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Denise Robins

August 20, 2023

Denise Robins (née Denise Naomi Klein; 1 February 1897 – 1 May 1985)[1] was a prolific English romantic novelist and the first President of the Romantic Novelists' Association (1960–1966). She wrote under her first married name and under the pen-names: Denise Chesterton, Eve Vaill, 'Anne Llewellyn', Hervey Hamilton, Francesca Wright, Ashley French, Harriet Gray and Julia Kane, producing short stories, plays, and about 170 Gothic romance novels. In 1965, Robins published her autobiography, Stranger Than Fiction. At the time of her death in 1985, Robins's books had been translated into fifteen languages and had sold more than one hundred million copies. In 1984, they were borrowed more than one and a half million times from British libraries.[2]

Denise Robins
BornDenise Naomi Klein
(1897-02-01)1 February 1897
London, England1
Died1 May 1985(1985-05-01) (aged 88)
England
Pen nameDenise Chesterton,
Eve Vaill,
Anne Llewellyn,
Denise Robins,
Hervey Hamilton,
Francesca Wright,
Ashley French,
Harriet Gray,
Julia Kane
OccupationJournalist, Novelist
NationalityEnglish
CitizenshipBritish
Period1918–1985
GenreGothic romance, Romantic novelist
Spouse(1) Arthur Robins (1918–1938)
(2) O'Neill Pearson (1939–19??)
Children(1) Eve Louise Robins
(2) Patricia Robins (a.k.a. Claire Lorrimer)
(3) Anne Eleanor Robins
RelativesK. C. Groom (mother),
Herman Klein (father)
Adrian Klein (brother)
Daryl Klein (brother)
Website
deniserobins.com

She was the daughter of the novelist K. C. Groom, and mother of romance novelist Patricia Robins. Some other members of her family are well-known artists.

Biography

Personal life

Robins was born Denise Naomi Klein on 1 February 1897 in London, England, the daughter of Kathleen Clarice Louise Cornwell, who was also a prolific author who wrote under several names, and of her first husband, Herman Klein, who was a professor of music and journalist. Of Russian Jewish ancestry, he had been born in Norwich in 1856. Her mother Kathleen Clarice had been born in Melbourne, Australia, on 11 March 1872 and was the daughter of George Cornwell and his wife Jemima Ridpath, married in 1850.[3] George Cornwell was a railway guard who became a successful gold prospector in Australia, operating several mines, and a notable building contractor. His eldest daughter, Alice Cornwell, born 1852, was spectacularly rich by the 1890s, returning to England and buying the Sunday Times newspaper.[4][5]

Her parents had married in 1890. He had a daughter Sibyl Klein, from a previous marriage, and they had two sons: Adrian Bernard Klein (1892–1969) and Daryl Klein (1894), before the birth of Denise Naomi Klein (1897–1985). The childhood of Denise, Adrian and Daryl Klein was far from settled. Kathleen Klein began an affair with a Worcestershire Regiment officer called Herbert Berkeley Dealtry, who was much younger than her husband, and little than herself, and when Hermann Klein became aware of it he filed a petition for divorce, which was granted in December 1901. Kathleen then married Dealtry.[4]

In 1905, the Dealtrys had some serious troubles in connection with the promotion of dog shows, which they had been drawn into by Kathleen's sister Alice Stennard Robinson, a leading member of the Ladies' Kennel Association (founded 1904) and the National Cat Club. Somehow, the money from the first dog show went missing, and the Dealtrys held a second show to pay the prize money owed on the first. After the second show, prize winners sued Dealtry, which led to his being declared bankrupt.[4] The family then lived in America for a few years but, by 1908, Kathleen (or 'Kit') Dealtry was back in London, writing Christian novels.[6] In 1918 she married for a third time and wrote at least three books[7] as Mrs Sydney Groom.[4]

Her eldest brother Adrian Bernard Klein also became a writer, he was an artist and wrote books on photography and cinematography. After serving as an officer in the British Army, he became a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and changed his name to Adrian Cornwell-Clyne.[4]

Denise Naomi Klein married firstly Arthur Robins in 1918, a corn broker on the Baltic Exchange,[8] they had three daughters, Eve Louise, Patricia Robins (a.k.a. Claire Lorrimer) who became another best-selling author, and Anne Eleanor.[8] In 1938, the marriage ended in divorce, after Robins met O'Neill Pearson in Egypt,[9] they married in 1939. However, like Agatha Christie, Robins continued to publish most of her books under her first married name.[1]

