» FOUNDED in 1908 as a general fiction publisher by Gerald Mills and Charles Boon. Before it turned to romance, Mills & Boon had a respectable slate that published works by best-selling writers such as humorist P.G. Wodehouse, novelist Hugh Walpole and prolific American author Jack London.

» London's sudden death in 1916 at age 40 affected the company's bottom line as he was its best-selling author. Around the same time, Boon realised that the hardships of the Depression, World War I and the scarcity of men had led to a higher demand for escapist romances from women readers. So the publisher shifted his attention to such titles.

» Romances used to be bound in brown, leading to the nickname 'books in brown'.

» In Singapore, Mills & Boon is distributed like magazines rather than books because the publisher is so prolific. Each series can release between eight and 10 titles a month.

» Mills & Boon titles are available in 109 countries and translated into 26 languages. For its centenary year, it is venturing into India for the first time, setting up a subsidiary in the sub-continent this month. Following the tradition of competitive pricing, each title will sell for 99 rupees (S$3.55).

» The publisher sells 4.1 books a second worldwide.

» In 1999, to commemorate the publisher's 90th anniversary, Oxford University Press published Passion's Fortune (352 pages, hardcover, £44), a history of the publishing house by Joseph McAleer.