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Escape into the loving embrace of a romance novel - although don't think you'll be able to escape gender politics while you're in there.
Bea and Leah Koch, proprietors of America's sole romance-only bookstore The Ripped Bodice, consider the genre; and publisher Lisa Milton scrolls through the 109-year history of the imprint that epitomises romance novels, Mills & Boon.
CONTENT NOTE: the episode contains references to consent, and non-consensual sex.
WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED READING ICE PLANET BARBARIANS, READ ON:
It's pretty far away from the Ripped Bodice, but there is another romance bookstore - Intrigue in Canberra, Australia. Anyone know of more?
Submit your writing to Mills & Boon HERE.
Roxane Gay speaks about publishing's diversity problem.
Professor Val Derbyshire writes about her love of Mills & Boon - "despite the mockery these novels incur, there’s much more going on in them than readers initially suspect."
Thrill to classic romance covers with the Mills & Boon colouring book...
...or recreate them, like this couple did.
Billionaire romances: "To harried readers, the fantasy financier is as alluring for what he does have (a private island) as for what he doesn't: namely, the money woes that plague modern women." Yeah, but AT WHAT PRICE EH?
"The Sweet, Savage Sexual Revolution That Set the Romance Novel Free".
Couple of documentaries: if you can get hold of it, the BBC one in which novelist Stella Duffy tries to write a Mills & Boon is super. Available on Netflix, Love Between the Covers dives into Romancelandia, the community of readers and writers.
Allusionist listener Suzanne mentioned she writes the romance book blog Under The Covers.
Jeremy Bentham's corpse might make you gag, a bit. (Unless you are Benjamen Walker.)
The transcript of this episode is at theallusionist.org/transcripts/covers-i.
RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
hutment
CREDITS:
Bea and Leah Koch run the Ripped Bodice, which you can find on Main St, Culver City, Los Angeles, and online at therippedbodicela.com. They tweet @therippedbodice, and the store dog, Fitzwilliam Waffles, has his own Instagram account.
Lisa Milton is the executive publisher of Harlequin in the UK and is responsible for Mills & Boon, which you can find at millsandboon.co.uk. She tweets @Lmrhjb.
This episode was produced by me, with music by Martin Austwick. Thanks to Nikesh Shukla, Kimon Daltas and Kevin Smokler for their help.
Find me at facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/helenzaltzman and instagram.com/helenzaltzman.
- HZ
