IU's extensive romance novel collection on display
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte is on display (left). Author Beverly Jenkins (right) is a pioneering voice in the industry. Photos: James Brosher/Indiana University; Courtesy of Beverly Jenkins
Love is in more than the air — it's also between the covers of dozens of books on display at IU's Lilly Library.
Why it matters: The "Love in the Library" exhibit, a unique collection of romance novels including first-edition printings of classics like "Pride and Prejudice" and "Jane Eyre" and the first 1,500 Harlequin Presents paperbacks, closes Friday.
Driving the news: A conversation with pioneering romance author Beverly Jenkins on Thursday will help close out the exhibit.
- The Michigan native helped expand the genre with the publication of her first novel "Night Song" in 1994, a story about a Black school teacher and a member of the Buffalo soldiers in 1880s Kansas.
- For three decades, Jenkins has written dozens of romances centered on Black characters and Black history.
What she's saying: "I'd always loved a good love story," Jenkins told Axios, "even though there was nothing in the majority culture that supported love stories for people who were not straight and white. I was just writing it at home for me."
- Eventually, she found an agent and, once that first book was published, an audience hungry for the stories she had to tell.
"We brought over $1 billion to the table last year so somebody is reading them and it's not just little old ladies," Jenkins said of the booming romance book industry.
State of play: The Lilly Library became one of the first in the nation with a significant collection of romance novels when it acquired a curated selection in 2021 from Rebecca Romney, an author, scholar and book historian who set out to preserve 100 important works in the genre.
- Rebecca Baumann, head of curatorial services and curator of modern books at Lilly Library, said the genre hasn't been taken seriously, in part, because the majority of its readers are women.
- That's changing as the genre surges in popularity, with more stores, clubs and resources catering to a passionate audience.
What's next: On the cusp of turning 74, Jenkins said she has no plans to stop writing.
- Her next book in the Blessings series is due out this summer and she's got a romantic thriller in the works. She's mulling a dragon fantasy, too.
If you go: "Love in the Library" is on display at the Lilly Library, 1200 E. 7th St., Bloomington through Friday.
- It opens at 9:30am each day and closes at 5:30pm Wednesday and Thursday and 5pm Friday.
- Jenkins' talk begins at 5:30pm Thursday. There's a waitlist to attend, but you can stream it online and attend a pop-up exhibition beforehand (4:30pm) and a book sale, signing and reception after (6:30pm).