Mills & Boon Covers

Gerald Mills and Charles Boon set up the Mills & Boon empire way back in 1908. At first, they pushed the work of established authors like P.G Wodehouse, but by the mid 1920′s they came to realise that their sales of ‘light fiction’ were rocketing. It’s a good thing too that they turned their hand to romantic novellas, otherwise the world would be without the kitsch but lovable plethora of steamy illustrated covers that haunt airport W H Smiths and dentist’s waiting rooms.

Let’s be honest though. Nowhere in the fiction market today does the artistic license exist for book covers to follow this extraordinary pattern of vintage illustration. I have noticed of late that with the release of some new Mill & Boon categories, the formula has had to modernise to a degree. But there is still the dramatic tension, the colourful borders and the superb rose logo. More than that though – the artwork reflects the transient nature of romantic culture and moreover, the increase in social acceptability of sexual expression.

Check out this book featuring the artwork of classic Mills & Boon and also some of the lesser-known Harlequin novellas. Also, the Guardian has an interesting article about the same book, which features a few images of some pretty decent covers.