AustLit

'People (90% of them women) often read romance novels to learn about another place (see Radway 60-61). We will consider this with reference to some Australian romance novels published in the last decade. Readers with an interest in those published between 1950-2000 are invited to consult From Australia with Love (2004). Australia's romance novelists know that the vast majority of their readers live outside the country and they take pride in accurately describing both it and 'typically Australian' characters. This chapter will examine how far their portrayal of the natural or built environment reflects Australian reality, although any generalisation is unreliable. There are several dozen Australian currently publishing romance novels. Over the years there have been dozens more. Harelequin Mills & Boon, on whose output this chapter is based, published fifteen titles by Australian authors in February/March 2010 alone and there are of course other publishers.' (Author's introduction 82)