Mills & Boon Limited was founded in 1908 by Gerald Mills and Charles Boon. Mills & Boon is a British publisher of romance novels and was independent until its purchase in 1971 by Harlequin Enterprises with whom the company had had a long informal partnership.

The Mills & Boon Company is one hundred years old. Mills and Boon epitomizes the genre of romance novels. The novels are specifically written for the lady readers by lady novelists, who understand the dilemma of women in love much better than their male counterparts.

Content
Mills & Boon romance novels deal with love in contemporary times. The writers are from different parts of the world and so in their writings, the flavor of the local life and customs are found. Different categories of Mills & Boon novels make an engrossing read while catering to readers with particular preferences.

Modern Romance and Romance deal with men and women finding love in this jet set age. However the Modern Romance category sees more intimacy between the couple. Historical Romance, as the name suggests, are written in the backdrop of historical events and historical characters.

Series

1. Modern
Focus on being glamorous and ’sophisticated’ passionate romance. Titles feature intense relationships, often very sexual, often reflecting shared feelings, desires and dreams within the couple.

2. Romance
These are warm and emotional novels that focus on capturing the feeling of falling in love.

3. Blaze
They are very sexual novels which feature couples in contemporary romantic relationships as they embark on sexual adventures and fantasy journeys.

4. Medical
Contemporary romances set against the background of the medical profession.

5. Historical
Romance set in a specific historical time and place.

6. Desire
Daring provocative and sensual love stories, also known as “Desire 2 in 1″.

7. Super romance
Realistic, passionate, contemporary novels those are longer and more involved.

8. Intrigue
Romance suspense at its best: Danger, deception and desire.

Appeal

The books are relatively short, often around fifty thousand words and the plots are formulaic within each series and every series ends in the same fashion. Regardless of the characters’ situations throughout the story, the final denouement will always produce a satisfying conclusion. They are also often bought on a subscription basis in a similar way to magazines.

Criticisms
There are, unfortunately, other factors about the Mills and Boon series which have set the critics in motion. Feminist critics have condemned them as male dominated, failing the cause for the emancipated woman. The company has been criticized for repeating plots, the inevitability of their happy endings, and a simple writing style. Some critics have claimed that the genre promotes misogyny and the sexual submission of women to men.

Despite all the critics, the Mills and boon novels continue to grow in popularity and diversity. These novels had delighted, and continue to delight innumerable readers worldwide.

Tags: historical, romance novels, Series