we have confined our attention to two of the most popular and active genres: romantic fiction for women (in novel and magazine form) and the 'boys' weeklies' described by George Orwell in his famous 1940 essay. Our primary intentions are three. Firstly, we will chronicle the development of the publishing industry within the mass market, considering in turn its reaction to market forces and to the competition from other leisure activities, especially during the 1930s. Secondly, we will attempt to describe reading habits of adults and children in terms of motivation, selection and taste. The lower-middle and working classes were perhaps more dependent upon light fiction as a source of comfort and escape than were more refined readers. Finally, we will examine the history of three publishers which were representative of the age: Mills and Boon, D.C. Thomson and the Religious Tract Society. In each case we will look at their progress, response to market forces, problems faced, and the complex relationship between publisher and reader which governed editorial policy. (2)
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Romantic fiction is one genre which changed considerably after the First World War The sensational love stories by such authors as Marie Corelli and Elinor Glyn were largely surpassed in popularity by more realistic, plausible, 'middle-class' plots. (3)
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