Dorothy Enid Eden (3 April 1912 – 4 March 1982) was a New Zealand

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer, principally in the Gothic genre.

Early life

Dorothy Eden plaque in the footpath outside 315 Montreal St

Eden was born in North

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

but she grew up in the area of Elgin and Wakanui, near Ashburton. She was educated in Wakanui and at Ashburton Technical School leaving school at 16 to work as a typist and legal secretary in Ashburton and

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. In the 1954 New Zealand electoral roll (on

Ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

) she was listed as residing at 315 Montreal St, Christchurch.

Career

Eden's first novel was published in 1940 and she became a full-time writer in 1946. In 1954 she moved to England; she made the move "to prove she could write". In 1980 Eden was described as one of the 10 best-selling novelists in the world. She was best known for her writings in the

suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...

and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

genres, both romances and thrillers. Her works were translated into many different languages including Turkish, Icelandic and Hebrew. In addition to writing novels, she also contributed to

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s, including ''New Zealand Mirror'' and other international magazines''.'' She served on the committee of the English Crime Writers Association. Eden's historical novel ''Sleep in the Woods'' was set in

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

during the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...

. It was a story of conflict between settlers and

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

and the elimination of social and class distinctions in the English and Scottish settlers. Once she moved to England most of her novels were set in England or Europe in various settings: Victorian England, Ireland at the time of the affair of Parnell and

Kitty O'Shea Katharine Parnell (née Wood; 30 January 1846 – 5 February 1921), known before her second marriage as Katharine O'Shea, and usually called Katie O'Shea by friends and Kitty O'Shea by enemies, was an English woman of aristocratic background ...

, Mafeking and Peking during the

Boxer rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

, New South Wales in the pioneer days, Denmark, Italy and Scandinavia. Her writing also focused on gender relations. After treatment for

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

Eden helped to fundraise towards the operation of a scanner at

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central Lond ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

. She died of cancer in London in 1982.

Publications

Writing as Dorothy Eden

*''The Singing Shadows'' (1940) *''The Laughing Ghost'' (1943) *''We Are for the Dark'' (1944) *''The Schoolmaster's Daughter'' (aka ''The Daughters of Ardmore Hall'') (1946) *''Summer Sunday'' (1946) *''Walk into My Parlour'' (1947) * ''

Crow Hollow ''Crow Hollow'' is a 1952 British mystery film directed by Michael McCarthy and starring Donald Houston, Natasha Parry and Patricia Owens. It is based on the 1950 novel ''Crow Hollow'' by Dorothy Eden. In the film, newlywed Ann Amour survives ...

'' (1950) *''Voice of the Dolls'' (1950) *''Cat's Prey'' (aka ''Let Us Prey'') (1952) *''Lamb to the Slaughter'' (1953) *''Bride by Candlelight'' (1954) *''Darling Clementine'' (1955) *''Night of the Letter'' (1955) *''Death Is a Red Rose'' (1956) *''The Pretty Ones'' (1957) *''Listen to Danger'' (1958) *''The Deadly Travellers'' (1959) *''The Sleeping Bride'' (1959) *''An Afternoon Walk'' (1960) *''Samantha'' (aka ''Lady of Mallow'') (1960) *''Sleep in the Woods'' (1960) *''Afternoon for Lizards'' (aka ''Bridge of Fear'') (1961) *''Whistle for the Crows'' (1962) *''The Bird in the Chimney'' (aka ''Darkwater'') (1963) *''Bella'' (aka ''Ravenscroft'') (1964) *''The Marriage Chest'' (1965) *''Never Call It Loving'' (1966) *''Siege in the Sun'' (1967) *''Winterwood'' (1967) *''The Shadow Wife'' (1968) *''Yellow Is for Fear, and other stories'' (1968) *''The Vines of Yarrabee'' (1969) *''Melbury Square'' (1970) *''Waiting for Willa'' (1970) *''Speak to Me of Love'' (1972) *''The Millionaire's Daughter'' (1974) *''The Time of the Dragon'' (1975) *''The House on Hay Hill, and other romantic fiction'' (1976) *''The Salamanca Drum'' (1977) *''The Storrington Papers'' (1978) *''The American Heiress'' (1980) *''An Important Family'' (1982)

Writing as Mary Paradise

*''Face of an Angel'' (1961) *''Shadow of a Witch'' (1962)

References

External links

Dorothy Eden, 69, the Author Of 18 Gothic-Historic Novels
at ''The New York Times''
Dorothy Eden
at Fantastic Fiction * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eden, Dorothy 1912 births 1982 deaths New Zealand women novelists New Zealand crime fiction writers Members of the Detection Club 20th-century New Zealand novelists People from Ashburton, New Zealand Women mystery writers Women crime fiction writers 20th-century New Zealand women writers Writers of Gothic fiction