While there are innumerable precedents for romantic fiction, other convincing contemporary love stories include The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx (1993; see separate entry) and Possession by A. S. Byatt (1990; see separate entry). While they are quite different, both use modern, hard-working characters to revisit the timeless subject of love. Byatt's and Proulx's prose will probably appeal to fans of Shields since they both carefully attend to language. The strong female characters, still susceptible to romance, provide a common thread among these novels.