Writing career

When she left school, Denise Klein went to work as a journalist for the D. C. Thomson Press, then became a freelance writer. She began to follow in her mother's footsteps when her first novel was published in 1924. Her serial What is Love? ran in The Star from December 1925 to February 1926.[10] Her first play, Heatwave, written in collaboration with Roland Pertwee, was produced at the St James's Theatre, London, in 1929.[11] As a writer of fiction, Denise Klein wrote under a variety of pen-names, including Denise Chesterton, Francesca Wright, Ashley French, Harriet Gray, Hervey Hamilton and Julia Kane.[1] After marrying Arthur Robins, many of her books were written under her married name.[11]

Robins had been writing fiction and getting it published for ten years when in 1927 she met Charles Boon, of Mills & Boon, and she entered her first contract with his firm the same year. Under the terms of this, she was to be paid an advance of thirty pounds for three novels, plus ten per cent terms. Her next contract, for a further six books, delivered an advance of twenty-five pounds for each book, while her third contract, for four more books, paid one hundred pounds for each, plus terms of twelve and a half per cent.[12]

The colourful dust wrappers of Mills & Boon's books were becoming one of their biggest selling points. As an example, the cover of Robins's Women Who Seek (1928) showed a glamorous flapper checking her make-up.[13]

Robins became not only Mills & Boon's most prolific writer, but also their best paid. A contract she signed in 1932 paid her £2,400 for eight books, which were those from Shatter the Sky (July 1933) to How Great the Price (June 1935). This was, however, her last work for the firm, as she was then 'poached' by a new publisher, Nicholson & Watson.[14] Of this development, Arthur Boon wrote:[14]

Denise Robins, one of our greatest authors, knew she could sell on her name more than other authors could. She was a superstar, and she knew it. Our problem was to find a way to satisfy the superstar. What could Mills & Boon offer a superstar? Superstars weren't grateful.

Robins gave her version of events in her autobiography:[11][14]

Suddenly a young man named Ivor Nicholson came along – a clever, charming journalist who, with the wealth of Bernard Watson to back his new venture, launched a new publishing house – Ivor Nicholson & Watson. They wanted my name on their list. They tempted me with what was the biggest offer I had ever received from any literary quarter, a cheque for one thousand pounds, free, gratis, and for which I need do no work. It was merely for signing the contract! I did not go behind Charles Boon's back. I told him the facts. Unfortunately he was so annoyed by Ivor Nicholson's offer that he refused to compete and at once released me from my contract with his firm. Somewhat reluctantly I left my old publishers and became the new Nicholson & Watson 'star' author.

The first book Robins wrote for Nicholson was Life and Love (1935), which was launched with a huge publicity campaign. Robins's first photo opportunity was a visit to Liverpool to open a new lending library, and the slogan 'Robins for Romance' was posted on London buses.[14]

Joseph McAleer has described Robins as "the recognised mistress of the punishing kiss device.[15]

During her long career as a writer, from about 1917 until her death in 1985, Robins certainly wrote more than one hundred and sixty books. She was dubbed by the Daily Graphic "the queen of romantic fiction".[4]

She was elected as President of the Romantic Novelists' Association in 1961.[9]

In 1965, Robins published her autobiography, Stranger Than Fiction, summarised thus: "Apart from writing nearly two hundred novels that have brought her millions of fans throughout the world, Denise Robins led a remarkable life. Her unhappy childhood did not sour her belief in love. Here is her own story."[16][17]

At the time of her death in 1985, Robins's books had been translated into fifteen languages and had sold more than one hundred million copies. In 1984, they were borrowed more than one and a half million times from British libraries. Among her best-selling works were House of the Seventh Cross, Khamsin and Dark Corridor.[2] In October 2011 the first dozen of her novels were released in e-book format.[18]

Bibliography

Some of her novels have been reedited under different titles or as Denise Robins[17]

As Denise Chesterton

Novels

  • Love's Broken Idol (1918)
  • Christmas Roses (1942)
  • What Wendy Did (1942)
  • When Love Called (1942)
  • Queen of the Roses (1943)

As Eve Vail

Novels

  • Honour's Price (1929)

