Witty romance novels

December 3, 2008 5:48 AM

Anyone have recommendations re funny, satirical/barbed but also charming, romantic novels?

A novelistic equivalent to something like His Girl Friday would work - i.e., something where the comedy is not just a gentle undercurrent.

Would strongly prefer ideas where the characters are witty fast-talkers or are in comic situations, to stories where the narrative voice snarks, however wittily, on earnest characters.

Thanks!

posted by laumry to media & arts (33 comments total)

You could try the Flashman series by George Macdonald Fraser.

Not sure if they count as "romantic", insofar as he is a bit of a "rogue, blackguard and cad"... but very funny and also quite historically educational (in a roundabout way).
posted by Mephisto at 6:18 AM on December 3, 2008

Maybe PG Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster series would fit? "Romance" being used kind of loosely here..
posted by knile at 6:21 AM on December 3, 2008

Hi all - to clarify, I mean "romance" as in Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer, not as in Rafael Sabatini. Love stories, not adventure yarns.
posted by laumry at 6:23 AM on December 3, 2008

It's a love story, it's funny, it's barbed, it's charming....it's Still Life with Woodpecker, by Tom Robbins?
posted by RingerChopChop at 6:43 AM on December 3, 2008

The "?" means I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for...not any abiguity about who the author is.
posted by RingerChopChop at 6:46 AM on December 3, 2008

The woman who wrote 'Chocolat,' and 'Holy Fools,' whose name totally escapes me. Usually the romance is slightly subdued (not the primary focus), but I think the rest fits what you're looking for. They are very available in libraries, to try them out.
posted by cobaltnine at 6:50 AM on December 3, 2008

Are you interested in love stories that are also adventure yarns, or also mystery/sci-fi/fantasy/etc? The "people have exciting adventures" form is pretty good for comic situations and cheery banter. Also, how do you feel about unhappy endings?

Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons. 1930s English comedy; the focus isn't on one specific romance, but on several (and some associated problems), as the practical-minded heroine sorts out everyone else's lives. Some earnest characters, but the narrative voice is definitely amused rather than snarky, and most of the comedy is situational or character-based.

Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones. YA fantasy, which might not be your thing, but it's a really lovely book; romance and adventure and jokes, again mostly situation-based. One of those books that I avoided rereading for years because I didn't want to ruin my memory of it, but it turns out it's actually really good.

In Cold Domain, Anne Fine. Family comedy with a couple of distinct romances that co-exist on pretty equal terms with all the familial stuff.
posted by severalbees at 6:50 AM on December 3, 2008

Hmm. If you say "something like Jane Austen," then you've probably already read (and hopefully enjoyed!) the charming Northanger Abbey. If you haven't already read it, it's brilliant.

As for another idea -- if you're willing to take on a hefty amount of detective work along with your romance, you might enjoy Dorothy Sayers. She has a great British wit with lots of quick-paced banter. Two of her books, Gaudy Night, and Busman's Honeymoon, have a more prominent romantic relationship than others.

Of course, they are not romance books in the canonical sense, but you may enjoy them.
posted by fantine at 6:55 AM on December 3, 2008

Maybe Anne Tyler?
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:55 AM on December 3, 2008

The Mil Millington novel "A Certain Chemistry" is all of these things, and very funny.
posted by bent back tulips at 6:59 AM on December 3, 2008

Nick Hornby's High Fidelity is a comic romance of sorts...
posted by Jahaza at 7:33 AM on December 3, 2008

Love Monkey by Kyle Smith was pretty amusing and witty. Maybe more lad-lit then romance, though.
posted by backwards guitar at 7:51 AM on December 3, 2008

Anything Nancy Mitford. I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith is pretty good, too.

