The Greatest Romance Books of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
15 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1813 British English
32 Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë 1847 British English
54 Gone With the Wind Margaret Mitchell 1936 American English
57 Love in the Time of Cholera Gabriel García Márquez 1985 Colombian Spanish
110 Emma Jane Austen 1815 British English
144 The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas 1844 French French
232 Lady Chatterley's Lover D. H. Lawrence 1928 British English
235 The End of the Affair Graham Greene 1951 British English
280 Persuasion Jane Austen 1817 British English
340 A Room With a View E. M. Forster 1908 British English
342 The Betrothed Alessandro Manzoni 1827 Italian Italian
356 Ivanhoe Sir Walter Scott 1819 British English
382 Bridget Jones's Diary Helen Fielding 1996 British English
403 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
530 The Thorn Birds Colleen McCullough 1977 Australian English
532 Her Lover Albert Cohen 1968 Swiss French
556 Outlander Diana Gabaldon 1991 American English
578 Bel Canto Ann Patchett 2001 American English
591 Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen 1811 British English
610 Manon Lescaut Abbe Prevost 1731 French French
627 Pamela Samuel Richardson 1740 British English
640 The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller 2011 American English
662 The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger 2003 American English
751 Northanger Abbey Jane Austen 1817 British English
796 The Far Pavilions Mary Margaret Kaye 1978 British English
860 Far from the Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy 1874 British English
874 Corelli's Mandolin Louis de Bernières 1994 British English
902 Oscar and Lucinda Peter Carey 1988 Australian English
934 The Mysteries of Udolpho Ann Radcliffe 1794 British English
938 Like Water For Chocolate Laura Esquivel 1989 Mexican Spanish
1005 A Sport and a Pastime James Salter 1967 American English
1093 Evelina Fanny Burney 1778 British English
1121 Love Story Eric Segal 1970 American English
1156 Riders of the Purple Sage Zane Grey 1912 American English
1191 The Phantom of the Opera Gaston Leroux 1909 French French
1271 The Poems of John Keats John Keats 1817 British English
1279 Nine Coaches Waiting Mary Stewart 1958 British English
1302 Julie, or the New Heloise Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1761 French French
1309 Red, White & Royal Blue Casey McQuiston 2019 American English
1310 The Shell Seekers Rosamunde Pilcher 1987 British English
1316 Patience And Sarah Isabel Miller 1969 American English
1448 The Price Of Salt Patricia Highsmith 1952 American English
1509 Maurice E. M. Forster 1971 British English
1519 Lorna Doone R. D. Blackmore 1869 British English
1540 Carmen Prosper Mérimée 1845 French French
1558 Tristan Gottfried von Strassburg 1210 German Middle high german
1624 Get A Life, Chloe Brown Talia Hibbert 2019 British English
1675 The Notebook Nicholas Sparks 1996 American English
1734 The Kiss Quotient Helen Hoang 2018 Vietnamese English
1737 Boyfriend Material Alexis Hall 2020 British English
1753 As You Like it William Shakespeare 1600 British English
1798 Daisy Jones & The Six Taylor Jenkins Reid 2019 American English
1811 The Wedding Date Jasmine Guillory 2018 American English
1931 Aurélien Louis Aragon 1944 French French
1933 Twilight Stephenie Meyer 2005 American English
1945 Cheri Colette 1920 French French
1957 An Extraordinary Union Alyssa Cole 2017 American English
1996 Fifty Shades of Grey: E. L. James 2011 British English
2032 Troilus And Criseyde Geoffrey Chaucer 1385 British Middle english
2045 Love In A Fallen City Eileen Chang 1943 Chinese Chinese
2212 Foreign Affairs Alison Lurie 1984 American English
2226 The Princess Diaries Meg Cabot 2000 American English
2256 Confessions Of Felix Krull, Confidence Man Thomas Mann 1954 German German
2339 It Ends With Us Colleen Hoover 2016 American English
2428 Katherine Anya Seton 1954 American English
2453 The Recognition of Sakuntala Kālidāsa -400 Indian Sanskrit
2468 A Court Of Thorns And Roses Sarah J. Maas 2015 American English
2486 Seven Days In June Tia Williams 2021 American English
2520 Book Lovers Emily Henry 2021 American English
2542 When A Scot Ties The Knot Tessa Dare 2015 American English
2542 Whitney, My Love Judith McNaught 1985 American English
2564 The Lady Of The Camellias Alexandre Dumas 1848 French French
2646 The Sun Is Also A Star Nicola Yoon 2016 American English
2793 A Princess In Theory Alyssa Cole 2018 American English
2826 Call Me By Your Name André Aciman 2007 Italian English
2827 Tipping The Velvet Sarah Waters 1998 British English
2828 Indigo Beverly Jenkins 1996 American English
2846 Virgin River Robyn Carr 2007 American English
2922 The Lake of the Bees Theodor Storm 1849 German German
2947 Royally Screwed Emma Chase 2016 American English
2947 Dark Lover J. R. Ward 2005 American English
2961 Salt On Our Skin Benoîte Groult 1988 French French
2965 Mondscheintarif Ildikò von Kürthy 1999 German German
3082 The Horse Whisperer Nicholas Evans 1995 British English
3135 Me Before You Jojo Moyes 2012 British English
3247 The Prisoner Of Zenda Anthony Hope 1894 British English
3302 Curial e Güelfa Unknown 1450 Spanish Catalan
3324 The Pairing Casey McQuiston 2024 Unknown English
3338 The Priory Of The Orange Tree Samantha Shannon 2019 British English
3424 A Promise Of Fire Amanda Bouchet 2016 American English
3432 Eleanor And Park Rainbow Rowell 2012 American English
3455 Sir Charles Grandison Samuel Richardson 1753 British English
3497 The Merchant of Venice William Shakespeare 1600 British English
3595 Anne Of The Island L. M. Montgomery 1915 Canadian English
3596 Slave To Sensation Nalini Singh 2006 New Zealand English
3613 The Hating Game Sally Thorne 2016 Australian English
3614 A Hunger Like No Other Kresley Cole 2006 American English
3680 Erec And Enide Chrétien de Troyes 1160 French Old french
3681 The Romance of the Rose Guillaume (de Lorris) 1230 French Old french
3739 Jamila Chinghiz Aitmatov 1958 Kyrgyz Kyrgyz
3897 Longsword, Earl Of Salisbury Thomas Leland 1762 Irish English
3923 A Very Long Engagement Sebastien Japrisot 1991 French French
3938 Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda Becky Albertalli 2015 American English
4039 An Infamous Army Georgette Heyer 1937 British English
4149 Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo Taylor Jenkins Reid 2017 American English
4181 That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Demon Kimberly Lemming 2022 American English
4183 Bid Time Return Richard Matheson 1975 American English
4183 A Caribbean Heiress In Paris Adriana Herrera 2022 American English
4183 Before I Let Go Kennedy Ryan 2022 American English
4183 Honey And Spice Bolu Babalola 2022 British English
4183 Flowers From The Storm Laura Kinsale 1992 American English
4182 Endless Love Scott Spencer 1979 American English
4183 The Dead Romantics Ashley Poston 2022 American English
4190 You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty Akwaeke Emezi 2022 Nigerian English
4192 The Bridges Of Madison County Robert James Waller 1992 American English
4193 Heartstopper Alice Oseman 2018 British English
4191 The Bodyguard Katherine Center 2022 American English
4223 A Discovery Of Witches Deborah Harkness 2011 American English
4300 If Only It Were True Marc Levy 1999 French French
4319 Aphrodite Pierre Louÿs 1896 French French