Barbara Cartland
Encyclopedia
Dame Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE
, CStJ (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000), was an English author, one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century. As Barbara Cartland she is known for her numerous romantic novels
, but she also wrote under her married name Barbara McCorquodale.
She also became one of London's most prominent society figures and one of Britain's most popular media personalities, appearing often at public events and on television, dressed in her trademark pink and discoursing on love, health, and social and political issues. She is widely regarded as having originated the phrase: "I'm bringing sexy back", as popularised by singer Justin Timberlake
. Barbara Cartland is the sixth most translated writer worldwide and the third best selling. Only William Shakespeare and Agatha Christie have outsold her.
, Birmingham, England. She was the only daughter and eldest child of a British army officer, Major Bertram Cartland (born James Bertram Falkner Cartland 1876; died 27 May 1918), and his wife, Mary Hamilton Scobell, known as "Polly" (1877–1976). Though she was born into an enviable degree of middle-class comfort, the family's security was severely shaken after the suicide
of her paternal grandfather, James Cartland, a financier, who shot himself in the wake of bankruptcy.
This was followed soon after by her father's death on a Flanders
battlefield in World War I
. However, her enterprising mother opened a London dress shop to make ends meet — "Poor I may be," Polly Cartland once remarked, "but common I am not" — and to raise Cartland and her two brothers, Anthony and Ronald
, both of whom were eventually killed in battle
, one day apart, in 1940.
After attending The Alice Ottley School
, Malvern Girls' College
, and Abbey House
, an educational institution in Hampshire
, Cartland soon became successful as a society reporter and writer of romantic fiction. Cartland admitted she was inspired in her early work by the novels of Edwardian author Elinor Glyn
, whom she idolized and eventually befriended.
After a year as a gossip columnist for the Daily Express
, Cartland published her first novel, Jigsaw (1923), a risqué society thriller that became a bestseller. She also began writing and producing somewhat racy plays, one of which, Blood Money (1926), was banned by the Lord Chamberlain's Office
. In the 1920s and 1930s Cartland was a prominent young hostess in London society, noted for her beauty, energetic charm and daring parties. Her fashion sense also had a part and she was one of the first clients of designer Norman Hartnell
, remaining a client until he died in 1979. He made her presentation and wedding dresses; the latter was made to her own design against Hartnell's wishes and she admitted it was a failure.
Cartland's image as a self-appointed 'expert' on romance drew some ridicule in her later years, when her social views became more conservative. Indeed, although her first novels were considered sensational, Cartland's later (and arguably most popular) titles were comparatively tame with virginal heroines and few, if any, suggestive situations. Almost all of Cartland's later books were historical in theme, which allowed for the believability of chastity (at least, to many of her audience).
Despite their tame story lines, Barbara Cartland's later novels were highly successful. By 1983 she rated the longest entry in the British Who's Who
(though most of that article was a list of her books), and was named the top-selling author in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. In the mid-1990s, by which time she had sold over a billion books, Vogue
magazine called her "the true Queen of Romance". She became a mainstay of the popular media in her trademark pink dresses and plumed hats, discoursing on matters of love
, marriage
, politics, religion, health, and fashion. She was publicly opposed to the removal of prayer
from state schools and spoke against infidelity
and divorce
, although she admitted to being acquainted with both of these moral failings.
In 1983 Cartland wrote 23 novels, and holds the Guiness World Record for the most novels written in a single year.
, including 'I'll Follow My Secret Heart' and 'A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
'.
movement. Although aerotowing for launching gliders first occurred in Germany, she thought of long-distance tows in 1931 and did a 200-mile (360 km) tow in a two-seater glider. The idea led to troop-carrying gliders
. In 1984, she was awarded the Bishop Wright Air Industry Award for this contribution.
She regularly attended Brooklands
aerodrome and motor-racing circuit during the 1920s and 1930s, and the Brooklands Museum
has preserved a sitting-room from that era and named it after her.
on 22 May 2000, Cartland reportedly broke off her first engagement, to a Guards officer, when she learned about sexual intercourse
and recoiled. This claim fits in with her image as part of a generation for whom such matters were never discussed, but sits uneasily with her having produced work controversial at the time for its sexual subject matter, as described above. She was married to Alexander George McCorquodale (died 1964), a British Army officer and heir to a British printing fortune, from 1927 to 1932.
