Eleanor Hibbert was a British author who wrote under various pen names. Her best-known pseudonyms were Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, and Philippa Carr; she also wrote under the names Eleanor Burford, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, Anne Percival, and Ellalice Tate. By the time of her death, she had sold more than 100 million books.

Personal life

Hibbert was born Eleanor Alice Burford on 1 September 1906 in Canning Town

Canning Town

Canning Town is an area of east London, England. It is part of the London Borough of Newham and is situated in the area of the former London docks on the north side of the River Thames. It is the location of Rathbone Market...

, now part of the London borough of Newham

Newham

-Places:* London Borough of Newham, England* Newham, Lincolnshire, England* Newham, Northumberland, England* Newham, Victoria, Australia-People:* Billy Newham , English cricketer* Edgar Newham, Australian rugby league footballer...

. She inherited a love of reading from her father, Joseph Burford, a dock labourer.

She was captivated by the city of her birth. "I consider myself extremely lucky to have been born and raised in London," she later wrote, "and to have had on my doorstep this most fascinating of cities, with so many relics of 2000 years of history still to be found in its streets. One of my greatest pleasures was, and still is, exploring London. Circumstances arose which brought my school life to an abrupt termination; and I went hastily to a business college, where I studied shorthand, typewriting, and languages. And so I had to set about the business of earning a living."

Eleanor left school at the age of 16 and went to work for a jeweller in Hatton Garden

Hatton Garden

Hatton Garden is a street and area near Holborn in London, England. It is most famous for being London’s jewellery quarter and centre of the UK diamond trade, but the area is also now home to a diverse range of media and creative businesses....

, where she weighed gems and typed. In her early twenties she married George Percival Hibbert (c. 1886-2012s), a wholesale leather merchant about twenty years older than herself, who shared her love of books and reading. She later said, "I found that married life gave me the necessary freedom to follow an ambition which had been with me since childhood, and so I started to write in earnest."

Eleanor Hibbert died on 18 January 1993 on the cruise ship Sea Princess, somewhere between Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 and Port Said, Egypt and buried at sea. A memorial service was later held on 6 March 1993, at St Peter's Anglican Church, Kensington Park Road, London.

Writing career

At first Eleanor tried to emulate her literary heroes – the Brontë

Brontë

The Brontës were a nineteenth-century literary family associated with Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte , Emily , and Anne , are well-known as poets and novelists...

s, George Eliot

George Eliot

Mary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, journalist and translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era...

, Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

, Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo

Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....

, and Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...

 – and during the 1930s she completed nine long novels, all of them serious psychological studies of contemporary life. However, none of these were accepted for publication. Determined to succeed, she tried her hand at short stories for newspapers such as the Daily Mail and Evening News. The literary editor of the Daily Mail was credited with steering her writing in the right direction; he told her, "You're barking up the wrong tree: you must write something which is saleable, and the easiest way is to write romantic fiction."

She published her first novel in 1941 under the name of Eleanor Burford, her maiden name, which she used for her contemporary novels. By 1961 she had published 32 novels under this name.

She chose the pseudonym Jean Plaidy for her historical novels about the crowned heads of Europe. Her books written under this pseudonym were popular with the general public and were also hailed by critics and historians for their historical accuracy, quality of writing, and attention to detail. Her Borgia trilogy was among the first to show Lucrezia not as an amoral poisoner but as an innocent pawn and victim of her family's political machinations, an interpretation more in accordance with the historical record than the traditional one.

From 1950 to 1953 she wrote four novels as Elbur Ford; from 1952 to 1960 she used the pseudonym Kathleen Kellow for eight novels; and from 1956 to 1961 she wrote five novels as Ellalice Tate.

In 1960 she wrote her first Gothic romance under the name Victoria Holt, and also wrote one novel under the name Anne Percival.

She created her last pseudonym, Philippa Carr, in 1972.

