Victoria Holt (1906 – 1993)

Her novels sold more than 100 million copies in 20 languages, and in 1989 she was awarded the Gold Treasure from the Romance Writers of America for her significant contributions to the genre.

In her early twenties, she married George Percival Hibbert, a leather merchant 20 years her senior. During the 1930s she wrote 9 long novels, all of which were rejected by publishers. She was told to try her hand at romance novels, which were easier to sell. She read 50 romance novels as research, then published her first book, Daughter of Anna, in 1941, received an advance of £30.

Her husband died in 1966. Eleanor spent her winters away from England, sailing around the world, and incorporating the exotic locations into her novels. She died on January 18, 1993, aboard a cruise ship between Greece and Egypt.