Constance Christina Aimee Heaven (''née'' Fecher; 6 August 1911 – 12 April 1995) was a British writer of

romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...

s, under her maiden name, her married name and under the pseudonym Christina Merlin. In 1973, her novel ''The House Of Kuragin'' was the Winner of the

Romantic Novel of the Year The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year (now RoNA Rose Award). In 2018, awards were given to ...

. She was the eleventh elected Chairman (1981–1983) of the

Romantic Novelists' Association The Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) is the professional body that represents authors of romantic fiction in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1960 by Denise Robins (first president), Barbara Cartland (first vice-president), Vivian Stuar ...

Biography

Born Constance Fecher on 6 August 1911 in

Enfield, Middlesex Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Highw ...

, London, England, UK. She was educated at the Convent of Woodford Green,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

since 1921 to 1928, when she joined to study at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, where she obtained a Honours degree in English in 1931. In 1931, she also graduated at

London College of Music London College of Music (LCM) is a music school in London, England. It is one of eight separate schools that make up the University of West London. History LCM was founded in 1887 and existed as an independent music conservatoire based at Gr ...

. On 5 November 1939, she married William Heaven, who died in 1958. She was an actress from 1939 to 1966. Published since 1963, she started writing historical novels with young protagonists under her maiden name Constance Fecher. Since 1972, she signed her novels more romantic, under her married name, Constance Heaven. She also used the pseudonym of Christina Merlin. In 1973, her novel ''The House Of Kuragin'' was the Winner of Romantic Novel of the Year. She was the eleventh elected Chairman (1981–1983) of the

. She died in 1995, and continued writing until her death.

Bibliography

Some of her novels were reedited under different pen names of titles.

As Constance Fecher

Single novels

*The Leopard Dagger (1963) *The Link Boys (1967) aka Tom Hawke *Player Queen (1968) aka The Lovely Wanton *Venture for a Crown (1968) *Lion of Trevarrock (1969) *Heir to Pendarrow (1969) *The Night of the Wolf (1972) *By the Light of the Moon (1985)

Tudor Trilogy

#Queen's Delight (1966) aka The Queen's favorite #Traitor's Son (1967) #King's legacy (1967)

Non fiction

*Bright Star: A Portrait of Ellen Terry (1970) *The Last Elizabethan: A Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh (1972)

As Constance Heaven

Kuragin Saga

#The House of Kuragin (1972) #The Astrov Inheritance (1973) aka The Astrov Legacy #Heir to Kuragin (1978)

Ravensley Saga

#Lord of Ravensley (1978) #The Ravensley Touch (1982)

Hunter's Love Series

#Love's Shadow (1994) #The Love Child (1997)

Single novels

*Castle of Eagles (1974) *The Place of Stones (1975) *The Fires of Glenlochy (1976) *The Queen and the Gypsy (1977) *The Wildcliffe Bird (1981) *Daughter of Marignac (1983) *Castle of Doves (1984) *Larksghyll (1986) aka The Craven Legacy *The Raging Fire (1987) *The Fire Still Burns (1989) *The Wind from the Sea (1991)

As Christina Merlin

Novels

*Spy Concerts (1980) *Sword of Mithras (1982)

References and sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heaven, Constance 1911 births 1995 deaths Alumni of King's College London British romantic fiction writers RoNA Award winners 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British women writers Women romantic fiction writers British women novelists Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers