Food, Home and Style

Recession-proof Romance

Fancy being swept away by a billionaire? Harlequin is happy to oblige.

Last week while waiting for the subway, I was assaulted.

The attack was purely visual. An onslaught of cheesy posters promoting bodice-rippers wallpapered my train stop. Before I averted my eyes, I saw that the posters were ads for the latest Lifetime movie-of-the-week series, a collection of Nora Roberts romance novels brought to life on the small screen.

Over four million viewers tuned in to the first of the series “Northern Lights” two Saturdays ago, topping Lifetime’s list of 2009 movie premiere ratings. The project stars LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian, (who, according to tabloid reports, had an affair during the shoot). Whatever the real temptation of this Lifetime series, the cable network might be on to a recessionary trend. Sales of Harlequin novels are on the upswing—for the fourth quarter of 2008, the publisher reported a rise of at least $3 million. Despite the recession, romance titles as a whole have seen a steady increase in sales, according to Borders Books and Music.

With the rest of the publishing world in free fall, why do romance novels still hold strong sway over readers? I could never understand the Harlequins and other slim romance novels that I found stacked in neat piles in my grandmother’s basement. Especially in today’s ironic age, it’s difficult to understand their saccharine appeal. But at just $5 to $10, a sleek, silky slip of a book offers a cheap thrill. It’s inexpensive, uncomplicated entertainment, if only for the delight of a rainy afternoon. And people seem to keep coming back for more. Especially in today’s tough times, losing oneself on a rainy afternoon with outlandish characters that aren’t facing foreclosure or unemployment is seductive.

No. 57 on USA Today’s list of 150 top-selling books is Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas. The story revolves around a self-made millionaire and old-money heiress who fight destiny and each other. Nobody worried about the rent here!

The Harlequin website highlights its most popular titles, including:

Diamond in the Rough, by Diana Palmer
“Sassy Peale is desperate to help her family, but her meager salary doesn’t stretch far. Then she meets John Callister… But John isn’t a ranch hand, he’s a millionaire from one of Montana’s most powerful families!” Whew! Thank goodness for rich cowboys.

These romance novels are fueled by the same old-fashioned fantasies that my grandmother liked to read: A man sweeps a woman off her feet and then solves all her problems, including her financial concerns because – guess what! – he’s secretly loaded.

This one is delicious:

Forced Wife, Royal Love-Child, by Trish Morey
“Sienna Wainwright has one passionate night with international financier Rafe Lombardi before he unceremoniously casts her out of his bed. Sienna hopes never to see his seductively arrogant face again, but six weeks later their world changes—forever…. Rafe is no longer just a billionaire, but is revealed as the prince of Montvelatte.” Yippee! Not only is he a BILLIONAIRE, he’s also a PRINCE! Money is no object here, ladies.

Perhaps not much has changed in the 60 years that Harlequin has been churning out thousands of books. Maybe these days there’s nothing wrong with living out a fantasy of life in the lap of luxury through a book. Readers are escaping into a world where the protagonists ultimately overcome their financial ruin. We may need this sort of hope, as long as we remember that the credit card bill balances won’t be erased when Rafe Lombardi leaps into our lives…

Tags: billionaires, bodice-rippers, romance