Harlequin Books

Introductory Information

Harlequin is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers that is renowned for its many romance publications.

Mission

Harlequin strives to publish a variety of interesting and diverse romance novels that both represent many different identities, and are enjoyable to all sorts of romance readers.

History

The Beginning

Richard H.G. Bonnycastle founded Harlequin Books in Winnipeg, Canada in 1948. In this first stage, the company only focused on producing reprints of other, cheaper books. It was only when Mary Bonnycastle, the wife of the founder, took on editorial duties a few years later, that the company began to shift toward the romantic side of books. She realized many women fancied the romantic works of the British company Mills & Boon, and she sought paperback rights so Harlequin could reprint some of their works.

Mills & Boon

These reprints proved to be very successful for Harlequin. They tweaked the books and created a very specific romantic formula that included a happy ending. Explicit content was removed. In the 1970s under president Lawrence Heisey's guidance, books were distributed for free in grocery stores with the purchase of some cleaners and other household items, attempting to expose their target audience, housewives, to their books. In 1971, Harlequin purchased Mills & Boon, taking over the company that had helped them find their footing in the publishing industry.