Sophie Cole (1862 - February 11, 1947)

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Sophie Cole (1862 – February 11, 1947) was one of the most important author of Mills & Boon and sister of Professor F.J. Cole (1872-1959), F.R.S., Professor of Zoology in the University of Reading from 1907 to 1939. He was a book collector and bibliophile from his schooldays until his death. His major historical work A history of comparative anatomy (1944) was based substantially on his own collection.

As an adolescent, Miss Cole suffered from a long illness, and to pass the time she wrote a romance novel, Arrows from the dark in 1909, the first book to be published by Mills and Boon, who later became major publishers of romance novels. The book was well-received, and by 1914, 1,394 women had bought a copy. During her lifetime she wrote 65 books, and earned her living from them for many years. Miss Cole knew London very well, and wrote a non-fiction book on literary London. She lived in Brighton, but in her later years came to live with Professor Cole and his wife at Eldon Road in Reading.

From the beginning Mills & Boon published in a form and at a price that was within the reach of a wide readership. As the newcomer in the crowded publishing world, Mills & Boon seemingly published anything it could lay its hands on - fiction, politics, humour, health, child care, cooking, travel. The accent was on "quality" and variety, and not on the romantic fiction we know today; though the very first Mills & Boon title was a six-shilling romantic novel, Arrows from the Dark by Sophie Cole, her second novel (her first, Rachel Chalfont, was published by Duckworth). The book was published on 25 March 1909. Reviews were glowing: the Morning Post called Arrows

"An original story" with "the history of a group such as Jane Austen has made immortal."

The choice of Cole's novel to launch the Mills & Boon list is a curious one. To the modern reader, it is completely unreadable, despite obvious (if clumsy) attempts at romance.

The next moment she was caught in his arms, her lukewarm sentiment fused by the fire of his passion, his scruples and doubts forgotten, while the barrier of his presence came between her and the unfortunate past.

"She was a boring writer, and was never going to set the Thames on fire," Alan Boon admitted. "Her books usually featured the heroine, a pie-eyed little girl, going down to Brighton and being seduced."

Still, Cole must have had a following and a name by 1909. Arrows turned in a respectable performance, selling 1.394 of its 1.500 copies by 1914. Cole remained with the firm for over 30 years, writing 65 novels for Mills & Boon, usually two a year. By way of comparison, William Heinemann printed 3.000 copies of his first title, The Bondman by Hall Caine - and the novel, a blockbuster, sold 450.000 copies!

During 1909, the firm's first full year of operations, 123 contracts were signed. Advances ranged from £25 to authors such as Sophie Cole and newcomer E.S. Stevens to as high as £200 for established authors such as Robert Barr and £300 for E.F. Benson and Gaston Leroux (Phantom of the Opera). Edition sizes were usually 1.000-1-500 copies for a 6s. first edition novel, more for cheaper editions.

In 1928 Gerald Mills of Mills & Boon left a wife, one brother, and two sisters, but no children. Control of Mills & Boon, therefore, rested in the Boon family. Kenneth Mills began to divest his shares in 1929, selling 250 of 500 shares. Charles Boon bought 50; Joseph W. Henley, 150; and Sophie Cole purchased 50 shares.

Since the First World War Mills & Boon's publication lists had become increasingly dominated by fiction, especially by women authors, and usually of a "popular" vein, namely romance and adventure novels. By 1929 the firm's best-selling authors were all writing romantic fiction: Denise Robins, Elizabeth Carfrae, Louise Gerard, and Sophie Cole.

By the outbreak of the Second World War romantic fiction or "romances" had emerged as a genre, a distinct market recognized by the industry and the media, and reinforced by the cinema. In 1934, W.H. Smith surveyed "Romance Authors and their Publishers" and listed thirteen publishing houses, among the other Mills & Boon, listing for it only, for whatever reason, Sophie Cole.

