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July 17, 2003
Mills and Boom
Shahrezad Samiuddin delves into the psyche of romance novel readers and discovers the reasons for the roaring success of what some would call trashy literature
In the middle of a bustling Sunday bazaar in Karachi’s DHA stands Rizwan’s secondhand bookstall. Amidst old foreign magazines, yellowing classics and a hoard of defective craft and cookbooks is a corner devoted to romance novels — three tall piles of well thumbed and much read tomes placed in no particular order on a shelf.
The majority of these are slim volumes of Mills and Boon novels with titles such as Whirlpool Of Passion, The Forbidden Touch, A Stranger’s Kiss and Forever is. Names that evoke images of passionate trysts and fiery rendezvous in exotic settings and come topped with the obligatory illustrated couple in a passionate clinch on the cover.
Mills and Boon (M&B), the world leader in the romance genre with annual global sales of a whopping 175 million copies in 26 languages and an estimated global readership of 50 million, was definitely dominating the romance genre here in the local Sunday bazaar.
I asked Rizwan who was buying and reading these books and his answer is short “Women.” “What kind of women? Are they old or young? Are they married or unmarried?” I probed. “All kinds of women buy them. Women like you,” he said without batting an eyelid.
That made me cringe. Why did he think I would read a racy romance? Is their a certain type of person reading these books and do I look like one? My own reaction was worth exploring. And the answer wasn’t long coming.
A little more research revealed that most self-respecting readers would rarely admit to reading light romantic fiction. In fact if probed they became rather disparaging about the genre.
Romantic fiction was repeatedly referred to as ‘trash,’ ‘lightweight,’ and ‘sloppy’ in addition to a host of other unflattering epithets. But this is a stigma that is not limited to geography.
Heartline, a budding UK publisher in the romantic genre deliberately broke with convention by doing away with the ‘couple in a clinch’ cover for their novels when they launched. Mary-Jo Wormell the founder of Heartline and an ex-Mills and Boon writer (who wrote under the pseudonym Mary Lyons) explained the decision in an interview to BBC News Online: “I wanted to get rid of the couple in a clinch on the cover, so that you could actually read the books on the tube or on the bus without people thinking, ‘She’s reading a sloppy romance’.”
The reason many are loath to admit reading a lightweight racy romance are the same as those that prevent many from admitting that they not only watch, but enjoy Bollywood’s masala-fare — that they enjoy unabashed frivolity.
Salma, a 24-year-old student says, “Some of the books are extremely filmi. For instance there will be a car breakdown and then a handsome tow truck driver will walk in and the romance will start. Of course there will be a happy ending.”
Another Mills and Boon reader, Mehnaz who is a 38-year-old journalist talks about the dispensable nature of the romance depicted in these novels, “I read romances, especially M&Bs because they are a light read and disposable, for one never keeps their M&Bs do they? I read classics too, especially Russian writers, but they are about complex human relationships and for keeps. Romances are good to read when you want to go to sleep.”
The dispensable nature of these novels and the fleeting pleasures they provide extend to the characters that populate them. While many remember the strong romantic heroines such as Scarlett O’Hara (Gone with the Wind), Elizabeth Bennet (Pride And Prejudice) and Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights) from classical romances they read in school, few remember the passions of the buxom Southern Belle or the beautiful orphan fighting against all odds that they read last week.
Like all things disposable, lightweight romances are produced en masse and forgotten as easily. Mills and Boon for instance brings out some 800 titles every month. And then of course there are the sex scenes, which keep many going back for more. The plots of many racy romances can be desperately predictable, interspersed with love scenes in preset spots.
The typical romance begins with our heroine meeting the man of her dreams and sparks flying (a love scene). Then a problems which keeps them apart crops up before something brings them together (a love scene). And then if the length of these notoriously thin volumes allows, the lead couple will be pulled apart again before getting back together again (another love scene). They finally sort out the problems and commit themselves to marriage.
“I think these novels promote sex and perverted minds read them for that purpose. In fact I think the majority of such romances are really read for the hot scenes. These books go out of their way to promote the idea that perfection is all about how good someone is in bed,” says Asma, 20 who is studying for a degree in business administration.
Yet despite the associated frivolity, worldwide romance fiction novels make up over fifty per cent of all books sold. So who is reading these books? “The overwhelming majority of the romance novel readership is women. According to one statistic, 99 per cent of romantic fiction writers and 91 per cent of readers are females,” says Sumaira Osmani, a clinical psychologist who teaches at the Ajman University of Science & Technology in the United Arab Emirates.
