Rosamunde Pilcher
Encyclopedia
Rosamunde Pilcher OBE
(born 22 September 1924) is a British
author of romance novels and mainstream women's fiction. Early in her career she was also published under the pen name Jane Fraser. Pilcher retired from writing in 2000.
, Cornwall
, and attended St. Clare's Polwithen and Howell's School Llandaff before going on to Miss Kerr-Sanders' Secretarial College. She began writing when she was seven, and published her first short story when she was 18.
From 1943 through 1946, Pilcher served with the Women's Naval Service. On 7 December 1946, she married Graham Hope Pilcher, a war hero and jute industry executive who died in March 2009. They moved to Dundee
, Scotland
, where she still lives today. They had four children.
Jane Fraser. She published a further ten novels under that name. In 1955, she also began writing under her real name with Secret to Tell. By 1965 she had dropped the pseudonym and was signing her own name to all of her novels.
At the beginning writing was a refuge from her daily life. She claims that writing saved her marriage. The real breakthrough in Pilcher's career came in 1987, when she wrote the family saga, The Shell Seekers
. Since then her books have made her one of the more successful contemporary female authors.
One of her most famous works, The Shell Seekers
, focuses on Penelope Stern Keeling, an elderly British woman who relives her life in flashbacks, and on her relationship with her adult children. Keeling's life was not extraordinary, but it spans "a time of huge importance and change in the world." The novel describes the everyday details of what life during World War II
was like for some of those who lived in Britain
. The Shell Seekers sold more than five million copies worldwide and was adapted for the stage by Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham.
(OBE).
She has four children and fourteen grandchildren. Her son, Robin Pilcher
, is also a novelist.
(Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) has produced more than 100 of her stories for TV starting with "Day of the Storm". These TV films are some of the most popular programmes on ZDF. Both ZDF programme director Dr. Claus Beling and Rosamunde Pilcher were awarded the British Tourism Award in 2002 for the positive effect the books and the TV versions had on Cornwall and Devon tourism within the UK. Notable film locations include Prideaux Place
an Elizabethan Manor within extensive grounds in Padstow
. The Duke of Cornwall Hotel
a 1863 Victorian Gothic building in Plymouth
and much of the coast line of Chapel Porth.
.
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...
(born 22 September 1924) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author of romance novels and mainstream women's fiction. Early in her career she was also published under the pen name Jane Fraser. Pilcher retired from writing in 2000.
Early years
Rosamunde Pilcher was born Rosamunde Scott in LelantLelant
Lelant is a village in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is on the west side of the River Hayle estuary about 2½ miles southeast of St Ives and one mile west of Hayle....
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, and attended St. Clare's Polwithen and Howell's School Llandaff before going on to Miss Kerr-Sanders' Secretarial College. She began writing when she was seven, and published her first short story when she was 18.
From 1943 through 1946, Pilcher served with the Women's Naval Service. On 7 December 1946, she married Graham Hope Pilcher, a war hero and jute industry executive who died in March 2009. They moved to Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, where she still lives today. They had four children.
Writing career
In 1949, Pilcher's first book, a romance novel, was published by Mills and Boon, under the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Jane Fraser. She published a further ten novels under that name. In 1955, she also began writing under her real name with Secret to Tell. By 1965 she had dropped the pseudonym and was signing her own name to all of her novels.
At the beginning writing was a refuge from her daily life. She claims that writing saved her marriage. The real breakthrough in Pilcher's career came in 1987, when she wrote the family saga, The Shell Seekers
The Shell Seekers
The Shell Seekers is a 1987 novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. It became one of her most famous best-sellers. It was nominated by the British public in 2003 as one of the top 100 novels in the BBC's Big Read...
. Since then her books have made her one of the more successful contemporary female authors.
One of her most famous works, The Shell Seekers
The Shell Seekers
The Shell Seekers is a 1987 novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. It became one of her most famous best-sellers. It was nominated by the British public in 2003 as one of the top 100 novels in the BBC's Big Read...
, focuses on Penelope Stern Keeling, an elderly British woman who relives her life in flashbacks, and on her relationship with her adult children. Keeling's life was not extraordinary, but it spans "a time of huge importance and change in the world." The novel describes the everyday details of what life during World War II
World 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...
was like for some of those who lived in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. The Shell Seekers sold more than five million copies worldwide and was adapted for the stage by Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham.
Later years
Pilcher retired from writing in 2000. Two years later she was created an Officer of the Order of the British EmpireOrder 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...
(OBE).