If you're looking for chicklit, early Jenny Colgan or Jennifer Weiner should do you.
posted by mippy at 7:56 AM on December 3, 2008

The Easy Hour: A Novel of Leisure by Leslie Stella had this sort of feel for me. Modern workplace, witty, self-deprecating heroine caught in ridiculous situations, and an unlikely romantic interest.
posted by pekala at 7:56 AM on December 3, 2008

2nding High Fidelity. Also by Nick Hornby, About A Boy is a bit less focused on romance but it seems to be what you're looking for.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 8:02 AM on December 3, 2008

Phew! You have laid out an extremely difficult task. In order for a romance to sweep the reader away the tone of the novel must be serious at least where the main characters are concerned. While secondary characters can be hilarious, for the reader to feel the full impact of romance the feelings of the main love interest must be given weight. A light touch, a jokey approach, seldom leads to a satisfactory outcome.

All of the books mentioned so far have one of the two elements you require missing. For example, the Lord Peter Wimsey--Harriet Vane love story arc is extremely romantic-- so much so that Dorothy Sayers was chided by her peers for falling in love with her main character-- but they aren't funny. Peter and Harriet are both very intelligent and very sensitive-- Peter in fact is a bundle of raw nerves-- which makes their relationship fraught with difficulties, and ultimately, very satisfying.

Mil Millington and P.G. Wodehouse, on the other hand, can be convulsively funny writers but the love stories in their novels are triflings; they will make you smile but they won't inspire you. The same goes for Dave Barry and Carl Hiaasen.

Cold Comfort Farm is another one that is outrageously funny but not terrribly romantic.

Looking at my bookshelves, I remember Moo by Jane Smiley being so funny and so clever I had to buy my own copy after reading the library's but the love interest isn't very memorable.

The closest I can come is some romance mixed in with humor: Nancy Mitford's Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:11 AM on December 3, 2008

I might as well light my English major on fire, but I loved Bridget Jones' Diary, and not because of the specious Jane Austen structure. Funny, cute, and the love interests are both very witty.
posted by zoomorphic at 8:18 AM on December 3, 2008

Secret Life of Gravy,

I'd like to take slight (and polite, of course) umbrage with your comment that Peter & Harriet "aren't funny." While their relationship is far from being a bundle of laughs, they do have excellent dialogue that certainly qualifies as witty. I'm not saying your commentary is invalid, just that there *is* humour in those novels despite the drama.

[thread derailing done]
posted by fantine at 8:24 AM on December 3, 2008

It's not entirely romantic, but Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh, is hilarious. Barbed and tender at once. I just got it off the shelf to make sure I wasn't misremembering, and opened to the scene where Charles Ryder's father is pretending their dinner guest is an American as a part of their long detente during Charles's summer at home. It's so good.

I feel like I'm always recommending Brideshead Revisited on AskMe. But with reason.
posted by felix grundy at 8:31 AM on December 3, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Tabitha King (Stephen's wife) wrote one called One on One that I kind of liked- takes place between the weird poor punk kid and the basketball star in a highschool in - ba-ding! - Maine in the 1990s.

Fermata or Vox by Nicholson Baker.

Nthing High Fidelity & About a Boy by Nick Hornby.

Blankets by Craig Thomson. It's a graphic novel, and it's more sweeping the funny- it's great.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 9:14 AM on December 3, 2008

What about a funny SF romance? Lois McMaster Bujold's A Civil Campaign
posted by mmkhd at 9:47 AM on December 3, 2008

[thread derailing done]

I don't think this is a thread derail because it goes right to the ..ahem...heart of the matter. The definition of witty is original, clever, insightful, funny and humorous speech or writing; in so many of the British books mentioned the wit is more observant and dry, less belly ha- ha and more "hmmm that is clever." When I think of funny I guess I think more along the lines of ridiculous, laugh-out-loud in the Mil Millington category. Gaudy Night is most definitely not in that category. The exchanges between Harriet and Peter are smart and clever but rarely light. I haven't read the books for years, but my memories are that their relationship is almost painfully serious and filled with misunderstandings.

So I guess it depends on your definition of "funny."