Their daughter, Raine McCorquodale (born in 1929), whom Cartland later alleged was the daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent
, became "Deb of the Year" in 1947. After the McCorquodales' 1936 divorce, which involved charges and countercharges of infidelity, Cartland married a man her husband had accused her of dallying with — his cousin Hugh McCorquodale, a former military officer. She and her second husband, who died in 1963, had two sons, Ian and Glen McCorquodale.
Cartland maintained a long-time friendship with Lord Mountbatten of Burma
, whose 1979 murder she claimed was the "greatest sadness of my life". Mountbatten supported Cartland in her various charitable works, particularly for United World Colleges
, and even helped her write her book Love at the Helm, providing background naval and historical information. The Mountbatten Memorial Trust, established by Mountbatten's great-nephew Charles, Prince of Wales
after Mountbatten was assassinated in Ireland, was the recipient of the proceeds of this book on its release in 1980.
In 1991, aged 90, Cartland was invested by Queen Elizabeth II as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
in honor of the author's nearly 70 years of literary, political, and social contributions.
Cartland did not get on with her step-granddaughter Diana, Princess of Wales
, who notably did not invite Cartland to her wedding to the Prince of Wales. Cartland was openly critical of Diana's subsequent divorce, though the rift between them was mended shortly before Diana's fatal car crash in Paris in 1997. According to Tina Brown
's book on the late Princess, Cartland once remarked, "The only books Diana ever read were mine, and they weren't awfully good for her."
of her brother Ronald Cartland
, a Conservative
Member of Parliament
, she published a biography of him with a preface by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
, Winston Churchill
. The war marked the beginning of a life-long interest in civic welfare and politics for Barbara Cartland, who served the War Office
in various charitable capacities as well as the St. John Ambulance Brigade; in 1953 she was invested at Buckingham Palace
as a Commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem for her services.
In 1955 Barbara Cartland was elected a councillor on Hertfordshire County Council
as a Conservative and served for nine years. During this time she campaigned successfully for nursing home reform, improvement in the salaries of midwives, and the legalization of education for the children of Gypsies. She also founded the National Association of Health, promoting a variety of medications and remedies, including an anti-aging cream and a so-called "brain pill" for increasing mental energy.
, however, ended in divorce, and she married the 8th Earl Spencer on 14 July 1976, making Barbara Cartland the stepgrandmother of Lady Diana Spencer
, later Princess of Wales
.
She was burlesqued as 'Amelia Nettleship' in the Rumpole TV show episode "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation" (Season 5, Episode 1 – 1988). The character of Dame Sally Markham in the comedy series Little Britain
is clearly very heavily influenced by Barbara Cartland. Her real name was mentioned in an episode of Keeping Up Appearances
, in which Hyacinth
brought a book of hers to read during a golfing holiday.
In autumn 2011 an Estonian minister of culture Rein Lang said, that Estonian libraries should not buy such a "trivial" literature as Cartland's translations for the state's money. After that Cartland became immensely popular in Estonia.
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Her physical and mental health began to fail in her mid-90s but her spirit and courage were undiminished, and she remained a favourite with the press, granting interviews to international news agencies even during the final months of her life. Two of her last interviews were with the BBC
and US journalist Randy Bryan Bigham.
Her last project was to be filmed and interviewed for her life story (directed by Steven Glen for Blue Melon Films). The documentary, Virgins and Heroes, includes unique early home cine footage and Dame Barbara launching her website with pink computers in early 2000. At that time, her publishers estimated that since her writing career began in 1923, Cartland had produced a total of 723 titles. She was 98 years of age when she died on 21 May 2000.
She left behind a series of manuscripts, that are published by her son, Ian McCorquodale, and are known as the Barbara Cartland Pink Collection. . In 2010, to mark the 10th anniversary of her passing, her first novel Jigsaw, was reproduced. After originally deciding she would like to be buried in her local parish church, featuring a marble construction, covered in angels, this was later changed and she was laid to rest in a cardboard coffin, due to her concerns for environmental issues http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/undertakers-say-no-to-green-burials-714496.html She was interred at her private estate in Hatfield, Hertfordshire
under a tree that had been planted by Queen Elizabeth I. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1080454/A-drunken-husband-secret-lovers-The-novel-Barbara-Cartland-wanted-read.html
, ref 7BCA
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, CStJ (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000), was an English author, one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century. As Barbara Cartland she is known for her numerous romantic novels
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
, but she also wrote under her married name Barbara McCorquodale.
