Francophone Perspectives on Romantic Fiction: From the Academic Field to Reader’s Experience (Interview with Agnès Caubet, Romance Reader and Webmaster of Les Romantiques, fan website and webzine)

Abstract

Although Francophone romance scholarship dates back to the 1980s, the scholars who write it are not generally familiar with the genre and French readers have rarely been interviewed. After examining why contempt for romantic fiction and romance readers remains predominant in the French academic context, this paper offers a conversational discussion between a scholar (Séverine Olivier) and a reader (Agnès Caubet) about the genre and its reception in France. In 2001, Agnès Caubet created Les Romantiques, the first and currently only Francophone website about the romance genre. Her own experience as reader, the importance of the website, discussion boards, a webzine she managed to launch and the contacts she established with French romance publishers open new perspectives on romantic readers and romance reading.

Keywords

• agnès caubet
• french academic field
• romance reader
• romance reading
• séverine olivier