It is interesting to study a Mills & Boon novel from these early years which featured main characters who themselves wrote romantic fiction. This "novel within novel" is revealing as it was written by an author who had achieved considerable success: Sophie Cole. In Cole's Secret Joy (1934), the heroine's burning ambition is to write romantic novel. Celia Halstead is married with three children. Her novel, Anna Croone, is published anonymously by the firm of Spencer & Trant, whose imprint "is a guarantee the novel's worth taking seriously". The same could be said by this time of the Mills & Boon imprint. Celia speculated on joys of writing:

It had always been her instinct to hide the fact that she was romantic - "romantic" was the word, there was no gainsaying it, much as she was ashamed of the weakness. But in those hidden pages she could let herself go - could give the reins to sentiment without fear of being called "sentimental" by her matter-of-fact family, and indulge in romance without incurring the risk of being labelled "romantic".

Then, as now, to be labelled "romantic" or "sentimental" was to attract a degree of snobbery from the literary establishment. Needless to say, Anna Croone is a hit and Celia finds a "sudden accession to comparative wealth", something Sophie Cole knew a thing or two about.

In 1935 the Bookseller analysed the stock of "one of the largest and newest" of the commercial libraries in a quest to reveal "What the Public Likes". Among the Mills & Boon authors listed in "the "best-seller" class" (alongside Edgar Wallace) were Denise Robins, Joan Sutherland, Sophie Cole, Louise Gerard, Elizabeth Carfrae, Deirdre O'Brien and Marjorie M. Price.

In 1938 Ronald F. Batty, author of How to Run a Twopenny Library (whose publications attests to the popularity and financial rewards offered by commercial libraries), listed "The Most Popular Twopenny Library Authors". Under the category "Love and Romance", sixty-eight authors were listed. Of these, eight were Mills & Boon regulars, including Elizabeth Carfrae, Sophie Cole, Louise Gerard, Helena Grose, Marjorie M. Price, and Marjorie Warby.

On the eve of the Second World War, Mills & Boon's transformation into a "Library House" was complete. The firm was confident, even boastful, in describing its authors in 1939 - on its thirtieth anniversary:

Thirty years ago Sophie Cole wrote the first book Mills & Boon ever published. Since then her mastery has only increased.

Margaret "Madge" Boon, sister of Charles Boon and in charge of the company during the absence of his brother for the First World War, had an affair with a married man, Frederick Maule, who happened to be the brother-in-law of Sophie Cole. The scandal precipitated Cole's departure from Mills & Boon. Margaret met Maule and his wife, Daisy, through Cole's other sister, Gladys, who typed Cole's manuscripts and delivered them to Mills & Boon for proofreading by Margaret.

"Maule had several clandestine affairs with various people, usually within spinsters who were well off. Margaret probably was." Betty Richards, Cole's grand-niece, recalled.

The affair continued until 1939, when Margaret Boon moved in with Maule, and nursed him for two years, while Daisy lived elsewhere. Richards noted that clues to the affair are scattered throughout Cole's books. In one, for example, a character is called "Madge". In another, the hero sports a red Jaeger dressing gown, similar to one that Margaret gave Maule.

Five years before she died in 1947, Sophie Cole left Mills & Boon, and sold the 50 shares in the firm she had bought in 1928. Why?

"Maybe it was because of Margaret Boon and Grandfather," Richards said. "Sophie may have been upset. She was very fond of Daisy. Madge had come between her and her husband."

There is a nice story behind the destiny of Arrows from the Dark, the first book ever printed by Mills & Boon. Guy Hallowes, London offices boss of Mills and Boon and the man who ran the Australian offices for a long time, has a copy of that very first Mills & Boon romance, a book of priceless value and that was only discovered last year, hidden away in a box in the company warehouse and found by chance as they were moving and clearing out. Guy Hallowes read from inside the cover where it said about it being first printed by Mills & Boon in 1908.

Sophie Cole's Books on Amazon: Sophie Cole

Source: http://www.reading.ac.uk/special-collections/collections/sc-cole.aspx

Passion's Fortune: The Story of Mills & Boon by Joseph McAleer