As Denise Robins

Novels

  • Sealed Lips (1924) a.k.a. Illusion of Love (1924)
  • The Marriage Bond (1925)
  • The Triumph of the Rat (1927) a.k.a. Gilded Cage
  • The Inevitable End (1927)
  • Jonquil (1927)
  • Desire is Blind (1928) a.k.a. Bride of Revenge
  • The Passionate Flame (1928)
  • White Jade (1928)
  • Women Who Seek (1928)[12]
  • The Dark Death (1929)
  • The Enchantress (1929)
  • The Enduring Flame (1929)
  • Heavy Clay (1929)
  • Love Was a Jest (1929)
  • And All Because (1930)
  • It Wasn't Love (1930)
  • Heat Wave (1930)
  • Swing of Youth (1930)
  • Crowns, Pounds, and Guineas (1931)
  • Fever of Love (1931)
  • Lovers of Janine (1931)
  • Second Best (1931)
  • The Wild Bird (1931)
  • Blaze of Love (1932)
  • The Boundary Line (1932)[15]
  • There Are Limits (1932) a.k.a. For the Sake of Love
  • The Secret Hour (1932)
  • Strange Rapture (1932)
  • Gay Defeat (1933)
  • Life's a Game (1933)
  • Men Are Only Human (1933)
  • Shatter the Sky (1933)[14]
  • Brief Ecstasy (1934)
  • Never Give All (1934)
  • Slave-Woman (1934)
  • Sweet Love (1934)
  • All This for Love (1935)
  • Climb to the Stars (1935)
  • How Great the Price (1935)[14]
  • Life and Love (1935)[14]
  • Murder in Mayfair (1935)
  • Love Game (1936)
  • Those Who Love (1936)
  • Were I Thy Bride (1936) a.k.a. Betrayal
  • Kiss of Youth (1937)
  • Set Me Free (1937)
  • The Tiger in Men (1937)
  • The Woman's Side of It (1937)
  • Restless Heart (1938)
  • Since We Love (1938)
  • You Have Chosen (1938)
  • Dear Loyalty (1939)
  • Gypsy Lover (1939) a.k.a. Romany Lover a.k.a. Chain of Love
  • I, Too, Have Loved (1939)
  • Officer's Wife (1939)
  • Dust of Dreams (1940)
  • Island of Flowers (1940)
  • Little We Know (1940)
  • Sweet Sorrow (1940) a.k.a. Forget That I Remember
  • To Love is to Live (1940)
  • Winged Love (1940)
  • If This Be Destiny (1941)
  • Love Is Enough (1941)
  • Set the Stars Alight (1941)
  • What Matters Most (1941)
  • This One Night (1942)
  • War Marriage (1942) a.k.a. Let Me Love
  • The Changing Years (1943)
  • Daughter Knows Best (1943)
  • Escape to Love (1943)
  • This Spring of Love (1943)
  • War changes Everything (1943)
  • Desert Rapture (1944)
  • Give Me Back My Heart (1944)
  • How to Forget (1944)
  • Never Look Back (1944)
  • Love so Young (1945)
  • All for You (1946)
  • Greater Than All (1946)
  • Separation (1946)
  • The Story of Veronica (1946)
  • Forgive Me, My Love (1947)
  • More Than Love (1947)
  • Could I Forget (1948)
  • The Feast is Finished (1948) a.k.a. The Lonely Heart
  • Khamsin (1948)
  • Love Me No More! (1948)
  • The Hard Way (1949)
  • To Love Again (1949)
  • The Uncertain Heart (1949)
  • Love Hath an Island (1950) a.k.a. The Cyprus Love Affair
  • The Madness of Love (1950)
  • Heart of Paris (1951)
  • Infatuation (1951)
  • Only My Dreams (1951) a.k.a. Only in My Dreams
  • Second Marriage (1951)
  • Something to Love (1951)
  • The Other Love (1952)
  • Strange Meeting (1952)
  • The First Long Kiss (1953)
  • My True Love (1953)
  • The Long Shadow (1954)
  • Two Loves (1954)
  • The Unshaken Loyalty (1954)
  • Venetian Rhapsody (1954)
  • Bitter-Sweet (1955)
  • Meet Me in Monte Carlo (1955)
  • When a Woman Loves (1955)
  • All That Matters (1956)
  • Enchanted Island (1956)
  • The Noble One (1957)
  • The Seagull's Cry (1957)
  • Chateau of Flowers (1958)
  • The Untrodden Snow (1958)
  • Do Not Go, My Love (1959)
  • We Two Together (1959)
  • Arrow in the Heart (1960)
  • The Unlit Fire (1960)
  • I Should Have Known (1961)
  • A Promise is for Ever (1961) a.k.a. A Promise is Forever
  • Put Back the Clock (1962)
  • Mad is the Heart (1963)
  • Nightingale's Song (1963)
  • Reputation (1963)
  • Moment of Love (1964)
  • Loving and Giving (1965)
  • The Strong Heart (1965)
  • The Crash (1966)
  • Lightning Strikes Twice (1966)
  • O Love! O Fire! (1966)
  • House of the Seventh Cross (1967) a.k.a. House by the Watch Tower
  • Wait for Tomorrow (1967)
  • Laurence, My Love (1968) a.k.a. Lawrence My Love
  • The Price of Folly (1968)
  • Love and Desire and Hate (1969)
  • A Love Like Ours (1969)
  • Sweet Cassandra (1970)
  • Forbidden (1971)
  • The Snow Must Return (1971)
  • The Other Side of Love (1973)
  • Twice Have I Loved (1973)
  • Dark Corridor (1974)
  • Australian Opal Safari (1974)
  • Come Back, Yesterday (1976)
  • Love's Triumph (1983)
  • Masquerade of Love (1985)

