Paul Gallico - The Lonely.

A straightforward romance about an American GI who is engaged to a girl back home, and a girl he meets when he's stationed in England.

The Time-Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffeneger. Though you've probably read this.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

Georgette Heyer in a nutshell. I gave up on romance years ago and recently "discovered" her (although it seems she's the Queen Bee who everyone knows about!). She is too witty and restrained for when I was young but now I love her books so passionately I'm grieved there are no more.
Romantic to the core is These Old Shades. I've read it fifty times. My other favorites are The Grand Sophy, Venetia, and The Quiet Gentleman. It seems everyone has their favorite and I don't always agree with others choices but these are mine.
Another favorite romance is Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart.

I have to mention the classic, Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor. I really should re-read this one myself. Despite the bodice-ripping-suggestion of a name, it's a fine story with lots of historical detail. Oh yeah, lots of romance, too! If you are a library goer, I'm sure you will find this.

And Katherine! That's my favorite Anya Seton.

Spoilers on books mentioned so far.

I do find it interesting what some consider romance. In my mind, certain rules have to be in place for me to like the story as a romance. Happily ever after is number one. That's why I found the ending of I Capture the Castle disappointing and ultimately unsatisfying. I have to have it spelled out! And Forever Amber...ughh. All that sleeping around and scheming ... Though I can glean the tiniest romance in a book and find that makes the whole thing worth reading!

Martin Cruz Smith's Rose is not a romance book per say but does have a great romance in the story. Same with Hannah Fowler and Crocodile on the Sandbank.

I second the recommendation of Anya Seton's Katherine. It is a very satisfying romantic novel and based on a true story.

Rosefolly

Ditto on Katharine. Also Far Pavillions by M.M. Kaye. In fact this book has something for everyone: romance, history, battles, family issues, politics. One of the best books I've read about India, and probably my top books when I think of the romance.

For a different kind of romance, Good Husband by Gail Godwin. The wife, a internationally renowned professor, is dying of cancer. The husband, a former priest who researches scultpures from the Middle Ages. Their love is one of those long lasting, till death do us part. Its paired with friends of theirs; a young couple who recently lost their child. Wonderful story, characters that you think about long afterwards.

So, I perused the shelves of my library and went home with Forever Amber, Katherine, The Far Pavilion and These Old Shades. I have I Capture the Castle somewhere in my TBR piles, I am on the hunt!

I fell in the camp that loved The Time Traveler's Wife, maybe I'll re-read.

Cindy--for me The Good Husband was one of those haunting books talked about on the other thread. I thought about that book long after I finished it. Unfortunately, I read it right before I became pregnant and so that passage about the stillbirth haunted me for nine months! Great book, though. I read it a year and a half ago and I still remember the characters vividly.

Thanks everyone--this has definitely gotten me started. More suggestions are welcome, though.

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters is not classified as a romance, and it has some drop over funny scenes, as it is satire (of the Victorian great adventure novels)-but it is the first in a series of mysteries with some "romance" in the best sense-not sloppy, but 'noble', so to speak. And, I think there are now 18 books in the series!

As the quantity increased, the quality dropped.

Do you think? I feel she has held up much better than, say, Martha Grimes. And I like how the second generation has been carried on-talk about romance!

I haven't read Martha Grimes but I gave up on Amelia about the time Ramses got married. I always liked the sexual tension in the characters but it kinda loses that after marriage! Although....one of my fav's is The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog. This is the one where Emerson gets amnesia so she was able to bring it back.

Sharon Kay Penman's Here Be Dragons was a wonderful period romance, at least as I read it. Same with Winston Graham's Poldark series. Also, Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer has two or three romantic relationships as the storyline.