Harlequin Anniversary 1949-79

By Harlequin

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373000014
• ISBN13: 9780373000012
• Release Date: January 1979
• Publisher: Harlequin Books
• Length: 287 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 4.2" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

Paperback Writers

2008 marks the 100th Anniversary of publishing house Mills & Boon. This book tells the story of a younger company that found its fortune in Mills & Boon titles, and went on to merge with M & B in 1971. In North America, the Mills & Boon brand is known as Harlequin - the Canadian publisher that started publishing M & B romances in 1958, and eventually overtook its British colleague. This book was published on the 30th anniversary of Harlequin's founding, and 22 years after it introduced readers west of the Atlantic to such authors as Mary Burchell. As the first chapter, "The Harlequin Story" explains, "Romance fiction is a durable literary genre first popularized with the publication in 1813 of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Almost a century and a half later, the appeal of romance fiction began to reach the heights of worldwide popularity under the now familiar imprint of Harlequin Books." Next chapter: "The Origin of the Harlequin Emblem." Followed by: "The Harlequin Titles" - a list, year by year, of all the books published with this imprint. Before 1958, few were romances; by 1961, the year that the company published its first Violet Winspear title, most of the books were from this category. The Harlequin Romance list ends (through 1979) with #2224, Fringe of Heaven by Gloria Bevan. Separately listed are the Harlequin Presents titles, introduced in 1973. The following section, "The Authors and Their Books," lists each Harlequin author alphabetically, and the titles of her novels. This is a useful research tool for collectors and fans (not to mention booksellers). The most interesting part of this book, then, is: "Some Authors Tell Their Stories." These are short autobiographies, two or three pages in length, by some of the best-known romance authors of the previous two decades. In most cases, a photo is included. The authors who tell their stories are: Kerry Allyne; Jane Arbor; Gloria Bevan; Helen Bianchin; Mary Burchell; Dorothy Cork; Janet Dailey; Iris Danbury; Robyn Donald; Jane Donnelly; Eleanor Farnes; Elizabeth Graham; Anne Hampson; Margery Hilton; Elizabeth Hoy; Flora Kidd; Marjorie Lewty; Jean MacLeod; Betty Neels; Margaret Pargeter; Lilian Peake; Margaret Rome; Doris Smith; Rebecca Stratton; Essie Summers; Gwen Westwood; Yvonne Whittal; Mary Wibberley; and Violet Winspear. Finally, there is an "Index of Titles," so that from the title you can find the author and year of publication.