Mass Tourism, Ecocriticism, and Mills & Boon Romances (1970s-1980s)

Abstract

At first sight, Mills & Boon romances may seem to bear little or no relation to environmentalism; however, critical comments about the negative impact of sun, sea and sand tourism are not uncommon in the pages of these novels. The tourism boom of the 1960s and 1970s led to increasing concern about its effects on the environment. Using a historical approach, I focus on several romance novels set in southern Europe, the area attracting the highest rate of visitors at that time and visibly suffering the consequences of unbridled construction. Some of the tools of econarratology and cognitive ecocriticism serve to provide further insights into the novels.