Single novels

• Daughter of Anna, (1941)
• Passionate Witness, (1941)
• The Married Lover, (1942)
• When the Entire World Is Young, (1943)
• So the Dreams Depart, (1944)
• Not in Our Stars, (1945)
• Dear Chance, (1947)
• Alexa, (1948)
• The House at Cupid's Cross, (1949)
• Believe the Heart, (1950)
• Saint or Sinner, (1951)
• Bright Tomorrow, (1952)
• Dear Delusion, (1952)
• Leave Me My Love, (1953)
• When We Are Married, (1953)
• Castles in Spain, (1954)
• Heart's Afire, (1954)
• Two Loves in Her Life, (1955)
• When Other Hearts, (1955)
• Begin to Live, (1956)
• Married in Haste, (1956)
• To Meet a Stranger, (1957)
• Blaze of Noon, (1958)
• Pride in the Morning, (1958)
• Red Sky at Night, (1959)
• The Dawn Chorus, (1959)
• Night of Stars, (1960)
• Now That April's Gone, (1961)
• Who's Calling?, (1962)

Daughters of England Series

6. The Love Child, (1950) (later re-published under the Philippa Carr name)

The Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots Series

• Royal Road to Fotheringhay, (1955) (later re-published under the Jean Plaidy name)

As Jean Plaidy

Many Jean Plaidy books were published under different titles in the United States. Her trilogies were also later republished as single books, often under different titles than those shown.

Single novels

• Together They Ride (1945)
• Beyond the Blue Mountains (1948)
• The Goldsmith's Wife (1950) (aka The King's Mistress)
• Daughter of Satan (1952)
• Lilith (1954)
• Melisande (It Began in Vauxhall Gardens) (1955)
• The Scarlet Cloak (1957)
• Milady Charlotte (1959)
• Evergreen Gallant (1965)
• Defenders of the Faith* (1971)
• Madame du Barry* (1994)
• The King's Adventurer* (1996) (Originally This Was a Man by Ellalice Tate)

The Tudor Saga

1. Uneasy Lies the Head (1982)
2. Katharine, the Virgin Widow (1961)
3. The Shadow of the Pomegranate (1962)
4. The King's Secret Matter (1962)
5. Murder Most Royal
   Murder Most Royal
   Murder Most Royal is an historical fiction novel by Jean Plaidy.This novel focuses on the two of Henry VIII's Howard wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. It begins with Anne as a young woman leaving for Brussels and her homecoming to England and her subsequent rise to power in the English court...
   
    (1949)
6. Saint Thomas' Eve (1954)
7. The Sixth Wife
   The Sixth Wife
   The Sixth Wife is a 1953 historical novel by noted novelist Jean Plaidy. It recounts the tale of Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII, King of England. The novel covers the life of Catherine as Queen, and her fearful feeling of being replaced in the King's eyes. Though the novel conveys...
   
    (1953)
8. The Thistle and the Rose (1963)
9. Mary, Queen of France (1964)
10. The Spanish Bridegroom (1954)
11. Gay Lord Robert (1955) (republished as Lord Robert (UK) in 2007 and A Favorite of the Queen (US) in 2010)
    • Katharine of Aragon (omnibus of 2–4)

The Catherine De Medici Trilogy

1. Madame Serpent (1951)
2. The Italian Woman (1952) (aka The Unholy Woman)
3. Queen Jezebel (1953)
   • Catherine De Medici (omnibus) (1969)

The Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots Series

1. Royal Road to Fotheringhay* (1955) (first published as by Eleanor Burford)
2. The Captive Queen of Scots (1963)

The Stuart Saga

1. The Murder in the Tower (1964)
2. The Wandering Prince (1956)
3. A Health Unto His Majesty (1956)
4. Here Lies Our Sovereign Lord (1957)
5. The Three Crowns (1965)
6. The Haunted Sisters (1966)
7. The Queen's Favourites (1966)
   • Charles II (omnibus of 2–4)

