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Arrows from the Dark
Although Mills & Boon didn’t start life as a romance publisher, the company’s first publication in 1908 was in fact a romance – Arrows from the Dark, by Sophie Cole.
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1908
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 9, 2024
My feelings for this book are odd. I read it because I'm a big fan of the Mills & Boon romances, and found it fascinating that in a strange coincidence the very first book they ever published happened to be a romance (before they focused on only publishing romance novels.) I was curious, and found a copy to read.
I'm glad I read it, even though I didn't like it much. As I said, it was rather odd. It barely resembled any romances as a modern audience would see them. It took until half the book for me to realize who the main couple was supposed to be. The book is more of a melodrama or soap opera than it is anything else. It's a snapshot of a different time. It made me think about how the romance genre has changed. How once the stories of King Arthur and his knights, as well as Robin Hood would have been considered romances, though they are nothing like what comes to mind when the word "romance" is mentioned now. It makes me wonder about the evolution of the modern romance novel.
I didn't particularly like the writing style or most of the characters much. However, as being an indication of popular literature at the time, it does showcase very well the attitudes of the time. There is a classist smugness in it that let me know who the main male lead was going to end up with. (And I will say, it wasn't who I wanted him to end up with.) My favorite character was the secondary female lead. I really liked her, but alas, she was not of the same class as the male lead.
For all of that, though, there is an aspect of it that is distinctly modern. The book begins with the death of a famous local composer, and his widow publishing the letters from his female fans. Celebrity culture, it seems, has not changed all that much, even with it being more global thanks to the advent of the internet and social media. But in spite of the archaic language, this part of the book felt modern, and felt like it could easily transition to the modern world. It made me realize how universal celebrity fan culture is and always has been.
I'm glad I read it, even though I didn't like it much. As I said, it was rather odd. It barely resembled any romances as a modern audience would see them. It took until half the book for me to realize who the main couple was supposed to be. The book is more of a melodrama or soap opera than it is anything else. It's a snapshot of a different time. It made me think about how the romance genre has changed. How once the stories of King Arthur and his knights, as well as Robin Hood would have been considered romances, though they are nothing like what comes to mind when the word "romance" is mentioned now. It makes me wonder about the evolution of the modern romance novel.
I didn't particularly like the writing style or most of the characters much. However, as being an indication of popular literature at the time, it does showcase very well the attitudes of the time. There is a classist smugness in it that let me know who the main male lead was going to end up with. (And I will say, it wasn't who I wanted him to end up with.) My favorite character was the secondary female lead. I really liked her, but alas, she was not of the same class as the male lead.
For all of that, though, there is an aspect of it that is distinctly modern. The book begins with the death of a famous local composer, and his widow publishing the letters from his female fans. Celebrity culture, it seems, has not changed all that much, even with it being more global thanks to the advent of the internet and social media. But in spite of the archaic language, this part of the book felt modern, and felt like it could easily transition to the modern world. It made me realize how universal celebrity fan culture is and always has been.
Displaying 1 of 1 review