When we look at the history of romance novels, often people pin the start of modern romance history to the 1972 publication of The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss. By doing this, people erase a key evolution and influence in romance, which is the category romance. If you’re from the UK then you already know that the category publisher there is Mills & Boon, and they’ve been a publisher for a little over a century. First starting out as a general publisher in 1908, over the decades Mills & Boon gradually specialized in romance novels. Harlequin, first seeking to re-print their medical romances, eventually bought Mills & Boon in 1971. While we look at the history of the company, we also focus on publishing gatekeepers and how they’ve influenced the romance genre.
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When we look at the history of romance novels, often people pin the start of modern romance history to the 1972 publication of The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss. By doing this, people erase a key evolution and influence in romance, which is the category romance. If you’re from the UK then you already know that the category publisher there is Mills & Boon, and they’ve been a publisher for a little over a century. First starting out as a general publisher in 1908, over the decades Mills & Boon gradually specialized in romance novels. Harlequin, first seeking to re-print their medical romances, eventually bought Mills & Boon in 1971. While we look at the history of the company, we also focus on publishing gatekeepers and how they’ve influenced the romance genre.
In the 90s the face of romance was the Italian cover model Fabio Lanzoni, who broke out of the insular romance fandom into mainstream superstardom. Known briefly as “The Fabulous Fabio,” he and his managers parlayed his success in romance modeling into an internationally recognized brand. Fabio was no longer just a model, but a spokesman for romantic, courtly love.
But what some people might not know is that even during the height of his fame, he was a lightning rod amongst romance fans and authors. Some embraced him for increasing book sales, and others felt like they were being made a fool of.
This is going to be a two-part episode, and in part one we are covering Fabio’s rise to fame, the romance authors who loathed him, and how a conservative man uncomfortable with overt sexuality became synonymous with salacious book covers.
Reformed Rakes
When we look at the history of romance novels, often people pin the start of modern romance history to the 1972 publication of The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss. By doing this, people erase a key evolution and influence in romance, which is the category romance. If you’re from the UK then you already know that the category publisher there is Mills & Boon, and they’ve been a publisher for a little over a century. First starting out as a general publisher in 1908, over the decades Mills & Boon gradually specialized in romance novels. Harlequin, first seeking to re-print their medical romances, eventually bought Mills & Boon in 1971. While we look at the history of the company, we also focus on publishing gatekeepers and how they’ve influenced the romance genre.