Omnibus

  • Love Poems, and others (1930)
  • One Night in Ceylon, and others (1931)
  • Love, Volume I (1980)
  • Love, Volume II: To Love is to Live / You Have Chosen / The Changing Years (1980)
  • Love, Volume III: Lightning Strikes Twice / Forbidden / A Love Like Ours (1980)
  • Love, Volume IV : Loving and Giving / The Noble One / Brief Ecstasy (1980)
  • Love, Volume V: The Cyprus Love Affair / The Wild Bird / Shatter the Sky / The Unlit Fire (1980)
  • Love, Volume VI: The Other Side of Love / Climb to the Stairs / Sweet Cassandra (1980)
  • Love, Volume VII: Gypsy Lover / The Strong Heart (1980)
  • Love, Volume VIII: Those Who Love / Arrow in the Heart (1980)
  • Love, Volume IX (1980)
  • Love, Volume X: Strange Rapture / A Promise is for Ever (1980)
  • Love, Volume XI (1981)
  • Love, Volume XII (1981)
  • Love, Volume XIII (1981)
  • Love, Volume XIV (1981)
  • Love, Volume XV (1981)
  • Love, Volume XVI (1981)

Collections

  • Heat Wave... (1930) (with Roland Pertwee)
  • Tree Fairies... (1945) (with Franke Rogers)
  • Light the Candles... (1957) (with Michael Pertwee)
  • Woman's Weekly Fiction Series: Volume 4, Number 7 (1977) (with Rachel Murray)
  • Woman's Weekly Fiction Series: Volume 5, Number 2 (1978) (with Rachel Murray)
  • Woman's Weekly Fiction Series: Volume 7, Number 12 (1980) (with Joanna Logan)
  • Woman's Weekly Fiction Series: Volume 7, Number 13 (1980) (with Pat Lacey)
  • Woman's Weekly Fiction Series: Volume 7, Number 21 (1980) (with Joanna Logan)
  • Woman's Weekly Images of Love: Volume 10, Number 20 (1983) (with Briony Tedgle)
  • Woman's Weekly Images of Love: Volume 5, Number 6 (1988) (with Rachel Murray)

Anthologies edited

  • The World of Romance (1964)

Autobiography

As Hervey Hamilton

Novels

  • Family Holiday (1937)
  • Figs in Frost (1946)

As Francesca Wright

Novels

  • The Loves of Lucrezia (1953) a.k.a. Lucrezia (reedited as Denise Robins)
  • She Devil (1970) Jezebel (reedited as Denise Robins)

As Ashley French

Novels

  • Once is Enough (1953)
  • The Bitter Core (1954)
  • Breaking Point (1956)

As Harriet Gray

Fauna Trilogy

  1. Gold for the Gay Masters (1954)
  2. Bride of Doom (1956) a.k.a. Bride of Violence (1957)
  3. The Flame and the Frost (1957)
  • Fauna (omnibus)

Single Novels

  • Dance in the Dust (1959)
  • My Lady Destiny (1961)

As Julia Kane

Novels

  • Dark, Secret Love (1962)
  • The Sin Was Mine (1964)
  • Time Runs Out (1965)

References

  1. ^ a b c New General Catalog of Old Books and Authors: Author names starting with KL online at authorandbookinfo.com (Retrieved 4 April 2008)
  2. ^ a b Denise Robins, 87, Author of 200 Novels in The Miami Herald, 3 May 1985 (Retrieved 5 April 2008)
  3. ^ Marriage cert GRO Sep 1850 W. Ham 12/415.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Kathleen Clarice Cornwell... Klein... Dealtry... Groom online at bearalley.blogspot.com (Retrieved 4 April 2008)
  5. ^ Lorrimer, Claire, You Never Know, autobiography
  6. ^ Under the Mistletoe Bough (Carruthers, 1908) and Ill-Gotten Gain (Carruthers, 1909)
  7. ^ Love in the Darkness (London, Skeffington & Son, 1918), Shadows of Desires (London, 1919), and Detective Sylvia Shale (London, Hurst & Blackett, 1924)
  8. ^ a b Lorrimer, Claire, You Never Know (autobiography) Chapter 1 online at clairelorrimer.com (Retrieved 9 April 2008)
  9. ^ a b An ideal place for a respite for writers? dated 2 April 2007, online at bookwormonthenet.blogspot.com (Retrieved 4 April 2008)
  10. ^ Fiction Serials in The Star[dead link] online (Retrieved 9 April 2008)
  11. ^ a b c Robins, Denise, Stranger Than Fiction (Hodder & Stoughton, 1965, autobiography)
  12. ^ a b McAleer, Joseph, Passion's Fortune: The Story of Mills & Boon, page 50 online at books.google.co.uk (Retrieved 4 April 2008)
  13. ^ McAleer, Joseph, op. cit, page 45 online at books.google.co.uk (Retrieved 5 April 2008)
  14. ^ a b c d e f g McAleer, Joseph, op. cit, page 69 online at books.google.co.uk (Retrieved 5 April 2008)
  15. ^ a b McAleer, Joseph, op. cit, page 155 online at books.google.co.uk (Retrieved 9 April 2008)
  16. ^ a b Stranger than fiction: Denise Robins: her life story, Title Information[permanent dead link] online at library.barking-dagenham.gov.uk (Retrieved 4 April 2008)
  17. ^ a b c Denise Robins at fantasticfiction.co.uk (Retrieved 4 April 2008)
  18. ^ http://www.chiswellpublications.co.uk 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine

