This paper explores the impact of the British publishing firm Mills & Boon’s (M&B) ‘colonial library’ in India as well as its negotiation of new markets in what business historian Geoffrey Jones describes as first and second global economies. Founded in 1908, M&B distributed popular romance novels to colonial territories and established a strong brand identity, that continues today, among English-language readers. Once M&B was acquired by Harlequin in 1972, Harlequin Mills & Boon (HMB) built upon the strength of the M&B brand in the English- reading Indian market. By 2008, HMB established a local branch office in Mumbai and offered popular romance novels written by Indian authors for an Indian readership. HMB’s negotiation of this international market offers insight into the demands of a new generation of readers in India and provides a case for exploring the characteristics of a first and second global economy.
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