In May of 1980, Simon & Schuster launched Silhouette Romances as a direct competitor to Harlequin's popular Presents line. S&S poured millions into the launch to show they were serious, including hiring Ricardo Montalban for their TV commercials:
Harlequin had pioneered the use of TV to market romance novels during their dominant period in the 1970s. It's interesting to note the similarities in wording between the Silhouette ad and this circa 1976 Harlequin ad:
Ads weren't the only thing Silhouette copied from Harlequin. The cover design for Silhouette's launch titles was so similar to the design being used for Harlequin Presents that Harlequin went to court to get an injunction against S&S. You can see the similarities here:
Silhouette eventually relented and added its familiar purple border in 1981. In a bit of #RomanceHistory kismet, the last book with the old cover was Nora Roberts' first, Irish Thoroughbred, and the first with the purple was Janet Dailey's first for Silhouette, The Hostage Bride.
Dailey and Roberts of course became inextricably linked in #RomanceHistory when Dailey was discovered to have copied large portions of Roberts' Sweet Revenge in her 1997 book Notorious.
You can follow @BGSU_PopCultLib.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:
Those who think consciousness raising & movement building are disconnected, or even a distraction from electoral politics have not paid attention to the history of social change.In this thread, we
Read more
The 2020s will be known as the Remote Work decadeA few predictions of what is likely to emerge[ a thread ] Third Space: Office and Working from Home will
Read more
1/29: Have you ever had a concept explained to you that helps frame complex issues you’ve been wrestling with and opens your eyes to new possibilities? A concept that I
Read more
By continuing to use the site, you are consenting to the use of cookies as explained in our Cookie Policy to improve your experience.