The 100 best romance novels by women

No. 11 on this list. The Mysteries of Udolpho · Ann Radcliffe · 1794

The Mysteries of Udolpho is a foundational text taught in 18th-century literature, Gothic studies, and women's writing courses in universities worldwide. Its Wikipedia article spans over 40 languages. Jane Austen's parody in Northanger Abbey has guaranteed it a permanent place in the British literary canon—any reader of Austen eventually encounters Udolpho. It sits at the center of every Gothic fiction course.

No. 12 on this list. The Price of Salt · Patricia Highsmith · 1952

The Price of Salt — republished as Carol — is regarded as a foundational text in LGBTQ+ literature and appears regularly on university syllabi in queer studies and 20th-century American literature courses. It was named to multiple 'best novels' lists, including TIME's All-TIME 100 Novels, cementing its place as a culturally essential work.

No. 13 on this list. Wives and Daughters · Elizabeth Gaskell · 1866

Wives and Daughters is a fixture of Victorian literature curricula at universities worldwide, consistently ranked among the great English novels of the nineteenth century. Although the Open Syllabus database shows limited entries, the novel regularly appears on 'best Victorian novel' lists and in British literature survey courses. Martin Amis named it one of the supreme English novels; it is published in every major prestige edition including Penguin Classics, Oxford World's Classics, and Everyman's Library.

No. 14 on this list. Love in a Fallen City · Eileen Chang · 1943

Chang is recognized as a major figure in modern Chinese literature and is regularly taught in Chinese literature, Asian studies, and world literature courses. This Penguin Modern Classics edition and inclusion in the Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature signal canonical standing. Her syllabi presence in Western universities remains more limited than in Chinese-speaking academic institutions, where she is a curriculum staple.

No. 15 on this list. North and South · Elizabeth Gaskell · 1855

Taught in schools: AQA GCSE and A-level English Literature (UK), WJEC/Eduqas GCSE and A-level English Literature (UK)

North and South appears regularly on university syllabi in Victorian literature and British literature survey courses, where it is taught alongside Dickens and George Eliot as a defining example of the 'condition of England' novel. The 2004 BBC television adaptation brought renewed popular attention, though its academic presence is solid rather than dominant — it sits below absolute canonical fixtures like Middlemarch or Bleak House.

No. 16 on this list. Gone with the Wind · Margaret Mitchell

On TIME's All-TIME 100 Novels, Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century and the 1001 Books list, and voted 21st in the BBC Big Read. Appears on 115 university syllabi (52nd percentile), mostly in courses on Southern literature, popular fiction and the memory of the Civil War.

No. 17 on this list. Written on the Body · Jeanette Winterson · 1992

Widely taught in courses on gender, narrative and the contemporary novel.

No. 18 on this list. A True Novel · Minae Mizumura · 2002

Increasingly taught in comparative-literature and world-literature courses as a case of the novel rewriting itself across traditions, in print from Other Press.

No. 19 on this list. My Cousin Rachel · Daphne du Maurier · 1951

Recognized as a major du Maurier work and a landmark of mid-century Gothic romance, taught periodically in British literature surveys and gaining renewed academic attention in the 2000s as a feminist Gothic text, though it does not occupy the uppermost tier of the Western literary canon.

No. 20 on this list. The Italian · Ann Radcliffe · 1796

The Italian is a fixture of Gothic and Romantic-era survey courses, though it's taught less universally than Radcliffe's own The Mysteries of Udolpho or than Frankenstein and Dracula within the wider Gothic canon. No syllabus or Wikipedia-language data was available for this title in our database, but it holds a stable place in history-of-the-novel curricula.

No. 21 on this list. The Nice and the Good · Iris Murdoch · 1969

John Ducane investigates a colleague's suicide at Whitehall and uncovers secrets that spread through his circle of friends and lovers. Murdoch's novel is a comedy of manners and morals, its large cast entangled in desires they barely understand. The prose is elegant and ironic, each character convinced of their own goodness while causing harm. The novel asks whether niceness and goodness are the same thing, whether moral philosophy can survive contact with actual lives.

No. 22 on this list. Strange Weather in Tokyo · Hiromi Kawakami · 2001

Commonly assigned in contemporary Japanese fiction and translation courses and one of the most widely read Japanese novels in English of the last two decades, in print from Portobello and Counterpoint.

No. 23 on this list. Bel Canto · Ann Patchett · 2003

PerfectBound e-book exclusive: "Friendship and Love," an interview with Ann Patchett.A prolonged hostage crisis in the lavish home of a South American politician turns into something quite different as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and passionate, ill-fated love blooms. Winner of the 2002 Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the 2002 Orange Prize for Fiction.Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening -- until a band of gun-wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different countries and continents become compatriots. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped.

No. 24 on this list. Whitney, My Love · Judith McNaught · 1985

Foundational historical romance. One of the genre's defining works of the 1980s. 30 million copies sold.

No. 25 on this list. The Song of Achilles · Madeline Miller · 2012

This is the story of the seige of Troy from the perspective of Achilles best-friend Patroclus. Although Patroclus is outcast from his home for disappointing his father he manages to be the only mortal who can keep up with the half-God Archilles. Even though many will know the facts behind the story the telling is fresh and engaging.

No. 26 on this list. The News from Paraguay · Lily Tuck · 2004

The year is l854. In Paris, Francisco Solano -- the future dictator of Paraguay -- begins his courtship of the young, beautiful Irish courtesan Ella Lynch with a poncho, a Paraguayan band, and ahorse named Mathilde. Ella follows Franco to Asuncion and reigns there as his mistress. Isolated and estranged in this new world, she embraces her lover's ill-fated imperial dream -- one fueled by a heedless arrogance that will devastate all of Paraguay.With the urgency of the narrative, rich and intimate detail, and a wealth of skillfully layered characters, The News from Paraguay recalls the epic novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.

No. 27 on this list. Elias Portolu · Grazia Deledda · 1903

Elias Portolu is taught in Italian literature and world literature courses, particularly where Grazia Deledda's Nobel Prize draws attention. Its canonical status outside Italian-speaking contexts is limited — no syllabus data was found in the Open Syllabus Project, and no Wikipedia article was detected, suggesting it remains a specialist text rather than a global curriculum fixture.

No. 28 on this list. The Thorn Birds · Colleen McCullough · 1977

Over thirty million copies sold. The 1983 miniseries made it a global cultural event. A defining popular novel of the 1970s.

No. 29 on this list. The Duke and I · Julia Quinn · 2000

Bestselling romance series adapted by Netflix. Brought Regency romance to a massive global audience.

No. 30 on this list. Normal People · Sally Rooney · 2018

Appears on 278 university syllabi (61st percentile in Open Syllabus), a strong showing for a novel published in 2018. Wikipedia articles exist in 16 languages, and the entry includes dedicated Reception and Adaptations sections, signaling rapid integration into cultural and academic discourse.