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The IUP Journal of English Studies : |
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Abstract |
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Commercial fiction includes those works which aim to make profit out of readership. Among all genres of commercial fiction, romance boasts of maximum popularity. Of those, the Mills and Boon series produced by Harlequin Enterprises dominates the market at the global level. This paper focuses on three novels from the December 2012 Mills and Boon series, namely, The Ruthless Caleb Wilde by Sandra Marton, A Date with a Bollywood Star by Riya Lakhani, and Staking His Claim by Tessa Radley. The dates of their publication carry no special significance since the pattern of the plot continues to be the same over the decades. The aim of the paper is not only to study the aspects of commercialization of these books, but also to examine how these reflect the sociocultural dynamics at a deeper level. A surface level reading might reflect the social stereotyping of gender roles in these books. However, an in-depth analysis reveals the feminist strokes and how women’s reading habit of these books exhibits their proclamation of freedom, understanding of their psychological needs, and most importantly their awareness of the “self.” |
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