view

Learn the history of British monarchs going back centuries with this unusual, 50-minute documentary filmed entirely from the air, revealing key landmarks in beautiful footage alongside engaging commentary.

For centuries, European aristocrats made travel a rite of passage

Starting in the 16th century, young English aristocrats mounted “Grand Tours” of Europe. Accompanying tutors provided lessons in the continent’s architecture, art, history, and literature. A Grand Tour wasn’t just for classical education, though; it was also an opportunity for young men to indulge in vices away from their parents.

EL James' 'Fifty Shades of Grey' was originally 'Twilight' fan fiction

The first volume in the popular erotic romance series was originally called "Master of the Universe" and focused on the main characters of "Twilight," the popular vampire series by Stephanie Meyer. After it became a hit in fan fiction communities, James removed the references to "Twilight" and changed the title. It would go on to be the fastest-selling paperback of all time in the United Kingdom and lead to additional books and film adaptations.

The Romanov family ruled Russia for more than 300 years

From 1613 to 1917, 18 Romanovs—including Peter and Catherine the Great—governed the vast Russian Empire. Their dynasty ended abruptly in 1917 when Nicholas II abdicated amid wartime shortages and revolutionary unrest, marking the end of imperial Russia.

Cosmetic surgery during the Edwardian era

This 23-minute video explores cosmetic surgery in the United Kingdom during the Edwardian era, from about 1901 to 1914. Reconstructive surgery already existed by then, though it wasn't considered elective as it was used to repair damage suffered...

Twelve centuries of Roman history in 20 minutes

The Roman Empire may have been the world's first example of globalization, covering thousands of miles and crossing language barriers armed with Latin and short swords. Its legacy is nearly unparalleled in contemporary Europe, with nearly 50 Romance languages deriving from Latin.

The history of the New Year's misunderstanding in England

In the mid-18th century, the legal system in England operated under the understanding that the New Year began March 25. However, the widespread custom remained a Jan. 1 celebration as the public had been practicing for years. Read along to discover the practical issues this discrepancy caused and how the English legal system ended up yielding to public belief.

19th-century 'vinegar valentines' sometimes mocked recipients

In Victorian England, cards were sent to paramours and crushes, but they were also sometimes sent to people the sender disliked and would belittle them for their occupations or appearances. It was also expected that anyone who received a Valentine's Day card would send one in return, so there was a subgenre of responses, including rejections for unwanted suitors.

The true story of Cleopatra and Mark Antony

One of history's most romanticized couples, Greek-descended Queen of Egypt Cleopatra and Roman warrior Mark Antony carried out their tryst in the waning days of ancient Egypt. Hollywood has long been fascinated with the pair and has offered up depictions historians claim obscure the real story. Here, an Egyptologist helps separate myths from history.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

Stars appear to twinkle because turbulence in the motion of molecules in Earth's atmosphere causes light to bend and wiggle rapidly on its way to the surface—a phenomenon called scintillation.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Ebola species have historically been named after where they were discovered, stigmatizing residents who live there, including Bundibugyo, in Uganda.