She also became one of London's most prominent society figures and one of Britain's most popular media personalities, appearing often at public events and on television, dressed in her trademark pink and discoursing on love, health, and social and political issues. She is widely regarded as having originated the phrase: "I'm bringing sexy back", as popularised by singer Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
. Barbara Cartland is the sixth most translated writer worldwide and the third best selling. Only William Shakespeare and Agatha Christie have outsold her.
Early life
Born Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland at 31 Augustus Road, EdgbastonEdgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
, Birmingham, England. She was the only daughter and eldest child of a British army officer, Major Bertram Cartland (born James Bertram Falkner Cartland 1876; died 27 May 1918), and his wife, Mary Hamilton Scobell, known as "Polly" (1877–1976). Though she was born into an enviable degree of middle-class comfort, the family's security was severely shaken after the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
of her paternal grandfather, James Cartland, a financier, who shot himself in the wake of bankruptcy.
This was followed soon after by her father's death on a Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
battlefield in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. However, her enterprising mother opened a London dress shop to make ends meet — "Poor I may be," Polly Cartland once remarked, "but common I am not" — and to raise Cartland and her two brothers, Anthony and Ronald
Ronald Cartland
John Ronald Hamilton Cartland was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for King's Norton in Birmingham from 1935 until he was killed in action in 1940, aged 33.-Background:...
, both of whom were eventually killed in battle
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
, one day apart, in 1940.
After attending The Alice Ottley School
The Alice Ottley School
The Alice Ottley School was an independent all-girl school in Worcester which existed between 1883 and 2007 before it was renamed to take the name of the school's first ever headmistress and became 'The Alice Ottley School'.-History:...
, Malvern Girls' College
Malvern Girls' College
Malvern St James is a leading independent school for girls in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England. Renamed in 2006 from Malvern Girls' College following a succession of amalgamations with other independent schools for girls in the Malvern area, it continues to occupy the same campus as...
, and Abbey House
Abbey House
Abbey House may refer to:*Abbey House, London*Abbey House, Cirencester*Abbey House, Dorset*Abbey House, Wiltshire, for which see Abbey House Gardens*Abbey House, Barrow-in-Furness...
, an educational institution in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, Cartland soon became successful as a society reporter and writer of romantic fiction. Cartland admitted she was inspired in her early work by the novels of Edwardian author Elinor Glyn
Elinor Glyn
Elinor Glyn , born Elinor Sutherland, was a British novelist and scriptwriter who pioneered mass-market women's erotic fiction. She popularized the concept It...
, whom she idolized and eventually befriended.
Novels
- See also Barbara Cartland bibliography
After a year as a gossip columnist for the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, Cartland published her first novel, Jigsaw (1923), a risqué society thriller that became a bestseller. She also began writing and producing somewhat racy plays, one of which, Blood Money (1926), was banned by the Lord Chamberlain's Office
Lord Chamberlain's Office
The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department within the British Royal Household. It is presently concerned with matters such as protocol, state visits, investitures, garden parties, the State Opening of Parliament, royal weddings and funerals. For example, in April 2005 it organised the wedding of...
. In the 1920s and 1930s Cartland was a prominent young hostess in London society, noted for her beauty, energetic charm and daring parties. Her fashion sense also had a part and she was one of the first clients of designer Norman Hartnell
Norman Hartnell
Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell, KCVO was a British fashion designer. Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to HM The Queen 1940, subsequently Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother...
, remaining a client until he died in 1979. He made her presentation and wedding dresses; the latter was made to her own design against Hartnell's wishes and she admitted it was a failure.
Cartland's image as a self-appointed 'expert' on romance drew some ridicule in her later years, when her social views became more conservative. Indeed, although her first novels were considered sensational, Cartland's later (and arguably most popular) titles were comparatively tame with virginal heroines and few, if any, suggestive situations. Almost all of Cartland's later books were historical in theme, which allowed for the believability of chastity (at least, to many of her audience).
