Difference between revisions of "Mills and Boon"

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[[Category:Romance History]][[Category:Publishers]][[category:Harlequin]]
 
[[Category:Romance History]][[Category:Publishers]][[category:Harlequin]]
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'''Mills & Boon Limited''' was founded in 1908 by Gerald Mills and Charles Boon, and soon romance fiction became the [[Publishers|publisher]]'s primary business. As the company grew, its books became known as "the books in brown" (see: [http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/cgi-bin/millsandboon.storefront/43f7c39e0016dbbe2740c0a801a506ef/Catalog/1124 Mills & Boon history]).
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[[Image:MB logo.jpg|left]]
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'''Mills & Boon''' has become a hallmark for romantic fiction and made it into the Oxford English Dictionary, meaning "a (type of) popular romantic novel". The publisher celebrated a ''100 years of pure reading pleasure'' in 2008.
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[[Image:MB logo2.jpg|right]]
  
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By building a strong relationship with libraries and making their product available through newsagents, Mills & Boon's reasonably priced product was easy-to-purchase, leading to increased sales. In 1957, [[Harlequin Enterprises Limited]], then a smaller publisher, acquired rights to Mills & Boon's "doctor/nurse" romances, and eventually romance fiction comprised Harlequin's entire list. [[Harlequin Enterprises Limited]] purchased Mills & Boon in 1971 and [[Harlequin]] publishes Mills & Boon books under that name.
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== The Company ==
 +
'''Mills & Boon Limited''' was founded in 1908 by Gerald Mills and Charles Boon. Although  publishing writers like comic novelist P. G Wodehouse in the beginning, romance fiction became the publisher's primary business. As the company grew, its books became known as ''the books in brown'' in the 1920s because of their distinctive binding, although eye catching dust jackets became the selling points in the 1930s. Equally new was the idea to publish new titles in regular intervals - every fortnight - thus setting the pattern for many romance lines to follow.
  
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==Imprints==
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By building a strong relationship with lending libraries and making their product available through newsagents, Mills & Boon's reasonably priced product was easy-to-purchase, leading to increased sales. In 1957, [[Harlequin Enterprises Limited]], then a smaller publisher, acquired rights to Mills & Boon's [[Mills and Boon Medical Romance|Doctor Nurse Romances]], which lead to eventually romance fiction comprising [[Harlequin|Harlequin's]] entire list. From that moment on both companies bought titles from each other.  
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Mills & Boon continues to publish a wide range of titles under various [[Harlequin#Current_Mills_&_Boon_Imprints|lines]] every month.  
 
  
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By the early 1960's the lending libraries were beginning to close down as the public turned more and more to buying the now well-established, readily available and very reasonably priced paperback editions. Mills & Boon, faced with a rapid decline of its traditional market, investigated the possibility of publishing its hitherto hardcover editions in paperback format. For a while paperback [[Harlequin Romance|Harlequin Romances]] were published as ''Mills & Boon Romances'' in the UK but kept their original [[Harlequin Romance]] numbering. [[Jane Fraser]] - a pseudonym of [[Rosamunde Pilcher]] - published [[Young Bar]] in 1952 as Mills & Boon hardcover, was reissued in North America as [[Harlequin Romance By The Numbers|Harlequin Romance #958]] in October 1965 and came back to the UK as Mills & Boon Romance #958 in 1966, printed in Canada ([http://catalogue.bl.uk/ search here]).
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In the 1960s Mills & Boon launched its own paperback [[Mills and Boon Romance|Mills & Boon Romance]] imprint although hardcovers remained a major output. Until today (2008) most titles of the genuine Mills & Boon imprints (the two ''Romance'' lines and the medical and historical romances) are released 2 month prior to the [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0263852180/ref=nosim/103-3685024-2000659?n=283155 paperback edition] as a limited edition of [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/026319292X/ref=nosim/103-3685024-2000659?n=283155 hardcovers], and months later as [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0263193594/ref=nosim/103-3685024-2000659?n=283155 large prints]. Thus many paperback series titles of January and February have a copyright date of the previous year.
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[[Harlequin Enterprises Limited]] purchased '''Mills & Boon Limited''' in 1971, but only as late as May 1995 the publisher's name changed to '''Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited''', whereas '''Mills & Boon''' is still used for the imprints.
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In 1974 Mills & Boon established ''Mills & Boon Australia'', now [[Harlequin Mills and Boon|Harlequin Mills & Boon]], the first venture outside North-America and the United Kingdom. The latest step abroad was founding ''Harlequin Mills & Boon India Private Ltd'' in December 2007 to distribute Mills & Boon titles printed in India for the [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/india/article3237679.ece Indian market]
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When [[Harlequin Enterprises Limited]] bought [[Silhouette]] in 1984, Mills & Boon took over publishing the [[Silhouette Desire]] and [[Silhouette Special Edition]] imprints in the UK from [[Hodder and Stoughton |Hodder & Stoughton ]] and set up its own ''Silhouette'' line. In March 2007 the ''Silhouette'' nomination was dropped and all imprints were labelled ''Mills & Boon''.
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Mills & Boon adopted the [[Mira]] imprint in 1995 as a line to publish single titles. It included releases from the North American imprint of that name as well as [[Harlequin]] and [[Silhouette]] ''Special Releases'' and lately [[HQN]] titles.
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For a long time every Mills & Boon and ''Silhouette'' imprint had its characteristic cover. This changed in July 2000 when the Mills & Boon imprints got an uniform cover and only the different colouring marked the imprint. These covers got a complete overhaul in July 2004 and July 2007, the later including the former ''Silhouette'' imprints, renamed to ''Mills & Boon'' in March 2007.
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== Online ==
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* [http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/ Mills & Boon's homepage and online store]
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== Imprints ==
 
