Fabio Gets His Walking Papers, Karen Marsh, The Washington Monthly
Harlequin Publishing struggles to attract sophisticated readers as the days of bodice ripping and tender alpha males give way to career positioning and sassy single women. To meet the demand, writes freelancer Karen Marsh in The Washington Monthly, Harlequin launched the Red Dress line of books that mentions Harlequin nowhere in the book. Marsh writes that Harlequin hopes to find a modern version of the old formula that continues to sell millions of copies world wide, but marketed to an audience that will spend $12.95 per book instead of $4 to $6. It's a tough sell, Marsh writes, 'because it requires finding an elusive yet fairly universal formula for female happiness in a post-feminist era---one that most women haven't entirely figured out.'
--Sara V. Buckwitz
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