The Companion is suitable for general readers and for those beginning their study of literature, as well as for readers seeking more specialized information on the issue of romance or on the individual types of writing, writers, and works considered.

Contributors to this volume:
Elizabeth Archibald, W. R. J. Barron, Derek Brewer, Helen Cooper, Richard Cronin, David Fairer, Robert Fraser, David Fuller, Jerrold E. Hogle, Kathryn Hume, Susan Jones, Andrew King, Edward Larrissy, Richard Mathews, Ulrika Maude, Clare Morgan, Lori Humphrey Newcomb, Francis O'Gorman, Michael O'Neill, Leonée Ormond, Lynne Pearce, Fiona Price, Clive Probyn, Fiona Robertson, Andrew Sanders, Corinne Saunders, John Simons, Raymond H. Thompson, Lisa Vargo, Judith Weiss