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25 November 2009
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Reader, I Married Him (Image: Daisy Goodwin)
  READER, I MARRIED HIM
Click here for broadcast times

Daisy Goodwin delves into one of the most successful literary genres - romantic fiction. From Jane Austen to the present day, via Mills & Boon, this three-part series explores the enduring appeal of the love story and the integral part it plays in readers' lives.

 
Novelist Jilly Cooper   HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Jilly Cooper, Joanna Trollope, Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes contribute to this episode looking at how the romantic fiction industry has grown and why it remains so popular. Daisy performs a scientific experiment to explore whether reading romantic novels can lower stress levels.

 
Colin Firth as Mr Darcy   HEROES
Daisy Goodwin finds that heroes of the 19th century - Darcy, Rochester and Heathcliff remain firm favourites for today's women. She creates an E-Fit of her Mr Darcy and goes to America in search of Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind. Interviews with P D James, Joanna Trollope and Andrew Davies.

 
Ruth Wilson as Jane Eyre   HEROINES
Contrary to what cynics might expect, romantic heroines have both reflected the times and have been role models for women. Daisy visits the set of the BBC's new Jane Eyre and spends a day with a Yorkshire book group. With Barbara Taylor-Bradford, Sophie Kinsella and Marina Warner.

 
   
 
 
QUIZ
Test your knowledge of romantic fiction
  Reader, I Married Him Quiz (Image: Dame Barbara Cartland)
WIDE SARGASSO SEA
Passionate romantic drama on BBC Four
Wide Sargasso Sea (Image: Rebecca Hall as Antoinette)

 HAVE YOUR SAY
Tell us what you think of the series

 JANE EYRE
The 2006 BBC One adaptation

BBC Links

BBC Radio 4: Woman's Hour
Men and romantic fiction

External Links

Daisy Goodwin
Official website

The Romantic Novelists'
Association

Society for people involved in writing and publishing romantic fiction

Brontë Parsonage Museum and Brontë Society
Brontë sisters: Lives and novels

The Republic of Pemberley
Site devoted to the life and work of
Jane Austen

Jilly Cooper
Official website

Barbara Taylor-Bradford
Official website

Joanna Trollope
Official website

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