=== Current Imprints ===
 
=== Current Imprints ===
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* [[By Request]]
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* [[Mills and Boon Blaze|Blaze]] - titles form the [[Harlequin Blaze]] imprint with independent numbering and different covers
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* [[Historical Romance]] (formerly [[Masquerade Historical Romance]] and [[Legacy of Love]])
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* [[Mills and Boon By Request|By Request]] - reissue series for Mills & Boon titles
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* [[Medical Romance]] (formerly [[Doctor Nurse Romance]] and [[Love on Call]])
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* [[Mills and Boon Cherish|Cherish]]
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* [[Modern Romance]]
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* [[Mills and Boon Desire|Desire]] - two titles from the [[Silhouette Desire]] imprint in one volume (formerly also called ''Silhouette Desire'')
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* [[Mills and Boon Historical Romance|Historical]]™ (formerly called ''Masquerade Historical Romance'', ''Legacy of Love'' and ''Historical Romance'')
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* [[Mills and Boon Intrigue|Intrigue]] - suspense titles form various [[Harlequin]] and [[Silhouette]] imprints (formerly called ''Silhouette Intrigue'')
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* [[Mills and Boon Medical Romance|Medical]]™ (formerly called ''Doctor Nurse Romance'', ''Love on Call'' and ''Medical Romance'')
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* [[Modern Romance|Modern]]™ - (formerly called ''Modern Romance and replacing ''the ''[[Mills and Boon Presents|Mills & Boon Presents]]'' line)
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* [[Riva]]
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* [[Mills and Boon New Romance|Romance]] (formerly the ''[[Mills and Boon Enchanted|Mills & Boon Enchanted]]'' and ''[[Tender Romance]]'' line)
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* [[Mills and Boon Special Edition|Special Edition]] - titles from the [[Silhouette Special Edition]] imprint with independent numbering and different covers (formerly also called ''Silhouette Special Edition'')
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* [[Mills and Boon Special Releases|Special Releases]]
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* [[Mills and Boon Spotlight|Spotlight]] - reissue series for the Mills & Boon ''Silhouette'' titles
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* [[Mills and Boon Superromance|SuperRomance]] - titles form the [[Harlequin Superromance]] imprint with independent numbering and different covers (formerly called ''Silhouette SuperRomance'')
  