Also, I don't think that it is a coincidence that most of the books mentioned so far are British. Perhaps a sense of detachment is necessary (and British characters are so often cool, detached, and self-deprecating) in order to combine romance with humor. You have to pretend you don't care in order to banter and exchange witty barbs. For example, I would say that John Irving's characters are just the opposite-- they take themselves too seriously. His books combine humor, relationships, and intelligent dialog, but I wouldn't say that his work abounds with witty humor, more a zaniness. His characters are funny because they are so absurd or find themselves in absurd situations, not because they banter so intelligently. (I also would not recommend his books to the O.P. because the relationships are not conventionally romantic.)
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:56 AM on December 3, 2008

One last suggestion before I go (of course it is British!) To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. This is a very delightful novel that combines Victorian England, Time Travel, romance, and absurd situations. One of my favorite books but so difficult to describe. Don't let the "Time Travel" part put you off-- it is really very charming.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:03 AM on December 3, 2008

Christopher Moore's "You Suck" is a comic romance. About vampires.

But still romantic. I liked it.
posted by Thistledown at 10:16 AM on December 3, 2008

I came here to add To Say Nothing of the Dog to the list, so now I'll just second it. It was what popped into mind as soon as I read your question.
posted by Brody's chum at 10:29 AM on December 3, 2008

Tales of the City?
maybe also
Frozen Music by Marika Cobbold, where the heroine is contrary and romatically cack-handed
and
The Course of Honour, Lindsey Davis, which is in the same hard-boiled style as her Roman detective stories, the couple are Hepburn/Tracey. Really well told, gorgeous story.
posted by runincircles at 11:06 AM on December 3, 2008

Several books by Tom Holt might qualify, particularly You Don't Have to be Evil to Work Here, but it Helps. It definitely falls on the absurd comedy side of the romance/comedy spectrum, and there's a lot of zany British fantasy flying around as well, but the plot does center around an unlikely romance.

*makes a note to check out To Say Nothing of the Dog*
posted by Caduceus at 11:13 AM on December 3, 2008

When I think of funny I guess I think more along the lines of ridiculous, laugh-out-loud in the Mil Millington category. Gaudy Night is most definitely not in that category.

I have laughed out loud while reading many of the Lord Peter / Harriet stories.

I've found some of the Amelia Peabody books to be both romantic and funny. They're more funny than romantic, though, and to enjoy the romance you really have to read them in order starting way back.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:20 PM on December 3, 2008

Nthing To Say Nothing of the Dog, adding Bellwether (also by Connie Willis) and The Mackerel Plaza by Peter De Vries.
posted by Bigfoot Mandala at 5:28 PM on December 3, 2008

Nthing High Fidelity, and Cold Comfort Farm. I have a sense that Evelyn Waugh could be what you're looking for too, but I haven't read enough to recommend anything particular.

What about 'The Eyre Affair' by Jasper Fforde? If you've read Wuthering Heights, chances are you've read Jane Eyre (or seen the movie). It's definitely witty and clever and pointedly funny, and there is a strong romance plot. There's also a lot of adventure though, and the charming part more comes from the tie in to the classic book characters, but I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

What about something by Louis de Bernieres? I'm not a big fan of Captain Corelli, though I think that would fit your request best of his books, but I love the South American trilogy he wrote. It's more broadly satirical than funny (though there are some funny bits), and the romance is one part among many, but they're some of my favourite books.

The Princess Bride? Many people like the book more than the movie (though I am not one of them). Anne of Green Gables? Shakespeare does satirical/charming pretty well...The Merry Wives of Windsor? Not exactly a novel though...

Good question though!
posted by Emilyisnow at 12:17 AM on December 4, 2008

Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis. Very funny... and still romantic, though not in a typical way.
posted by Jahaza at 10:32 AM on December 4, 2008

There are several regency romance authors that work in the vein of Georgette Heyer. The first one that comes to mind is Loretta Chase. Try "Lord of Scoundrels" or reprints of older titles like "The Knaves' Wager", "The English Witch".

Connie Brockway has a couple of Edwardian romances "The Bridal Season/Favor" that should fit the bill as well.

Laura London's "Windflower" is a classic in its day. Almost all the best lines goes to the pirates.
posted by of strange foe at 12:14 PM on December 4, 2008

Dear all,

Thanks for the answers. I'll plough through this list and come back to shade some best answers when I can.

Warm regards, and good luck for 2009!
posted by laumry at 7:58 AM on January 4