Before the end of the 1970s, they had terminated their contract with Simon and Schuster and rejected a manuscript by Nora Roberts. Even though Harlequin romances were selling in the U.S., the company continued to focus on British writers. Their genre dominance was short-lived, however. Much to her chagrin, the comparatively demure Mary Bonnycastle sat back and watched as her husband’s publishing company became the first name in sexy books. By the 1970s, they’d partnered with Simon and Schuster to bring these epics to the United States. Within the next decade, Harlequin exclusively republished Mills and Boon novels. He - erm - “enjoyed” it so much that he started asking for the stats on the sales of such books and was not surprised to learn that the more sexually charged novels far outsold their tamer counterparts. Of course, he chose the most explicit one he could get his hands on. Bonnycastle and her daughter would choose which ones would be printed at Harlequin, and as a matter of fact generally went for the least raunchy ones.Īfter getting wind of his wife’s little side project in his world of publishing, Richard Bonnycastle decided to read one of the smutty books for himself. UK-based publisher Mills and Boon originally produced these novels, but upon Bonnycastle’s urging were brought across the pond for reprinting. Mary Bonnycastle, wife of new publisher Richard Bonnycastle, was instrumental in Harlequin’s 1950s pivot into romance novels, and more specifically, medical romances. The publishing firm initially entered the game as a paperback book reprinter, but following the death of a key publisher, the company changed hands – and directions. The publisher, Harlequin Enterprises, has existed in Canada since 1949. Source: Washington PostĮven though Nora Roberts is a genre giant, she didn’t invent it.