Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert | |
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Born | Eleanor Alice Burford 1 September 1906 Canning Town, London, England |
Died | 19 January 1993 At sea between Athens, Greece and Port Said, Egypt |
(aged 86)
Pen name | Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr, Eleanor Burford, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, Ellalice Tate, Anna Percival |
Occupation | Novelist |
Nationality | English |
Citizenship | British |
Period | 1941–1993 (52 years) |
Genre | Historical fiction, Gothic fiction, Romantic fiction |
Notable awards |
Romance Writers of America – Golden Treasure award 1989 Significant contribution to the romance genre |
Spouse | George Percival Hibbert (1886–1963) |
Relatives |
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Eleanor Hibbert (1 September 1906 – 19 January 1993) was an English author who combined imagination with facts to bring history alive through novels of fiction and romance. She was a prolific writer who published several books a year in different literary genres, each genre under a different pen name: Jean Plaidy for fictionalized history of European royalty; Victoria Holt for gothic romances, and Philippa Carr for a multi-generational family saga. A literary split personality, she also wrote light romances, crime novels, murder mysteries and thrillers under the various pseudonyms including Eleanor Burford, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, Anna Percival, and Ellalice Tate.
In 1989, the Romance Writers of America gave her the Golden Treasure award in recognition of her significant contributions to the romance genre. By the time of her death, she had written more than 200 books that worldwide sold more than 100 million copies in 20 languages. She continues to be a widely borrowed author among lending libraries. Her popular works of historical fiction are appreciated by readers and critics alike for their accuracy, quality of writing, and attention to detail.
"I consider myself extremely lucky to have been born and raised in London, 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."
—Eleanor Hibbert
"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