Despite their tame story lines, Barbara Cartland's later novels were highly successful. By 1983 she rated the longest entry in the British Who's Who
Who's Who (UK)
Who's Who is an annual British publication of biographies which vary in length of about 30,000 living notable Britons.-History:...
(though most of that article was a list of her books), and was named the top-selling author in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. In the mid-1990s, by which time she had sold over a billion books, Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
magazine called her "the true Queen of Romance". She became a mainstay of the popular media in her trademark pink dresses and plumed hats, discoursing on matters of love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
, marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, politics, religion, health, and fashion. She was publicly opposed to the removal of prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
from state schools and spoke against infidelity
Infidelity
In many intimate relationships in many cultures there is usually an express or implied expectation of exclusivity, especially in sexual matters. Infidelity most commonly refers to a breach of the expectation of sexual exclusivity.Infidelity can occur in relation to physical intimacy and/or...
and divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, although she admitted to being acquainted with both of these moral failings.
In 1983 Cartland wrote 23 novels, and holds the Guiness World Record for the most novels written in a single year.
Musical career
In 1978 Cartland released 'An Album Of Love Songs' through State Records, the album featured Cartland performing a series of popular standards with the Royal Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, including 'I'll Follow My Secret Heart' and 'A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square may refer to:*"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" , a 1940 song by Manning Sherwin and Eric Maschwitz*A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square , a 1979 film by Ralph Thomas...
'.
Contribution to aviation
Privately, Cartland took an interest in the early glidingGliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
movement. Although aerotowing for launching gliders first occurred in Germany, she thought of long-distance tows in 1931 and did a 200-mile (360 km) tow in a two-seater glider. The idea led to troop-carrying gliders
Military glider
Military gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g...
. In 1984, she was awarded the Bishop Wright Air Industry Award for this contribution.
She regularly attended Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
aerodrome and motor-racing circuit during the 1920s and 1930s, and the Brooklands Museum
Brooklands Museum
Brooklands Museum is an independent charitable trust, established in 1987, whose aim is to conserve, protect and interpret the unique heritage of the Brooklands site. It is located south of Weybridge, Surrey and was first opened regularly in 1991 on of the original 1907 motor-racing circuit...
has preserved a sitting-room from that era and named it after her.
Marriage and relationships
According to an obituary published in The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
on 22 May 2000, Cartland reportedly broke off her first engagement, to a Guards officer, when she learned about sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
and recoiled. This claim fits in with her image as part of a generation for whom such matters were never discussed, but sits uneasily with her having produced work controversial at the time for its sexual subject matter, as described above. She was married to Alexander George McCorquodale (died 1964), a British Army officer and heir to a British printing fortune, from 1927 to 1932.
Their daughter, Raine McCorquodale (born in 1929), whom Cartland later alleged was the daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of George V and Mary of Teck, and younger brother of Edward VIII and George VI...
, became "Deb of the Year" in 1947. After the McCorquodales' 1936 divorce, which involved charges and countercharges of infidelity, Cartland married a man her husband had accused her of dallying with — his cousin Hugh McCorquodale, a former military officer. She and her second husband, who died in 1963, had two sons, Ian and Glen McCorquodale.
Cartland maintained a long-time friendship with Lord Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, whose 1979 murder she claimed was the "greatest sadness of my life". Mountbatten supported Cartland in her various charitable works, particularly for United World Colleges
United World Colleges
UWC is an education movement comprising thirteen international schools and colleges, national committees in over 130 countries and a series of short educational programmes. The UWC movement aims to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future...
, and even helped her write her book Love at the Helm, providing background naval and historical information. The Mountbatten Memorial Trust, established by Mountbatten's great-nephew Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
after Mountbatten was assassinated in Ireland, was the recipient of the proceeds of this book on its release in 1980.
In 1991, aged 90, Cartland was invested by Queen Elizabeth II as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in honor of the author's nearly 70 years of literary, political, and social contributions.
