Thrills 'n' Boon

Emma stood on the edge of the cliff, her heart pounding. She could just make out the tall, dark, brooding figure of Roderick as he pushed through the driving rain plummeting from the darkened night sky.

A second later she felt his warm lips press close to hers as his manly arms slipped around her tiny waist. They moved closer and as they kissed she realised he was hers....

OK, we all think that it is easy to write romantic novels but for the past 70 years there is one publishing company which has become synonymous with the genre - Mills & Boon.

Sneered at by intellectuals and derided by serious authors, the publishing company sells 175 million books around the world each year, shifting 13.5 million books in this country alone.

The books now appear in more than 26 different languages with a global readership of 50 million. More than 800 new titles hit the stands each month with names such as Temptation, Desire, Whirlpool Of Passion, The Sweetest Trap and Christmas Rose (...her gentle love blossomed, despite his cold heart).

One of the distinctive features of the Mills & Boon novel has always been the colour illustration - never photograph - on the front cover. To the legions of fans, it has always been a guarantee of a good, romantic read.

But nothing can last for ever. The content of the Mills & Boon novel had already been changing slowly with the passing years to reflect a 'younger, contemporary image.' In the 1990s, for example, Mills & Boon capitalised on the boom in young women's romantic fiction with a diversity of styles appealing to women of all ages and walks of life. The books ranged from those with international settings to sensual, racy novels where the main protagonists faced the dilemmas of modern day life.

Now, though, with the 21st century upon us, the publishers on a dramatic new image to go with the new content.

From later this month, out will go all those front cover illustrations - on all except the publisher's historical series - and in their place will be contemporary real-life photos.

Gemma Clutterbuck, product manager for Harlequin Mills & Boon, says: "They say that you judge a book by its cover and when we carried out a survey of our readers they unanimously felt that the covers no longer reflected the modernity of their content.

"They believed by having photographs on the cover the books look more contemporary and show they are relevant to the women of today."

The one area where the illustrations will be retained is the publisher's historical novels. Readers surveyed, Ms Clutterbuck said, believed the illustrations were more effective 'and that even if you had models dressed in old fashioned outfits they still had a modern look.' Nevertheless, for the rest of its titles, she said, Mills & Boon was determined to attract a broader readership. "We believe having a more contemporary look will help to do this."

York romantic novelist Donna Hay - whose first book Waiting In The Wings, published earlier this year by Orion, picked up the coveted Romantic Novelists Association New Writer of the Year award - admits she herself once tried to become a Mills & Boon author.

Donna, whose novel was published two days before her 40th birthday, said. "I tried and tried. I must have had about five to six attempts but I got them all sent back because there were too many characters and too much plot, and they were too funny! In the end I gave up."

That was back in the 80s. Since then, she said, the world of Mills & Boon had changed.

"If you look back to the 1970s and 80s, they were completely different. They still send out very strict guidelines to their writers, but they are different guidelines.

"The heroine used to have to be a virgin in her very early 20s, and the hero had to be an alpha male in his 30s. Now the heroes are very much new men - they cook and they cry, which they never used to do. And they've had heroines who have been divorced, who are older, who have had lovers in the past.

"I know they've been looking for new authors, younger authors. It is that 20-something market that they are trying to bring in."

Slapping raunchy photos on the covers might well help, she conceded - and could spawn a whole new generation of cover photo stars. "In the US they have had photos on the cover for some time - and their cover men are superstars in their own right!" she said.

North Yorkshire historical novelist Bill Spence, though - who writes as Jessica Blair - said he thought the Mills & Boon brand would lose something by the change.

The 77-year-old novelist said: "This is only a personal opinion, but I'm not that in favour of them using photos. I think they can get much more expression, much more sense of what the type of book is, from using a good, top-drawer artist. You can't get that in the same way with photos."

Whatever your views of Mills & Boon's contemporary new look, the romantic novel itself is here to stay. Donna Hay's second book Kiss And Tell is due out in January, and she's already working on her third.

Mills & Boon's Gemma Clutterbuck has no doubt readers' appetite for a good romantic novel remains undiminished.

"I think romantic fiction has retained its appeal," she said, "because everybody wants some escapism in their life, whether it is a fairy tale romance or meeting that special person."

FACT FILE

Mills & Boon was founded in London in 1908. Early authors included EF Benson, Jack London and PG Wodehouse before he created Jeeves and Wooster.

From the start strict rules were laid down for its romantic novels, toning down passion to avoid offence.

The basic formula remains to this day. The heroine, cast in the Cinderella role, is young, clever and sometimes an orphan, which lends sympathy.

The hero is older, enigmatic and rough-edged. He is usually the heroine's employer. There is always a happy ending. The couple marry or, if already married, settle their differences and make a fresh start.

During the 1930s the company decided to concentrate its efforts on purely romantic fiction. When the depression hit home, reading became a favourite form of escapism. Lending libraries flourished and the company led the way in romantic fiction.

The cover design of the books was simple reflecting the popular Art Deco movement of the time.

By the 1950s the novels had become more exotic taking readers far away from the austere reality of post-war Britain. Colourful covers featured holiday resorts, dance halls and heroines started to bear an uncanny resemblance to Hollywood movie stars.

In the Swinging 60s the novels started to reflect a more liberal society with independent heroes and heroines making their own decisions without answering to their parents.

In 1971 Harlequin Books and Mills & Boon merged, while on the pages of the books the characters used their new-found independence to further their increased ambitions and careers.

In Thatcher's 80s the novels now reflected the notion of individualism and showed a more openness towards sexual awareness.

In the 90s the company capitalised a diversity of styles appealing to women of all ages and walks of life.