Denise Robins (née Denise Naomi Klein; 1 February 1897 – 1 May 1985) 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.Denise Robins, 87, Author of 200 Novels
in '' The Miami Herald'', 3 May 1985 (Retrieved 5 April 2008) She was the daughter of the novelist K. C. Groom, and mother of romance novelist

Patricia Robins Patricia Robins (1 February 1921 – 4 December 2016) was a British writer of short stories and over 80 novels mainly romances from 1934 to 2016, she also signed under the pseudonym Claire Lorrimer, she had sold more than ten million copies. S ...

. 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 Kathleen Clarice Groom (née Cornwell; 11 March 1872 – 29 April 1954) was a British writer of short-stories and novels from 1907 to 1952, she signed under different pen names: Clarice Klein, Kit Dealtry, C. Groom, Mrs. Sydney Groom, and K. C. ...

, 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 George Cornwell was a British railway engineer and building contractor working in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in the second half of the nineteenth century. Among his prominent works, were the Hawthorn Railway Bridge built in 1861, with a sp ...

and his wife Jemima Ridpath, married in 1850.Marriage cert GRO Sep 1850 W. Ham 12/415.

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 ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' newspaper.Kathleen Clarice Cornwell... Klein... Dealtry... Groom
online at bearalley.blogspot.com (Retrieved 4 April 2008)Lorrimer, Claire, ''You Never Know'', autobiography Her parents had married in 1890. He had a daughter

Sibyl Klein The sibyls (, singular ) were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he described local traditio ...

, from a previous marriage, and they had two sons:

Adrian Bernard Klein Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the mai ...

(1892–1969) and

Daryl Klein Darryl is an English name, a variant spelling of Darell. Male variations of this name include: Darlin, Daryl, Darrell, Darryl, Daryll, Darryll, Darrell, Darrel. Female and unisex variations of this name include: Daryl, Darian, Dareen, Darelle ...

(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 The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regimen ...

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. 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. The family then lived in America for a few years but, by 1908, Kathleen (or 'Kit') Dealtry was back in London, writing Christian novels. In 1918 she married for a third time and wrote at least three books as Mrs Sydney Groom. 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 The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

and changed his name to Adrian Cornwell-Clyne. Denise Naomi Klein married firstly

Arthur Robins Arthur Robins (1888 – 12 March 1924) was an English footballer who played as an Outside right for Sheffield United in the Football League. Career Born in Northampton Robins begun his career at Raunds St Peters before transferring to The Bl ...

in 1918, a corn broker on the Baltic Exchange,Lorrimer, Claire, ''You Never Know'' (autobiography
Chapter 1
online at clairelorrimer.com (Retrieved 9 April 2008) they had three daughters, Eve Louise,

(a.k.a.

Claire Lorrimer Patricia Robins (1 February 1921 – 4 December 2016) was a British writer of short stories and over 80 novels mainly romances from 1934 to 2016, she also signed under the pseudonym Claire Lorrimer, she had sold more than ten million copies. S ...

) who became another best-selling author, and Anne Eleanor. In 1938, the marriage ended in divorce, after Robins met

O'Neill Pearson The O'Neill dynasty (Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin, that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically the most prominent family of the Northern ...

in Egypt, they married in 1939. However, like

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

, Robins continued to publish most of her books under her first married name.

Writing career

When she left school, Denise Klein went to work as a journalist for the D. C. Thomson Press, then became a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' from December 1925 to February 1926. Her first play, ''Heatwave'', written in collaboration with Roland Pertwee, was produced at the St James's Theatre, London, in 1929.Robins, Denise, ''Stranger Than Fiction'' (

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...

, 1965, autobiography) 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.New General Catalog of Old Books and Authors: Author names starting with KL
online at authorandbookinfo.com (Retrieved 4 April 2008) After marrying Arthur Robins, many of her books were written under her married name. Robins had been writing fiction and getting it published for ten years when in 1927 she met

Charles Boon Charles Boon (9 May 1877 – 2 December 1943) was a publisher who, along with Gerald Rusgrove Mills, founded the publishing company Mills & Boon in 1908. Early life Charles Boon was born on 9 May 1877 in London as the eldest of the six childre ...

, 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. 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. 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.McAleer, Joseph, ''op. cit''
page 69
online at books.google.co.uk (Retrieved 5 April 2008) Of this development, Arthur Boon wrote: Robins gave her version of events in her autobiography: 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. Joseph McAleer has described Robins as "the recognised mistress of the punishing kiss device.McAleer, Joseph, ''op. cit''
page 155
online at books.google.co.uk (Retrieved 9 April 2008) 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". She was elected as President of the Romantic Novelists' Association in 1961.An ideal place for a respite for writers?
dated 2 April 2007, online at bookwormonthenet.blogspot.com (Retrieved 4 April 2008) 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."Stranger than fiction: Denise Robins: her life story, Title Information
online at library.barking-dagenham.gov.uk (Retrieved 4 April 2008) 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''. In October 2011 the first dozen of her novels were released in e-book format.http://www.chiswellpublications.co.uk

Bibliography

Some of her novels have been reedited under different titles or as Denise RobinsDenise Robins
at fantasticfiction.co.uk (Retrieved 4 April 2008)

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)McAleer, Joseph, ''Passion's Fortune: The Story of Mills & Boon''
page 50
online at books.google.co.uk (Retrieved 4 April 2008) *''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) *''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) *''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) *''Life and Love'' (1935) *''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. T''he 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 Michael Henry Pertwee (24 April 1916, Kensington, London – 17 April 1991, Camden, London) was an English playwright and screenwriter. Among his credits were episodes of '' The Saint'', ''Danger Man'', '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', '' B-A ...

) *''Woman's Weekly Fiction Series: Volume 4, Number 7'' (1977) (with

Rachel Murray Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aunt ...

) *''Woman's Weekly Fiction Series: Volume 5, Number 2'' (1978) (with

) *''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

)

Anthologies edited

*''The World of Romance'' (1964)

Autobiography

*''Stranger Than Fiction'' (

, 1965)

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

#''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

*''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)

Biography

Personal life

Writing career

Bibliography

As Denise Chesterton

Novels

As Eve Vail

Novels

As Denise Robins

Novels

Omnibus

Collections

Anthologies edited

Autobiography

As Hervey Hamilton

Novels

As Francesca Wright

Novels

As Ashley French

Novels

As Harriet Gray

Fauna Trilogy

Single Novels

As Julia Kane

Novels

References

See also