“Contrary to what is popularly believed, the romance novel reader is not only the bored housewife. A large percentage of them are college students and they are reading romantic novels for many reasons. Still the cliche of the bored housewife holds true. For the housewife who stays at home most of the day and is caught in the monotonous routine of everyday life, romantic novels provide an outlet. For these women such novels open up a fascinating world and make them forget the drudgery of their everyday life,” she adds.
Iffat, a 53-year-old Lahori grandmother with five children considers romantic fiction of the M&B variety, good ‘time pass’ material and an escape from real life. “I think they are well written and really involve you and make you feel like a character in the plot. The characters come alive, you care about them and keep turning the pages.”
Indeed Osmani believes that for the average romance reader, especially in conservative societies like ours where the outcome of non-marital romance is rarely satisfactory, positive images of fictional women who struggle towards their goals of finding true love and succeed, may be positively inspiring.
“But,” Osmani adds, “a lot of married women read these novels because they might be looking for what they are missing in their real lives.”
Elaborating on the motivations behind reading romantic fiction, Heartline’s Wormell says, “We put on this veneer of cleverness and jokiness but underneath everyone wants to be loved, everyone wants to have the right relationship — that is part and parcel of human nature... Most readers are looking for escape, they’re looking for a good story, a damn good read.”
Merissa, an 18-year-old student, has her own rather interesting theory about why she devours romantic fiction, “As very young children we are fed on the happily-ever-after fairytale with prince and princesses and I think reading mushy romances is just a grown-up way of extending that fairytale.”
While such idyllic transportation may provide relief from the stresses of everyday life for most romance buffs, one can rarely control how far some readers are willing to take things.
“Some people try to involve themselves completely in these novels and rather than use them as an escape temporarily, they use it as a means of completely avoiding their responsibilities in real life. For instance the young girl who believes strongly in these novels and firmly believes that things in real life will happen in exactly the same way, might be setting herself up for a lot of disappointment,” says Osmani.
After years of taking flak for promoting unrealistic expectations, publisher of romance novels in the millennium are trying to break the single bombshell-meets-single hunk stereotypes associated with them.
While Heartline breaks from convention by peopling its contemporary plots with single parents and divorcees, 70-year-old Mills and Boon is breaking new ground with its Red Dress Ink series of novels.
The Red Dress Ink series is aimed at women aged between 18 and 34 and features professional women rather than the typical Mills and Boon’s romantic languishing heroines.
The publishers admit that the new line is inspired to a large extent by the success of novels such as Bridget Jones’ Diary, an immensely funny and successful warts and all depiction of women that single-handedly spawned a completely new genre known as ‘chick lit.’
Gemma Clutterbuck of Harlequin, the publishers of Mills and Boon explained that the Red Dress Ink Series came about because “...young women today demand longer, witty and irreverent novels and they want to see their own lives, in all the messy detail, reflected in fiction today.”
As if to keep up with this newfound ‘realism’ Mills and Boon have done away with their world famous illustrated covers, opting instead for covers with the more ‘real’ photographs.
Authors have also taken the effort further. In an effort to add more authenticity to their works, romance writers such as Pat Ballad write about beautiful plus-size heroines as opposed to the impossibly thin ones who conventionally appear in romance novels.
Some of these ‘realistic’ romances have made their way to our part of the world and it is not uncommon to spot romance series with titles such as Second Chance at Love— suggesting that love is no more about the very first time — in bookstores around town.
Osmani feels that the genre deserves a deeper study of its content and that such a study would provide an invaluable insight into the evolution of cultural ideals, gender issues, and writing styles and would also show how a woman’s place in society has changed over time.
Research apart, the big business of selling love between the covers is exactly that, a big business. Romance novels have spawned some unconventional parallel careers and businesses.
Take Fabio, for instance. An Italian model, Fabio made a thriving career out of posing for the illustrated covers of romantic fiction. His long hair, chiseled face and pumped body had graced over one million romance covers, before he retired to write his own romantic tales!
He, of course, posed for his own covers and later milked the euphoria — his tall, dark and handsome persona evoked, by modeling for several calendars, recording a cassette of romantic songs called Fabio After Dark, and a fitness video.
In the US for a mere $50 one can also have a personalized romance novel written for them. The novel incorporates features such as your own name, the names of your friends and your hometown to literally actualize the ‘escapist’ experience and come with befitting titles such as Pirates of Desire and Tropical Treasure.
