The Art of Romance: Harlequin Mills & Boon Cover Designs

Since 1908 readers have been finding respite from the vagaries of everyday life in the pages of novels published by Mills & Boon. Now part of the Harlequin group, the world's largest romance publisher, the company has published thousands of titles each with its own distinctive jacket art. Part of a centenary celebration, this collection of some two hundred Mills & Boon covers offers a fascinating visual record of how our perceptions of romance, love and drama have evolved over the years. With titles such as Romance Goes Tenting , Egyptian Honeymoon and Beware the Beast , these novels' contents have changed dramatically as women defined their roles in the 1920s and 1930s; searched for heroes during World War II; strove for careers in the 1950s; engaged in free love in the 1960s; yearned for sexual emancipation in the 1970s and 1980s; and, ultimately learned a lot about self-reliance while waiting for Prince Charming to show up.These social transformations are reflected in the covers, chronologically arranged as full-color plates. An introduction charts the changing themes of the novels and explores the reasons behind the enduring popularity of the romance novel.