Haywood is notable as a transgressive, outspoken writer of amatory fiction, plays, romance and novels. As its name implies, amatory fiction is preoccupied with sexual love and romance. Here Rowe seems to be conducting a campaign against the libertinism found in amatory fiction. Indeed, many themes of the contemporary romance novel were first explored in amatory fiction. Some of his journal entries and letters from this period describe his amatory exploits. Amatory fiction also explores issues of power, social convention, behavior reputation and gender identity. "The History of the Nun" belongs to the genre of amatory fiction. It is a piece of early 18th-century amatory fiction. For the women of amatory fiction, love typically ends in misery.