Top 10 Iconic Romantic Tales in Literature

Dive into these timeless novels filled with unforgettable love stories that will leave you breathless. While not every tale ends happily, the depth of emotion and passion within these pages is guaranteed to keep you enthralled.

1. Love in the Time of Cholera (1985) // Gabriel García Márquez

The youthful romance between Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza is fated for sorrow. Fermina eventually weds Dr. Juvenal Urbino, a doctor battling cholera, and they age together. After her husband’s death, Florentino, who never stopped loving her despite numerous affairs, seizes the opportunity to rekindle their bond. “This novel was a joy to write,” Gabriel García Márquez—whose own parents’ love story influenced the narrative—remarked in a 1988 interview. “It could have been endless, but I restrained it. The lives of two people in love are infinitely rich.”

2. Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) // Zora Neale Hurston

This Harlem Renaissance masterpiece, set in early 20th-century Florida, solidified Zora Neale Hurston’s legacy as a literary icon. The tale, a tribute to Black love, evolves into a layered exploration of gender dynamics and female autonomy. Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake is passionate yet flawed, culminating in heartbreak, but her pursuit of love and equality over dominance and control highlights a love that is both resilient and uplifting.

While the novel is now revered as a classic, it initially faced criticism from her contemporaries. “Miss Hurston appears to have no inclination toward serious fiction ... Her novel’s vivid imagery lacks depth, theme, or intellectual weight,” novelist Richard Wright remarked.

3. The Thorn Birds (1977) // Colleen McCullough

This story of forbidden love between Meggie Cleary and an older priest dominated The New York Times’s best-seller list for over a year. Starting with Meggie as a 4-year-old in the rugged Australian Outback, the narrative spans decades, revealing family secrets, betrayal, and loss that challenge love and loyalty. The novel’s immense popularity led to a historic $1.9 million sale of paperback rights for The Thorn Birds in 1977.

4. Norwegian Wood (1987) // Haruki Murakami 

This is far from a light-hearted tale of growing up. In the novel—named after a Beatles song—Toru Watanabe reflects on his student days in 1960s Tokyo, a period marked by love, yearning, and heartbreak. His journey through relationships with two contrasting women, set against the backdrop of student protests and societal upheaval, is deeply moving. The book marked a shift from Murakami’s usual surrealism: “I could have remained a cult writer with surrealistic works, but I aimed for the mainstream by proving I could write realistically,” he explained in a 2004 interview with The Paris Review.

5. The Notebook (1996) // Nicholas Sparks 

Nicholas Sparks made a remarkable debut in the literary world. Elderly Noah Calhoun recounts a story to Allie, who battles dementia, revealing it to be their own love story—a heartfelt effort to rekindle her memory of their enduring romance.

Noah and Allie’s romance was inspired by the grandparents of the author’s then-wife. “The way his eyes lit up when he looked at her, how he held her hand, and cared for her by fetching tea. Watching them, I realized that after sixty years of marriage, they treated each other with the same tenderness my wife and I shared after just twelve hours,” the author shared on his website.

6. Outlander (1991) // Diana Gabaldon

This time-traveling love story has enthralled readers since the 1990s. Claire, transported from 1946 to 18th-century Scotland, meets Jamie, a Jacobite rebel hunted by the English. Their love transcends time, spawning a series Gabaldon continues to expand—remarkable considering she initially wrote the novel as a practice exercise.

7. The Duke and I (2000) // Julia Quinn

Daphne Bridgerton and Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, face challenges in Regency England’s 1813 marriage scene; Daphne struggles to find a worthy match, while Simon is overwhelmed by his own desirability. Their scheme to use each other for romantic advantage evolves from a pretend courtship into genuine affection. In 2020, Netflix adapted the novel into a series, and by the release of the second season in spring 2022, it became the platform’s most-watched English-language show.

8. Pride and Prejudice (1813) // Jane Austen

Jane Austen is renowned for crafting timeless love stories, and her tale of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is no different. Pride and Prejudice, with its iconic enemies-to-lovers arc, has captivated readers for centuries since its anonymous publication. (Austen omitted her name from her works; Pride and Prejudice was credited simply as “by the author of Sense and Sensibility.”)

9. Jane Eyre (1847) // Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre’s journey to love with Edward Rochester is fraught with challenges. Despite a life marked by hardship and tragedy, Jane’s unwavering commitment to her principles leads her to the love she has always desired. Elements of the novel draw from Brontë’s own experiences: like Jane, she endured a harsh school and worked as a governess, and she once visited a home with its own secluded “madwoman.”

10. Like Water for Chocolate (1992) // Laura Esquivel

Like Water for Chocolate brims with passion, both uplifting and tumultuous. Despite her abusive mother’s decree forbidding her marriage, Tita falls deeply in love with her neighbor Pedro. Through her culinary talents and a touch of the supernatural, Tita eventually escapes her mother’s control to follow her heart. Food plays a pivotal role in the story. “Recipes are a way to narrate family history,” the author explained to the South Florida Sun Sentinel in 1993. Esquivel, who grew up cooking with her mother and grandmother, incorporated many of her family’s recipes into the book.