See also

August 20, 2023
denise, robins, née, denise, naomi, klein, february, 1897, 1985, prolific, english, romantic, novelist, first, president, romantic, novelists, association, 1960, 1966, wrote, under, first, married, name, under, names, denise, chesterton, vaill, anne, llewellyn. Denise Robins nee Denise Naomi Klein 1 February 1897 1 May 1985 1 was a prolific English romantic novelist and the first President of the Romantic Novelists Association 1960 1966 She wrote under her first married name and under the pen names Denise Chesterton Eve Vaill Anne Llewellyn Hervey Hamilton Francesca Wright Ashley French Harriet Gray and Julia Kane producing short stories plays and about 170 Gothic romance novels In 1965 Robins published her autobiography Stranger Than Fiction At the time of her death in 1985 Robins s books had been translated into fifteen languages and had sold more than one hundred million copies In 1984 they were borrowed more than one and a half million times from British libraries 2 Denise RobinsBornDenise Naomi Klein 1897 02 01 1 February 1897London England1Died1 May 1985 1985 05 01 aged 88 EnglandPen nameDenise Chesterton Eve Vaill Anne Llewellyn Denise Robins Hervey Hamilton Francesca Wright Ashley French Harriet Gray Julia KaneOccupationJournalist NovelistNationalityEnglishCitizenshipBritishPeriod1918 1985GenreGothic romance Romantic novelistSpouse 1 Arthur Robins 1918 1938 2 O Neill Pearson 1939 19 Children 1 Eve Louise Robins 2 Patricia Robins a k a Claire Lorrimer 3 Anne Eleanor RobinsRelativesK C Groom mother Herman Klein father Adrian Klein brother Daryl Klein brother Websitedeniserobins wbr comShe was the daughter of the novelist K C Groom and mother of romance novelist Patricia Robins Some other members of her family are well known artists Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Personal life 1 2 Writing career 2 Bibliography 2 1 As Denise Chesterton 2 1 1 Novels 2 2 As Eve Vail 2 2 1 Novels 2 3 As Denise Robins 2 3 1 Novels 2 3 2 Omnibus 2 3 3 Collections 2 3 4 Anthologies edited 2 3 5 Autobiography 2 4 As Hervey Hamilton 2 4 1 Novels 2 5 As Francesca Wright 2 5 1 Novels 2 6 As Ashley French 2 6 1 Novels 2 7 As Harriet Gray 2 7 1 Fauna Trilogy 2 7 2 Single Novels 2 8 As Julia Kane 2 8 1 Novels 3 References 4 See alsoBiography EditPersonal life Edit Robins was born Denise Naomi Klein on 1 February 1897 in London England the daughter of Kathleen Clarice Louise Cornwell who was also a prolific author who wrote under several names and of her first husband Herman Klein who was a professor of music and journalist Of Russian Jewish ancestry he had been born in Norwich in 1856 Her mother Kathleen Clarice had been born in Melbourne Australia on 11 March 1872 and was the daughter of George Cornwell and his wife Jemima Ridpath married in 1850 3 George Cornwell was a railway guard who became a successful gold prospector in Australia operating several mines and a notable building contractor His eldest daughter Alice Cornwell born 1852 was spectacularly rich by the 1890s returning to England and buying the Sunday Times newspaper 4 5 Her parents had married in 1890 He had a daughter Sibyl Klein from a previous marriage and they had two sons Adrian Bernard Klein 1892 1969 and Daryl Klein 1894 before the birth of Denise Naomi Klein 1897 1985 The childhood of Denise Adrian and Daryl Klein was far from settled Kathleen Klein began an affair with a Worcestershire Regiment officer called Herbert Berkeley Dealtry who was much younger than her husband and little than herself and when Hermann Klein became aware of it he filed a petition for divorce which was granted in December 1901 Kathleen then married Dealtry 4 In 1905 the Dealtrys had some serious troubles in connection with the promotion of dog shows which they had been drawn into by Kathleen s sister Alice Stennard Robinson a leading member of the Ladies Kennel Association founded 1904 and the National Cat Club Somehow the money from the first dog show went missing and the Dealtrys held a second show to pay the prize money owed on the first After the second show prize winners sued Dealtry which led to his being declared bankrupt 4 The family then lived in America for a few years but by 1908 Kathleen or Kit Dealtry was back in London writing Christian novels 6 In 1918 she married for a third