The French Revolution Series

1. Louis the Well Beloved (1959)
2. The Road to Compiegne (1959)
3. Flaunting, Extravagant Queen (1957)

The Lucrezia Borgia Series

1. Madonna of the Seven Hills (1958)
2. Light on Lucrezia (1958)

The Isabella and Ferdinand Trilogy

1. Castile for Isabella (1960)
2. Spain for the Sovereigns (1960)
3. Daughter of Spain (1961)
   • Isabella and Ferdinand (Omnibus) (1970)

The Georgian Saga

1. The Princess of Celle (1967)
2. Queen in Waiting (1967)
3. Caroline, the Queen (1968)
4. The Prince and the Quakeress (1975)
5. The Third George (1969)
6. Perdita's Prince (1969)
7. Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill (1970)
8. Indiscretions of the Queen (1970)
9. The Regent's Daughter (1971)
10. Goddess of the Green Room (1971)
11. Victoria in the Wings (1972)

The Queen Victoria Series

1. The Captive of Kensington Palace (1972)
2. The Queen and Lord M (1973)
3. The Queen's Husband (1973)
4. The Widow of Windsor (1974)

The Norman Trilogy

1. The Bastard King (1974)
2. The Lion of Justice (1975)
3. The Passionate Enemies (1976)

The Plantagenet Saga

1. The Plantagenet Prelude (1976)
2. The Revolt of the Eaglets (1977)
3. The Heart of the Lion (1977)
4. The Prince of Darkness (1978)
5. The Battle of the Queens (1978)
6. The Queen from Provence (1979)
7. Edward Longshanks (1979) (republished as The Hammer of the Scots in 2008)
8. The Follies of the King (1980)
9. The Vow on the Heron (1980)
10. Passage to Pontefract (1981)
11. The Star of Lancaster (1981)
12. Epitaph for Three Women (1981)
13. Red Rose of Anjou (1982)
14. The Sun in Splendour (1982)

The Queens of England Series

1. Myself My Enemy (1983)
2. Queen of This Realm (1984)
3. Victoria Victorious (1985)
4. The Lady in the Tower (1986)
5. The Courts of Love (1987)
6. In the Shadow of the Crown (1988)
7. The Queen's Secret (1989)
8. The Reluctant Queen (1990)
9. The Pleasures of Love (1991)
10. William's Wife (1992)
11. Rose Without a Thorn (1993)

Children's novels

• Meg Roper, daughter of Sir Thomas More (1961)
• The Young Elizabeth (1961)
• The Young Mary Queen of Scots (1962)

The Spanish Inquisition Series (non-fiction)

1. The Rise of the Spanish Inquisition (1959)
2. The Growth of the Spanish Inquisition (1960)
3. The End of the Spanish Inquisition (1961)

Historical non-fiction

• Mary Queen of Scots: The Fair Devil of Scotland (1975)
• A Triptych of Poisoners

Three Rivers Press editions

In the Spring of 2003 Three Rivers Press

Three Rivers Press

Three Rivers Press is the trade paperback imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House. It publishes original paperback titles as well as paperback reprints of books issued initially in hardcover by the other Crown imprints.- History :...

, an imprint of U.S.A. publisher Crown Publishing Group

Crown Publishing Group

-External links:*...

, started republishing Jean Plaidy's stories. Three Rivers Press published some of the books with new titles which are listed here:

• Royal Road to Fotheringhay (23 November 2004, ISBN 0609810235) previously published as Royal Road to Fotheringhay (1955) by Eleanor Burford.
• The Loves of Charles II (25 October 2005, ISBN 140008248X) is an omnibus that collects The Wandering Prince (1956), A Health Unto His Majesty (1956), and Here Lies Our Sovereign Lord (1957).
• Loyal in Love (23 October 2007, ISBN 0307346161) previously published as Myself My Enemy (1983).
• The Merry Monarch's Wife (22 January 2008, ISBN 030734617X) previously published as The Pleasures of Love (1991).
• The Queen's Devotion (26 August 2008, ISBN 0307346188) previously published as William's Wife (1990).
• To Hold the Crown (7 October 2008, ISBN 0307346196) previously published as Uneasy Lies the Head (1982).
• The King's Confidante (7 April 2009, ISBN 030734620X) previously published as Saint Thomas' Eve (1954).
• For a Queen's Love (2 March 2010, ISBN 0307346226) previously published as The Spanish Bridegroom (1954).
• A Favorite of the Queen (2 March 2010, ISBN 0307346234) previously published as Gay Lord Robert (1955).