The content of one’s personalized novel can also be tuned to suit one’s ‘mild’ or ‘wild’ tastes. Closer to home however, the romance genre helps keep people like Rizwan in Sunday bazaar, in business. For under Rs50 he will help feed your romantic fantasies and transport you to a world of uninhibited passion and desire.
Those who don’t...
These women refuse to be charmed by the romance novel:“I got into the classics at a very young age, so I really found romantic novels quite lightweight and trashy. They never held my attention. I am really put off by the image of squires in breeches with square jaws and dark stormy nights. My sister was into all that but she was also into the ‘big long wait’ for marriage so such books made sense to her. Maybe I should start reading them, because a lot of people say reading trash improves one’s writing.” —Samina, 38 writer
“I think that romantic novels are really silly, I have read a few Mills and Boon novels. They usually revolve around an influential, rich guy and a timid girl who is desperately attracted to him.” — Asma, business student, 20
“I don’t read romance novels, but my sister-in-law was a big fan because she was extremely idealistic and into tall dark and handsome men. But life isn’t like that and I think romance novels make people unrealistic. After all it is only women who are reading these novels and not the men. So men don’t really know what women are expecting of them and they end up becoming a great big disappointment.” — Rubina, 40 housewife
“I cannot read romantic novels especially Mills and Boon. They all have the same theme and the same helpless women. And they are so predictable, I mean the doctor will have a romance with a nurse, if not with the patient and tragedies will always be about people getting cancer. You might as well watch an Indian film. The sex scenes are supposed to turn you on, but they are so sloppily written that they just turn me off.” — Saima, 23 student
“The only romance novels I have tried reading are Mills and Boons, but I have never finished any. They are trashy, can be read in under two hours, have no story and are predictable. Surprisingly I know fairly practical girls who read them — I guess the novels do have the potential for lustful entertainment.” —Ayesha, 52, schoolteacher — S.S.
Those who do...
These women have succumbed to the charms of the romance novel and are hooked:“I don’t think anyone loses their sense of reality just because they read romance novels. People know better, for instance I read them for entertainment and for the same reason I watch soap operas, which is for a good gossip.” — Shehnaz, 30 journalist
“I did read romance novels as a teenager and sometimes I still read them. My friends used to read them so I started too. They were fun and of course everyone dreams of meeting the typical tall, dark and handsome man. Personally I think everyone finds someone who sweeps you off your feet, and then breaks your heart. They may not be literally tall dark and handsome, but they are really attractive and I would be happy to find one.” — Lubna, 32, interior designer
“I don’t read Mills and Boon, but I read a writer called Georgette Heyer who writes romantic novels. I pick up her novels from secondhand bookstalls and I enjoy reading them more. Mills and Boon are all about being mushy and if you have read one you have read them all. Georgette Heyer’s novels have more depth, the relationships are more complex and they are set in the past.” — Merissa, 18, student
“I like Mills and Boon novels but I never get around to reading many of them. I started reading them after my BA exams when I was lounging around the house and had nothing much to do. Two years ago I read a Mills and Boon that I especially liked. I can’t remember the name, but it was one I made my husband read and it had an element of suspense in it. I think that most people read them for the love scenes they contain, though I shouldn’t really be saying that because my mother has piles and piles of them! I also read Barbara Cartland.” — Rubab, 28, housewife — S.S.
A Brief Guide to the Romance Genre
The romance genre has spawned several sub-genres complicating the literary life of the modern day romance buff. The Romance Writers of America have compiled the following guide to the genre:
Historical Romance: Romance novels set in the past, primarily prior to the Second World War
Regency Romance: Set in England’s Regency period (circa 1800-1820)
Short Contemporary Series Romance: Short, sensuous romances published as part of a series whose titles are usually numbered sequentially
Long Contemporary Series Romance: Longer sensuous romances published as part of a series or line whose titles are usually numbered sequentially
Single Title Contemporary Romance: A contemporary romance released as single titles
Romantic Suspense: Romance that blends love and danger equally
Multi-cultural Romance: Where the heroes and heroines are from non-white ethnic backgrounds
Futuristic and Fantasy Romance: Romance plus science fiction and fantasy
Time Travel Romance: Where heroes or heroines travel back or forward in time to meet the love of a lifetime
Paranormal Romance: Romance involving angels, ghosts, vampires, etc.
Inspirational Romance: Romantic novels with religious faith as a significant element of the story
Young Adult Romance: Romantic novels for young adult readers
Compiled from the Internet — S.S.
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