time and wrote at least three books 7 as Mrs Sydney Groom 4 Her eldest brother Adrian Bernard Klein also became a writer he was an artist and wrote books on photography and cinematography After serving as an officer in the British Army he became a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and changed his name to Adrian Cornwell Clyne 4 Denise Naomi Klein married firstly Arthur Robins in 1918 a corn broker on the Baltic Exchange 8 they had three daughters Eve Louise Patricia Robins a k a Claire Lorrimer who became another best selling author and Anne Eleanor 8 In 1938 the marriage ended in divorce after Robins met O Neill Pearson in Egypt 9 they married in 1939 However like Agatha Christie Robins continued to publish most of her books under her first married name 1 Writing career Edit When she left school Denise Klein went to work as a journalist for the D C Thomson Press then became a freelance writer She began to follow in her mother s footsteps when her first novel was published in 1924 Her serial What is Love ran in The Star from December 1925 to February 1926 10 Her first play Heatwave written in collaboration with Roland Pertwee was produced at the St James s Theatre London in 1929 11 As a writer of fiction Denise Klein wrote under a variety of pen names including Denise Chesterton Francesca Wright Ashley French Harriet Gray Hervey Hamilton and Julia Kane 1 After marrying Arthur Robins many of her books were written under her married name 11 Robins had been writing fiction and getting it published for ten years when in 1927 she met Charles Boon of Mills amp Boon and she entered her first contract with his firm the same year Under the terms of this she was to be paid an advance of thirty pounds for three novels plus ten per cent terms Her next contract for a further six books delivered an advance of twenty five pounds for each book while her third contract for four more books paid one hundred pounds for each plus terms of twelve and a half per cent 12 The colourful dust wrappers of Mills amp Boon s books were becoming one of their biggest selling points As an example the cover of Robins s Women Who Seek 1928 showed a glamorous flapper checking her make up 13 Robins became not only Mills amp Boon s most prolific writer but also their best paid A contract she signed in 1932 paid her 2 400 for eight books which were those from Shatter the Sky July 1933 to How Great the Price June 1935 This was however her last work for the firm as she was then poached by a new publisher Nicholson amp Watson 14 Of this development Arthur Boon wrote 14 Denise Robins one of our greatest authors knew she could sell on her name more than other authors could She was a superstar and she knew it Our problem was to find a way to satisfy the superstar What could Mills amp Boon offer a superstar Superstars weren t grateful Robins gave her version of events in her autobiography 11 14 Suddenly a young man named Ivor Nicholson came along a clever charming journalist who with the wealth of Bernard Watson to back his new venture launched a new publishing house Ivor Nicholson amp Watson They wanted my name on their list They tempted me with what was the biggest offer I had ever received from any literary quarter a cheque for one thousand pounds free gratis and for which I need do no work It was merely for signing the contract I did not go behind Charles Boon s back I told him the facts Unfortunately he was so annoyed by Ivor Nicholson s offer that he refused to compete and at once released me from my contract with his firm Somewhat reluctantly I left my old publishers and became the new Nicholson amp Watson star author The first book Robins wrote for Nicholson was Life and Love 1935 which was launched with a huge publicity campaign Robins s first photo opportunity was a visit to Liverpool to open a new lending library and the slogan Robins for Romance was posted on London buses 14 Joseph McAleer has described Robins as the recognised mistress of the punishing kiss device 15 During her long career as a writer from about 1917 until her death in 1985 Robins certainly wrote more than one hundred and sixty books She was dubbed by the Daily Graphic the queen of romantic fiction 4 She was elected as President of the Romantic Novelists Association in 1961 9 In 1965 Robins published her