The Merchants of Venus: Inside Harlequin and the Empire of Romance

I received this book from a friend. Having read series romance from the time only Harlequin Romance and Presents were on the stands, I found this story absolutely fascinating. It's a tale of both corporate brilliance and blundering. The chapters on Mills and Boon in London are worth the price of the entire book. I particularly enjoyed finding out that the women behind the scenes ("These romances with happy endings seem to be selling well"), whether they were wives, secretaries, or editors, played a major part in shaping what we now take for granted as series romance today. Mr. Grescoe has done his homework. His book is quite fair, he doesn't go in for bashing or blame. He simply states what happens and allows the people who were involved at the time to tell their stories. We are now at a point in time in our history in which corporations around the world are going to have to change in order to survive. The "us vs them" and "rich vs poor" mentality cannot survive much longer. Merchants of Venus gave me an incredible insiders view of the corporate world that shaped what I, as a romance reader and lover of the genre, have been able to purchase over the years. It's a great tale, and one not to be missed. Fantastic work, Mr. Grescoe, and I hope you'll consider writing a sequel, considering what is going on in the romance and women's fiction genres of today.