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Guidelines

 

These general guidelines have helped me select the authors that have been put on the map.

 
Timeframe

This project focuses on romance written from 1824-2000 as Canadian scholars have credited Julia Hart as the first author to write what we refer to as fiction. While I recognize the importance of oral traditions and poetry, I had to narrow it down for the sake of research purposes. Additionally, the risk of offending authors who are still alive grows the more authors I cover, so I have chosen 2000 as the caught off period. As works of literature often lose their genres over time, I have included works that academics might not consider romances. However, as you see below, I have been working with a specific criteria for what qualifies as a romance.

 
Content

I am still vetoing the authors, but my criteria for a romance novel has been influenced by a Natural History of the Romance Novel by Dr. Pamela Regis. In order to qualify as a romance for this project, the love interests have to overcome barriers in order to be together. The barriers can be social expectations, spells, etc. I do not consider "happy for now" romances and feel that to include these on the map would be a disservice to romance readers as they are expecting happy endings. Researchers are of course welcome to explore those novels, but they are not the type of content suitable for this project.

 
Minorities

Some works certainly haven't aged well and may contain harmful and even hurtful content. Please be aware of that while exploring this project. 

 
Note on the History of Emily Montague

The History of Emily Montague (1769) has been considered culturally relevant by scholars. Personally, I do not consider this work the first romance by a Canadian author as Frances Brooke did not live very long in Canada, neither was it published in Canada. It is, however, the first work to have romance in it and to be set in Canada. Please be aware that the material contains racist undertones and observations that would have been prevalent during the author's life. Sensitivity is advised, especially considering the potential impact on Indigenous readers, as certain passages may evoke hurtful sentiments

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