autobiography Stranger Than Fiction summarised thus Apart from writing nearly two hundred novels that have brought her millions of fans throughout the world Denise Robins led a remarkable life Her unhappy childhood did not sour her belief in love Here is her own story 16 17 At the time of her death in 1985 Robins s books had been translated into fifteen languages and had sold more than one hundred million copies In 1984 they were borrowed more than one and a half million times from British libraries Among her best selling works were House of the Seventh Cross Khamsin and Dark Corridor 2 In October 2011 the first dozen of her novels were released in e book format 18 Bibliography EditSome of her novels have been reedited under different titles or as Denise Robins 17 As Denise Chesterton Edit Novels Edit Love s Broken Idol 1918 Christmas Roses 1942 What Wendy Did 1942 When Love Called 1942 Queen of the Roses 1943 As Eve Vail Edit Novels Edit Honour s Price 1929 As Denise Robins Edit Novels Edit Sealed Lips 1924 a k a Illusion of Love 1924 The Marriage Bond 1925 The Triumph of the Rat 1927 a k a Gilded Cage The Inevitable End 1927 Jonquil 1927 Desire is Blind 1928 a k a Bride of Revenge The Passionate Flame 1928 White Jade 1928 Women Who Seek 1928 12 The Dark Death 1929 The Enchantress 1929 The Enduring Flame 1929 Heavy Clay 1929 Love Was a Jest 1929 And All Because 1930 It Wasn t Love 1930 Heat Wave 1930 Swing of Youth 1930 Crowns Pounds and Guineas 1931 Fever of Love 1931 Lovers of Janine 1931 Second Best 1931 The Wild Bird 1931 Blaze of Love 1932 The Boundary Line 1932 15 There Are Limits 1932 a k a For the Sake of Love The Secret Hour 1932 Strange Rapture 1932 Gay Defeat 1933 Life s a Game 1933 Men Are Only Human 1933 Shatter the Sky 1933 14 Brief Ecstasy 1934 Never Give All 1934 Slave Woman 1934 Sweet Love 1934 All This for Love 1935 Climb to the Stars 1935 How Great the Price 1935 14 Life and Love 1935 14 Murder in Mayfair 1935 Love Game 1936 Those Who Love 1936 Were I Thy Bride 1936 a k a Betrayal Kiss of Youth 1937 Set Me Free 1937 The Tiger in Men 1937 The Woman s Side of It 1937 Restless Heart 1938 Since We Love 1938 You Have Chosen 1938 Dear Loyalty 1939 Gypsy Lover 1939 a k a Romany Lover a k a Chain of Love I Too Have Loved 1939 Officer s Wife 1939 Dust of Dreams 1940 Island of Flowers 1940 Little We Know 1940 Sweet Sorrow 1940 a k a Forget That I Remember To Love is to Live 1940 Winged Love 1940 If This Be Destiny 1941 Love Is Enough 1941 Set the Stars Alight 1941 What Matters Most 1941 This One Night 1942 War Marriage 1942 a k a Let Me Love The Changing Years 1943 Daughter Knows Best 1943 Escape to Love 1943 This Spring of Love 1943 War changes Everything 1943 Desert Rapture 1944 Give Me Back My Heart 1944 How to Forget 1944 Never Look Back 1944 Love so Young 1945 All for You 1946 Greater Than All 1946 Separation 1946 The Story of Veronica 1946 Forgive Me My Love 1947 More Than Love 1947 Could I Forget 1948 The Feast is Finished 1948 a k a The Lonely Heart Khamsin 1948 Love Me No More 1948 The Hard Way 1949 To Love Again 1949 The Uncertain Heart 1949 Love Hath an Island 1950 a k a The Cyprus Love Affair The Madness of Love 1950 Heart of Paris 1951 Infatuation 1951 Only My Dreams 1951 a k a Only in My Dreams Second Marriage 1951 Something to Love 1951 The Other Love 1952 Strange Meeting 1952 The First Long Kiss 1953 My True Love 1953 The Long Shadow 1954 Two Loves 1954 The Unshaken Loyalty 1954 Venetian Rhapsody 1954 Bitter Sweet 1955 Meet Me in Monte Carlo 1955 When a Woman Loves 1955 All That Matters 1956 Enchanted Island 1956 The Noble One 1957 The Seagull s Cry 1957 Chateau of Flowers 1958 The Untrodden Snow 1958 Do Not Go My Love 1959 We Two Together 1959 Arrow in the Heart 1960 The Unlit Fire 1960 I Should Have Known 1961 A Promise is for Ever 1961 a k a A Promise is Forever Put Back the Clock 1962 Mad is the Heart 1963 Nightingale s Song 1963 Reputation 1963 Moment of Love 1964 Loving and Giving 1965 The Strong Heart 1965 The Crash 1966 Lightning Strikes Twice 1966 O Love O Fire 1966 House of the Seventh Cross 1967 a k a House by the Watch Tower Wait for Tomorrow 1967 Laurence My Love 1968 a k a Lawrence My Love The Price of Folly 1968 Love and Desire and Hate 1969 A Love Like Ours 1969 Sweet Cassandra 1970 Forbidden 1971 The Snow Must Return 1971 