Cartland did not get on with her step-granddaughter Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, who notably did not invite Cartland to her wedding to the Prince of Wales. Cartland was openly critical of Diana's subsequent divorce, though the rift between them was mended shortly before Diana's fatal car crash in Paris in 1997. According to Tina Brown
Tina Brown
Tina Brown, Lady Evans, CBE , is a journalist, magazine editor, columnist, talk-show host and author of The Diana Chronicles, a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales. Born a British citizen, she took United States citizenship in 2005 after emigrating in 1984 to edit Vanity Fair...
's book on the late Princess, Cartland once remarked, "The only books Diana ever read were mine, and they weren't awfully good for her."
Political influence
After the death during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
of her brother Ronald Cartland
Ronald Cartland
John Ronald Hamilton Cartland was a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for King's Norton in Birmingham from 1935 until he was killed in action in 1940, aged 33.-Background:...
, a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, she published a biography of him with a preface by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. The war marked the beginning of a life-long interest in civic welfare and politics for Barbara Cartland, who served the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
in various charitable capacities as well as the St. John Ambulance Brigade; in 1953 she was invested at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
as a Commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem for her services.
In 1955 Barbara Cartland was elected a councillor on Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. It currently consists of 77 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, which has 55 councillors, 17 Liberal Democrats, versus 3 Labour...
as a Conservative and served for nine years. During this time she campaigned successfully for nursing home reform, improvement in the salaries of midwives, and the legalization of education for the children of Gypsies. She also founded the National Association of Health, promoting a variety of medications and remedies, including an anti-aging cream and a so-called "brain pill" for increasing mental energy.
Celebrity status
Her high profile in the UK, France and the United States between the 1970s and 1990s was aided greatly through her frequent appearance on TV talk shows. Her daughter's social success, which repeated and surpassed her own, also brought her added attention. Raine's marriage to the 9th Earl of DartmouthGerald Legge, 9th Earl of Dartmouth
Gerald Humphry Legge, 9th Earl of Dartmouth FCA was a British peer and businessman.Legge was the only son of the 8th Earl of Dartmouth...
, however, ended in divorce, and she married the 8th Earl Spencer on 14 July 1976, making Barbara Cartland the stepgrandmother of Lady Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, later Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales
Princess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of The Prince of Wales since the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1283.Although there have been considerably more than ten male heirs to the throne, there have been only ten Princesses of Wales. The majority of Princes of Wales...
.
She was burlesqued as 'Amelia Nettleship' in the Rumpole TV show episode "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation" (Season 5, Episode 1 – 1988). The character of Dame Sally Markham in the comedy series Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
is clearly very heavily influenced by Barbara Cartland. Her real name was mentioned in an episode of Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket , the sitcom portrays a social hierarchy-ruled British society...
, in which Hyacinth
Hyacinth Bucket
Hyacinth Bucket, who insists her last name is pronounced "Bouquet" , is the main character in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances , played by Patricia Routledge.-Personality:...
brought a book of hers to read during a golfing holiday.
In autumn 2011 an Estonian minister of culture Rein Lang said, that Estonian libraries should not buy such a "trivial" literature as Cartland's translations for the state's money. After that Cartland became immensely popular in Estonia.
Later life and death
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and US journalist Randy Bryan Bigham.
Her last project was to be filmed and interviewed for her life story (directed by Steven Glen for Blue Melon Films). The documentary, Virgins and Heroes, includes unique early home cine footage and Dame Barbara launching her website with pink computers in early 2000. At that time, her publishers estimated that since her writing career began in 1923, Cartland had produced a total of 723 titles. She was 98 years of age when she died on 21 May 2000.
She left behind a series of manuscripts, that are published by her son, Ian McCorquodale, and are known as the Barbara Cartland Pink Collection. . In 2010, to mark the 10th anniversary of her passing, her first novel Jigsaw, was reproduced. After originally deciding she would like to be buried in her local parish church, featuring a marble construction, covered in angels, this was later changed and she was laid to rest in a cardboard coffin, due to her concerns for environmental issues http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/undertakers-say-no-to-green-burials-714496.html She was interred at her private estate in Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
under a tree that had been planted by Queen Elizabeth I. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1080454/A-drunken-husband-secret-lovers-The-novel-Barbara-Cartland-wanted-read.html
Archives
Some papers of Barbara Cartland are held at The Women's Library at London Metropolitan UniversityLondon Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
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