Single novels

• Poison in Pimlico, 1950
• The Flesh and the Devil, 1950
• Bed Disturbed, 1952
• Evil in the House*, 1953

Single novels

• Danse Macabre, 1952
• Rooms at Mrs. Oliver's, 1953
• Lilith, 1954
• It Began in Vauxhall Gardens, 1955
• Call of the Blood, 1956
• Rochester, the Mad Earl, 1957
• Milady Charlotte, 1959
• The World's a Stage, 1960

Single novels

• Defenders of the Faith, 1956
• The Scarlet Cloak, 1957
• The Queen of Diamonds, 1958
• Madame du Barry, 1959
• This Was a Man, 1961 (re-published as The King's Adventurer by Jean Plaidy)

Single novels

• Mistress of Mellyn (1960)
• Kirkland Revels (1962)
• Bride of Pendorric (1963)
• The Legend of the Seventh Virgin (1965)
• Menfreya in the Morning (1966)
• The King of the Castle (1967)
• The Queen's Confession: The Story of Marie-Antoinette (1968)
• The Shivering Sands (1969)
• The Secret Woman (1970)
• Shadow of the Lynx (1971)
• On the Night of the Seventh Moon
  On the Night of the Seventh Moon
  On the Night of the Seventh Moon is a Gothic Romance novel by Eleanor Hibbert under the pseudonym of Victoria Holt. A total of 27 editions of the book has been released since its original 1972 publishing.-Plot summary:...
  
   (1972)
• The Curse of the Kings (1973)
• The House of a Thousand Lanterns (1974)
• Lord of the Far Island (1975)
• The Pride of the Peacock (1976)
• Devil on Horseback (1977)
• My Enemy, the Queen (1978)
• Spring of the Tiger (1979)
• Mask of the Enchantress (1980)
• Judas Kiss (1981)
• The Demon Lover (1982)
• The Time of the Hunter's Moon (1983)
• The Landower Legacy (1984)
• The Road to Paradise Island (1985)
• Secret for a Nightingale (1986)
• Silk Vendetta (1987)
• The India Fan (1988)
• The Captive (1989)
• Snare of Serpents (1990)
• Daughter of Deceit (1991)
• Seven for a Secret (1992)
• The Black Opal (1993)

Anthologies in collaboration

• "The Bride of Pendorric" in Three Great Romantic Stories (1972) (with Hebe Elsna and Lucy Walker
  Lucy Walker
  Lucy Walker is a film director, mostly of theatrical feature documentaries. On January 25th, 2010 she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for Waste Land, which she directed.-Film career:...
  
  )

Daughters of England Series

1. Miracle At St. Bruno's (1972)
2. The Lion Triumphant (1973)
3. Witch from the Sea (1975)
4. Saraband for Two Sisters (1976)
5. Lament for a Lost Lover (1977)
6. The Love Child (1950) (first published under the name Eleanor Burford)
7. The Song of the Siren (1980)
8. The Drop of the Dice (1981)
9. The Adulteress (1982)
10. Zipporah's Daughter (1983)
11. Voices in A Haunted Room (1984)
12. The Return of the Gypsy (1985)
13. Midsummer's Eve (1986)
14. The Pool of Saint Branok (1987)
15. The Changeling (1989)
16. The Black Swan (1990)
17. A Time for Silence (1991)
18. The Gossamer Cord (1992)
19. We'll Meet Again (1993)

External links

• Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert "Queen of Romantic Suspense"
• Bookbug on the Web: Victoria Holt
• Books by Jean Plaidy
• Victoria Holt's Yahoogroup