The Other Side of Love 1973 Twice Have I Loved 1973 Dark Corridor 1974 Australian Opal Safari 1974 Come Back Yesterday 1976 Love s Triumph 1983 Masquerade of Love 1985 Omnibus Edit Love Poems and others 1930 One Night in Ceylon and others 1931 Love Volume I 1980 Love Volume II To Love is to Live You Have Chosen The Changing Years 1980 Love Volume III Lightning Strikes Twice Forbidden A Love Like Ours 1980 Love Volume IV Loving and Giving The Noble One Brief Ecstasy 1980 Love Volume V The Cyprus Love Affair The Wild Bird Shatter the Sky The Unlit Fire 1980 Love Volume VI The Other Side of Love Climb to the Stairs Sweet Cassandra 1980 Love Volume VII Gypsy Lover The Strong Heart 1980 Love Volume VIII Those Who Love Arrow in the Heart 1980 Love Volume IX 1980 Love Volume X Strange Rapture A Promise is for Ever 1980 Love Volume XI 1981 Love Volume XII 1981 Love Volume XIII 1981 Love Volume XIV 1981 Love Volume XV 1981 Love Volume XVI 1981 Collections Edit Heat Wave 1930 with Roland Pertwee Tree Fairies 1945 with Franke Rogers Light the Candles 1957 with Michael Pertwee Woman s Weekly Fiction Series Volume 4 Number 7 1977 with Rachel Murray Woman s Weekly Fiction Series Volume 5 Number 2 1978 with Rachel Murray Woman s Weekly Fiction Series Volume 7 Number 12 1980 with Joanna Logan Woman s Weekly Fiction Series Volume 7 Number 13 1980 with Pat Lacey Woman s Weekly Fiction Series Volume 7 Number 21 1980 with Joanna Logan Woman s Weekly Images of Love Volume 10 Number 20 1983 with Briony Tedgle Woman s Weekly Images of Love Volume 5 Number 6 1988 with Rachel Murray Anthologies edited Edit The World of Romance 1964 Autobiography Edit Stranger Than Fiction Hodder amp Stoughton 1965 16 17 As Hervey Hamilton Edit Novels Edit Family Holiday 1937 Figs in Frost 1946 As Francesca Wright Edit Novels Edit The Loves of Lucrezia 1953 a k a Lucrezia reedited as Denise Robins She Devil 1970 Jezebel reedited as Denise Robins As Ashley French Edit Novels Edit Once is Enough 1953 The Bitter Core 1954 Breaking Point 1956 As Harriet Gray Edit Fauna Trilogy Edit Gold for the Gay Masters 1954 Bride of Doom 1956 a k a Bride of Violence 1957 The Flame and the Frost 1957 Fauna omnibus Single Novels Edit Dance in the Dust 1959 My Lady Destiny 1961 As Julia Kane Edit Novels Edit Dark Secret Love 1962 The Sin Was Mine 1964 Time Runs Out 1965 References Edit a b c New General Catalog of Old Books and Authors Author names starting with KL online at authorandbookinfo com Retrieved 4 April 2008 a b Denise Robins 87 Author of 200 Novels in The Miami Herald 3 May 1985 Retrieved 5 April 2008 Marriage cert GRO Sep 1850 W Ham 12 415 a b c d e f Kathleen Clarice Cornwell Klein Dealtry Groom online at bearalley blogspot com Retrieved 4 April 2008 Lorrimer Claire You Never Know autobiography Under the Mistletoe Bough Carruthers 1908 and Ill Gotten Gain Carruthers 1909 Love in the Darkness London Skeffington amp Son 1918 Shadows of Desires London 1919 and Detective Sylvia Shale London Hurst amp Blackett 1924 a b Lorrimer Claire You Never Know autobiography Chapter 1 online at clairelorrimer com Retrieved 9 April 2008 a b An ideal place for a respite for writers dated 2 April 2007 online at bookwormonthenet blogspot com Retrieved 4 April 2008 Fiction Serials in The Star dead link online Retrieved 9 April 2008 a b c Robins Denise Stranger Than Fiction Hodder amp Stoughton 1965 autobiography a b McAleer Joseph Passion s Fortune The Story of Mills amp Boon page 50 online at books google co uk Retrieved 4 April 2008 McAleer Joseph op cit page 45 online at books google co uk Retrieved 5 April 2008 a b c d e f g McAleer Joseph op cit page 69 online at books google co uk Retrieved 5 April 2008 a b McAleer Joseph op cit page 155 online at books google co uk Retrieved 9 April 2008 a b Stranger than fiction Denise Robins her life story Title Information permanent dead link online at library barking dagenham gov uk Retrieved 4 April 2008 a b c Denise Robins at fantasticfiction co uk Retrieved 4 April 2008 http www chiswellpublications co uk Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback MachineSee also Edit Novels portalList of best selling fiction authors Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Denise Robins amp oldid 1154358858, wikipedia, 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