Laura Vivanco's study challenges the idea that Harlequin Mills & Boon romances are merely mass-produced commodities, churned out in accordance with a strict and unchanging formula. She argues that many are well-written, skilfully crafted works, and that some are small masterpieces. For Love and Money demonstrates the variety that exists beneath the covers of Harlequin Mills & Boon romances. They range from paranormal romances to novels resembling chick lit, and many have addressed serious issues, including the plight of post-Second World War refugees, threats to marine mammals, and HIV/AIDS. The genre draws inspiration from Shakespearean comedies and Austen's novels, as well as from other forms of popular culture.
I've added the tag "environmentalism/climate change" because the book contains some discussion (pages 58-60) of Linda Harrel's Sea Lightning (1979) which is about whale conservation. I was alerted to it by Margaret Ann Jensen's Love's Sweet Return but Jensen has less information about it than I do, and even that isn't a lot, so I thought I'd only tag FLAM this way. It seemed worth adding the tag here since currently there hasn't been a lot of work on environmentalism/climate change activism in romance.
Here's a short description from the publisher:
There is a review at the Journal of Popular Romance Studies.
I've added the tag "environmentalism/climate change" because the book contains some discussion (pages 58-60) of Linda Harrel's Sea Lightning (1979) which is about whale conservation. I was alerted to it by Margaret Ann Jensen's Love's Sweet Return but Jensen has less information about it than I do, and even that isn't a lot, so I thought I'd only tag FLAM this way. It seemed worth adding the tag here since currently there hasn't been a lot of work on environmentalism/climate change activism in romance.