ABSTRACT
While class has not generally been a central focus of research on the popular romance, it was a significant interest for some early scholarship on the popular romance novel, most notably research by Jan Cohn and Bridget Fowler. This chapter offers an overview of scholarly work on class and wealth in the popular romance as it has developed from Cohn and Fowler’s early interventions alongside sociological and cultural approaches to studying class. The chapter explores four key themes which have emerged from the study of class and wealth in popular romance novels: intersectionality; cross-class marriage and social mobility; romance as middle-class propaganda; and the implications of romance’s escapist qualities.