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=== Defunct Mills & Boon Imprints===
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=== Defunct Imprints ===
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* [[Tender Romance]]
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* [[Mills and Boon Best Seller Romance|Best Seller Romance]] - reissue series (formerly ''Classics'' and ''Favourites'')
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* [[Mills and Boon Duet|Duet]] - reissue series (formerly ''The Best of''  and ''Collection'')
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* [[Mills and Boon Enchanted|Enchanted]]™ - was replaced by the [[Tender Romance]] line
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* [[Harlequin Love Affair]] - titles of the [[Harlequin American Romance]] imprint; was replaced by the [[Silhouette Sensation]] imprint
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* [[Modern Extra|Modern (Romance)™ Extra]] - supplement series to [[Modern Romance|Modern Romance™/Modern™]]; was replaced by the [[Modern Heat|Modern™ Heat]]
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* [[Modern Heat|Modern™ Heat]] - supplement series to [[Modern Romance|Modern Romance™/Modern™]] appears to be replaced by the [[Riva]] line
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* [[Mills and Boon Packs|Packs]] - 3 or 4 themed titles in a slipcase
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* [[Mills and Boon Presents|Mills & Boon Presents]]™ - was replaced by the [[Modern Romance]]™ line
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* [[Mills and Boon Romance|Romance]] - split into the two current ''Romance'' lines
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* [[Mills and Boon Sensual Romance|Sensual Romance]]™ - titles of the [[Harlequin Temptation]] imprint; was discontinued when that line ceased
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* [[Silhouette Sensation]] - titles of the [[Silhouette Intimate Moments]] and [[Harlequin American Romance]] imprints; was merged into the [[Mills and Boon Intrigue|Mills & Boon Intrigue]] imprint
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* [[Tender Romance]]™ - was replaced by the [[Mills and Boon New Romance|Mills & Boon (New) Romance]]
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* [[Mills and Boon Temptation|Temptation]] - titles form the [[Harlequin Temptation]] imprint with independent numbering and different covers; was replaced by the [[Mills and Boon Sensual Romance|Sensual Romance]] imprint
  
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== Online ==
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=== Reissue Series/Collections ===
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* [http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/cgi-bin/millsandboon.storefront/EN/Catalog Mills & Boon]
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* [[Mills and Boon 100th Birthday Collection|100th Birthday Collection]]
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=== Articles/Press ===
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* [[Mills and Boon Collector's Edition|Collector's Edition]] of bestselling authors
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* [[Foreign Affairs]]
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* [[Mills and Boon Holiday Collections|Holiday Collections]]
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* [[Lords And Ladies Collection|Lord & Ladies Collection]]
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* [[Queens Of Romance - Collection|Queens Of Romance]]
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* [[Regency Brides Collection]]
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* [[The Regency Collection]]
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* The Regency Rakes, [[The Regency Rakes - First Series|First Series]] and [[The Regency Rakes - Second Series|Second Series]]
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== More about Mills & Boon on the Web  ==
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* Mills & Boon's history on its [http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/cgi-bin/millsandboon.filereader?461262c700a12d24273f58d0dc9e068f+EN/catalogs/1124 website]
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* Joseph McAleer, Passion's Fortune: The Story of Mills & Boon, Oxford University Press, 1999; The history of Mills & Boon, written for the 90th anniversary of the firm in 1998, with a very detailed account of the relationship between Mills & Boon and [[Harlequin]] in the early days of their cooperation and eventually merger - partly available via [http://books.google.de/books?id=wjS2ORhcB0UC&printsec=frontcover#PPP15,M1 Google Books].
 
* [http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/100-years-of-romancing-.3631764.jp 100 years of romancing the readers] - Yorkshire Press (1/2008)
 
* [http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/100-years-of-romancing-.3631764.jp 100 years of romancing the readers] - Yorkshire Press (1/2008)
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* Some hints on the [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3246700.ece guidelines] for a Mills & Boon romance.
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* [http://www.penny-jordan.co.uk/youtube.htm Interview] with [[Penny Jordan]] and Roger Sanderson (aka [[Gill Sanderson]]) at the Sky Book Show about writing a Mills & Boon novel.
 
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/pip/mtwqo/ A Hundred Years of Mills and Boon] - British comedian Lucy Porter examines the centennial of Mills & Boon on this radio program. Guests include Helen Fielding, Fay Weldon, and Roger Sanderson, a male romance novelist.
 
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/pip/mtwqo/ A Hundred Years of Mills and Boon] - British comedian Lucy Porter examines the centennial of Mills & Boon on this radio program. Guests include Helen Fielding, Fay Weldon, and Roger Sanderson, a male romance novelist.
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* [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/the-iconic-artwork-of-mills-and-boon-1772186.html?action=Popup&ino=1 The Iconic Artwork of Mills & Boon] - A slideshow of classic covers through the ages.
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* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/millsandboon/ Mills & Boon on Flickr] - The M&B Photostream on Flickr, many covers shown.
 
* Many more items on Mills & Boon are listed in the page about [[Romance in the Media]].
 
* Many more items on Mills & Boon are listed in the page about [[Romance in the Media]].

Latest revision as of 20:26, 6 December 2015

MB logo.jpg

Mills & Boon has become a hallmark for romantic fiction and made it into the Oxford English Dictionary, meaning "a (type of) popular romantic novel". The publisher celebrated a 100 years of pure reading pleasure in 2008.

