“We weren’t supposed to do this.” “Baby, we were born to do this...”

The popularity of romance fiction is such that it constitutes nearly one quarter of new paperback fiction printed in the world. Its success depends on its ability to reflect and articulate the reader's aspirations for a better life and stands at the same time as a testament to her alienation. This fresh look at the romantic fiction seeks to discover the reason for its appeal by combining analysis of the poetics of the genre with a study of the real reader's intervention.

Was it a magic spell this handsome millionaire cast upon me? Tess is a plant designer, managing and caring for the houseplants of her clients. To fulfill her dream of having her own store one day, she tries to sneak into lavish parties to expand her network. One day, Tess receives an unexpected proposal. Dash Black, a handsome millionaire and world-renowned playboy, offers to escort her to a party! Tess is flustered by the way he treats her at the event and is left enchanted by his sweet kiss…

This study to analyzes romantic fiction's depiction of women as part of the broader history of ideas about women.; Given the success of the Mills & Boon romance, their portrayal of subjects like sex, love, marriage, class, motherhood and femineity are important cultural barometers and make interesting study.; The author shows how all these themes have an historical trajectory and how these novels have come to reflect feminist concerns.; Based on a study of over 1000 Mills & Boon romances the book provides analysis of plot types and shows how these have changed in response to women's own changing position within society.

He used to be her whole world.

The World According to Bridget Jones: Discourses of Identity in Chicklit Fictions examines the cultural functioning of a popular contemporary strand in mainstream Anglo-American literature, known as «chicklit». Assuming that the interpretive potential of chicklit novels is connected with the process of identity formation, the book points out the possibility of the reader's identification with certain fictional discourses permeating the convention. The study focuses on complex links between Anglo-American cultural discourses and narrative constructions of identity and explores narrative representations of contemporary family, love, and sexuality. It also tackles the relation between chicklit and consumerism, reconstructing salient characteristics of contemporary consumer culture and the position of the fictional female consumer within discourses of body, beauty, and shopping.