Active Users:191 Time:19/05/2024 01:46:10 AM
oh, that does sound like a fun read! thanks for sharing *NM* temeraire Send a noteboard - 15/02/2014 01:49:05 AM

View original postA tattered notebook dating back almost 50 years gives a glimpse into the mischievous minds of romantic publishing house Mills & Boon's editors.


View original postCompiled in the 1970s, the book contains their favourite sentences clipped from the unedited manuscripts of romantic novels.


View original postMany are unintentional innuendos that tickled the editors at the time, though they might seem tame to the Fifty Shades of Grey generation. Others are just toe-curlingly bad.


View original postTo mark Valentine's Day, the University of Reading has given a peek into the so-called "Anthology of Artless Extracts", part of its Mills & Boon archive.


View original postThe A5 notebook contains such gems as:


View original postHe paused and then added more softly, 'Come on Elaine, it won't be the first time we have doubled up on a bicycle.' (Flora Kidd, Dangerous Pretence)




View original post'My darling, help me grope back to your white ways,' he said, his voice hoarse with emotion.


View original post'You won't have to grope. You got there last night...' (Louise Gerard, The Sultan's Slave)




View original postMrs White... heaved at something under the blankets and produced a pineapple. (Betty Neals, Pineapple Girl)


View original postJudith Watts, a PhD researcher at the university and author of erotic fiction, says the notebook - and letters in the archive - reveal much about the relationship between writers, their readers and the publisher.


View original post"They show the importance of women writers earning their living, the desire of the reader to get their next romantic fix, and the publisher's need to stay in business," she says.


View original post"The authors were trying the reflect the times, but they were very limited about what they could say about sex and desire.


View original post"A lot's been said about things stopping at the bedroom door. As some of these snippets show - they didn't. There was pre-marital sex and affairs, but it was all couched in innuendo and euphemism."

"it's like the real world, except there's dragons!"

cw, you are missed...
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This is a little bit great. - 14/02/2014 09:08:37 AM 837 Views
oh, that does sound like a fun read! thanks for sharing *NM* - 15/02/2014 01:49:05 AM 343 Views

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