MB logo2.jpg

The Company

Mills & Boon Limited was founded in 1908 by Gerald Mills and Charles Boon. Although publishing writers like comic novelist P. G Wodehouse in the beginning, romance fiction became the publisher's primary business. As the company grew, its books became known as the books in brown in the 1920s because of their distinctive binding, although eye catching dust jackets became the selling points in the 1930s. Equally new was the idea to publish new titles in regular intervals - every fortnight - thus setting the pattern for many romance lines to follow.

By building a strong relationship with lending libraries and making their product available through newsagents, Mills & Boon's reasonably priced product was easy-to-purchase, leading to increased sales. In 1957, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, then a smaller publisher, acquired rights to Mills & Boon's Doctor Nurse Romances, which lead to eventually romance fiction comprising Harlequin's entire list. From that moment on both companies bought titles from each other.

By the early 1960's the lending libraries were beginning to close down as the public turned more and more to buying the now well-established, readily available and very reasonably priced paperback editions. Mills & Boon, faced with a rapid decline of its traditional market, investigated the possibility of publishing its hitherto hardcover editions in paperback format. For a while paperback Harlequin Romances were published as Mills & Boon Romances in the UK but kept their original Harlequin Romance numbering. Jane Fraser - a pseudonym of Rosamunde Pilcher - published Young Bar in 1952 as Mills & Boon hardcover, was reissued in North America as Harlequin Romance #958 in October 1965 and came back to the UK as Mills & Boon Romance #958 in 1966, printed in Canada (search here).

In the 1960s Mills & Boon launched its own paperback Mills & Boon Romance imprint although hardcovers remained a major output. Until today (2008) most titles of the genuine Mills & Boon imprints (the two Romance lines and the medical and historical romances) are released 2 month prior to the paperback edition as a limited edition of hardcovers, and months later as large prints. Thus many paperback series titles of January and February have a copyright date of the previous year.

Harlequin Enterprises Limited purchased Mills & Boon Limited in 1971, but only as late as May 1995 the publisher's name changed to Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited, whereas Mills & Boon is still used for the imprints.

In 1974 Mills & Boon established Mills & Boon Australia, now Harlequin Mills & Boon, the first venture outside North-America and the United Kingdom. The latest step abroad was founding Harlequin Mills & Boon India Private Ltd in December 2007 to distribute Mills & Boon titles printed in India for the Indian market

When Harlequin Enterprises Limited bought Silhouette in 1984, Mills & Boon took over publishing the Silhouette Desire and Silhouette Special Edition imprints in the UK from Hodder & Stoughton and set up its own Silhouette line. In March 2007 the Silhouette nomination was dropped and all imprints were labelled Mills & Boon.

Mills & Boon adopted the Mira imprint in 1995 as a line to publish single titles. It included releases from the North American imprint of that name as well as Harlequin and Silhouette Special Releases and lately HQN titles.

For a long time every Mills & Boon and Silhouette imprint had its characteristic cover. This changed in July 2000 when the Mills & Boon imprints got an uniform cover and only the different colouring marked the imprint. These covers got a complete overhaul in July 2004 and July 2007, the later including the former Silhouette imprints, renamed to Mills & Boon in March 2007.

Online

Imprints

Current Imprints

Defunct Imprints

Reissue Series/Collections

More about Mills & Boon on the Web

  • Mills & Boon's history on its website
  • Joseph McAleer, Passion's Fortune: The Story of Mills & Boon, Oxford University Press, 1999; The history of Mills & Boon, written for the 90th anniversary of the firm in 1998, with a very detailed account of the relationship between Mills & Boon and Harlequin in the early days of their cooperation and eventually merger - partly available via Google Books.
  • 100 years of romancing the readers - Yorkshire Press (1/2008)
  • Some hints on the guidelines for a Mills & Boon romance.
  • Interview with Penny Jordan and Roger Sanderson (aka Gill Sanderson) at the Sky Book Show about writing a Mills & Boon novel.
  • A Hundred Years of Mills and Boon - British comedian Lucy Porter examines the centennial of Mills & Boon on this radio program. Guests include Helen Fielding, Fay Weldon, and Roger Sanderson, a male romance novelist.
  • The Iconic Artwork of Mills & Boon - A slideshow of classic covers through the ages.
  • Mills & Boon on Flickr - The M&B Photostream on Flickr, many covers shown.
  • Many more items on Mills & Boon are listed in the page about Romance in the Media.
Retrieved from "https://romancewiki.bham.ac.uk//index.php?title=Mills_and_Boon&oldid=140900"