She has four children and fourteen grandchildren. Her son, Robin Pilcher
Robin Pilcher
Robin Pilcher is a British author, the eldest son of author Rosamunde Pilcher.He was educated at Clifton College.Robin Pilcher has been a cameraman, a songwriter, and a farmer, co-managed a mail order business, and has had numerous other jobs...
, is also a novelist.
TV adaptation
Her books are especially popular in Germany because the national TV station ZDFZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
(Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) has produced more than 100 of her stories for TV starting with "Day of the Storm". These TV films are some of the most popular programmes on ZDF. Both ZDF programme director Dr. Claus Beling and Rosamunde Pilcher were awarded the British Tourism Award in 2002 for the positive effect the books and the TV versions had on Cornwall and Devon tourism within the UK. Notable film locations include Prideaux Place
Prideaux Place
Prideaux Place is a country house in Padstow, Cornwall, England.For over 400 years, Prideaux Place has been the home of the Prideaux-Brune family. Completed in 1592, the house has been enlarged and modified by successive generations...
an Elizabethan Manor within extensive grounds in Padstow
Padstow
Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...
. The Duke of Cornwall Hotel
Duke of Cornwall Hotel
The Duke of Cornwall Hotel is a hotel in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. Built in Victorian Gothic style, it opened in 1865 to cater for the increasing number of travellers who were coming to the region by rail and sea....
a 1863 Victorian Gothic building in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
and much of the coast line of Chapel Porth.
DVD releases
Rosamunde Pilcher's Coming Home, Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice are all available on DVD in the UK, distributed by Acorn Media UKAcorn Media UK
Acorn Media UK is a DVD publisher which distributes and sells home video products with a particular focus on British television.- Company history :The company was founded in 1997 when Lesley Fromant set up a branch of parent company Acorn Media in the UK....
.
As Jane Fraser
- Half-Way To The Moon (1949)
- The Brown Fields (1951)
- Dangerous Intruder (1951)
- Young Bar (1952)
- A Day Like Spring (1953)
- Dear Tom (1954)
- Bridge of Corvie (1956)
- A Family Affair (1958)
- The Keeper's House (1963)
- A Long Way from Home (1963)
As Rosamunde Pilcher
- A Secret to Tell (1955)
- On My Own (1965)
- Sleeping Tiger (1967)
- Another View (1969)
- The End of Summer (1971)
- Snow in April (1972)
- The Empty House (1973)
- The Day of the Storm (1975)
- Under Gemini (1976)
- Wild Mountain Thyme (1978)
- The Carousel (1982)
- Voices in Summer (1984)
- The Shell SeekersThe Shell SeekersThe Shell Seekers is a 1987 novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. It became one of her most famous best-sellers. It was nominated by the British public in 2003 as one of the top 100 novels in the BBC's Big Read...
(1988) - SeptemberSeptember (novel)September is a novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. September was published in 1990, three years after The Shell Seekers. Although one Shell Seekers character, Noel Keeling, makes a fairly minor appearance, a new cast of characters is introduced....
(1990) - Coming Home (1995)
- The Key (1996)
- Shadows (1999)
- Winter Solstice (2000)
Omnibus
- The Day of the Storm / The End of the Summer (1979)
- Three Books by Rosamunde Pilcher (1989)
- Rosamunde Pilcher: Under Gemini/the Empty House/the Day of the Storm/Another View/Boxed Set (1990)
- The Rosamunde Pilcher Collection: Wild Mountain Thyme, Empty House and End of the Summer (1991)
- The Shell Seekers / Wild Mountains Thyme / The Day of the Storm (1994)
- Three Complete Novels/September/Voices in Summer/the Carousel (1995)
- The Shell Seekers Collection (1996)
- Rosamunde Pilcher: A New Collection of Three Complete Books (1997)
- Rosamunde Pilcher: A Third Collection of Three Complete Novels (1999)
- Another View / End of Summer (2000)
- End of Summer / September (2003)
- The Blue Bedroom / The White Birds (2005)
Collections
- The Blue Bedroom and Other StoriesThe Blue Bedroom and Other StoriesThe Blue Bedroom, published in 1985, was Rosamunde Pilcher's first collection of short stories. There are 13 stories, including the title story...
(1985) - Rosamunde Pilcher: Wild Mountain Thyme/Sleeping Tiger/the End of Summer/Snow in April/Boxed Set (1990)
- Rosaminde Pilcher: Flowers in the Rain: And Other Stories (1991) Sequel to Blue Bedroom (above) – NEL (New English Library – UK)
- The Blackberry Day: And Other Stories (1992)
- World of Rosamunde Pilcher (1995)
- Christmas with Rosamunde Pilcher (1998)