Romanticism was an artistic movement (paintings, literary novels, music, among others) that was born in the late eighteenth century in England and Germany; and then it spread throughout Europe. This intellectual movement broke with all the stereotypes of the time and is recognized for putting the author’s emotions and feelings first in the execution of his art. If you are a lover of impossible loves and passion, you will love this list of classic romance novels:
The Miserables (Victor Hugo 1862)
The masterful work of the French Victor Hugo is one of the most important 19th centuries and has as its central theme the endless discussion on good and evil. In addition, the plot has typical beasts of the time: law, politics, ethics, justice, and religion. According to the author himself, this story is based on the Vidocq life, who was a French criminal who redeemed himself and ended up opening the French National Police.
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen 1813)
It is considered one of the first romantic comedies in the history of world literature. The British Jane Austen develops an exquisite plot full of situations that will make you laugh and surely cry, she has Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy as their main characters, both must mature and overcome some crises to learn from their mistakes while falling in love on the way.
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne 1850)
This novel is set in seventeenth-century Puritan New England, where a woman is sentenced to wear the scarlet letter A embroidered on her clothing, as it alludes to the word «Adulterous.» Its protagonist, Hester Prynn, has to carry this scorn with her for wanting to love and to live unacceptably for her time. At one point, the same Puritan society that has condemned her tries to separate her from her daughter, who is the result of that adulterous relationship. Then the Reverend Dimmesdale will intervene, who will try to intercede for her and, finally, it will be the Reverend himself who reveals the truth.
Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert 1856)
It is considered within the late Romantic period and is an indispensable universal classic in the formation of reading, one of its most outstanding characteristics is that it delves like few other works written by men into the feminine soul and the search for ideal love. Its protagonist, Emma Bovary, is a girl with a romantic ideal of marriage and suffers a terrible disappointment when she marries Charles Bovary. Because, although he loves her, he cannot give her the love she needs. So bored with her husband; she will look for lovers who can satisfy her passion.
Cinematographic adaptations
It should be noted that these Romantic classics also have various film adaptations in Hollywood and you can find them online totally free.