Lucinda Kate Riley (; 16 February 1965 – 11 June 2021)Stephanie Bell

''Belfast Telegraph'', 14 July 2016 was a Northern Irish author of popular

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

, originally an actress.

Biography

Lucinda Edmonds was born in

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

and spent the first few years of her life in the village of Drumbeg near Belfast before moving to England.About Lucinda
lucindariley.co.uk At age 14, she enrolled in the

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play ''Where the Rainbow Ends''. For ...

in London to study theatre and ballet. At 16, she got her first major television role in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

adaptation of ''

The Story of the Treasure Seekers ''The Story of the Treasure Seekers'' is a novel by E. Nesbit first published in 1899. It tells the story of Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Alice, Noel, and Horace Octavius (H. O.) Bastable, and their attempts to assist their widowed father and recover ...

'', followed shortly afterwards by a guest role in ''

Auf Wiedersehen Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in ...

''. She remained a working actress for the next seven years. Her acting career was interrupted by a long bout of

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

. This caused her to turn to writing, and her first novel ''Lovers and Players'' was published in 1992. From 1988 to 1998, she was married to actor Owen Whittaker, with whom she had two children, Harry and Bella. From 2000 until her death, she was married to Stephen Riley, with whom she also had two children, Leonora and Kit. Through her second marriage, she also had three stepchildren, Olivia, William and Max. She took a break from writing, returning to it in 2010; her subsequent novels were published under her married name. In 2016, producer

Raffaella De Laurentiis Raffaella De Laurentiis (born 28 June 1952) is an Italian film producer. Films that she has produced include ''Conan the Barbarian'', '' Conan the Destroyer'', ''Dune'', '' Prancer'', '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story'', all films in the ''Dragonhear ...

purchased the television rights to her novel series ''

The Seven Sisters ''The Seven Sisters'' is an accessory for the 2nd edition of the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, published in 1995. ''The Seven Sisters'' details the fictional characters known as the Seven Sisters of the Forgotten R ...

''.Pam Norfolk
''Popular Author Signs Hollywood Deal''
''Lancashire Evening Post'', 29 June 2016 This novel series made her a bestseller author, predominantly in the Netherlands and Germany. Combined, the series has sold over 30 million books. In 2019, Riley revealed to Norwegian newspaper ''

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

'' that she had

oesophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...

. She continued to work, producing five novels during the four years of her illness, but was unable to complete the planned final eighth novel in her ''Seven Sisters'' series, which is being written by her son, Harry Whittaker. She died on 11 June 2021.Stephanie Bell
''How Ulster-born author Lucinda Riley, who vowed to shun Hollywood, became the toast of LA after signing huge deal to film her novels for TV''
''Belfast Telegraph'', 14 July 2016 In May 2022, her stepdaughter Olivia Riley, who was a personal assistant and publishing executive for Lucinda Riley Ltd, was killed after being hit by a car while walking her dogs in London.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1982) * ''

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in ...

'' (1983) * ''

Jumping the Queue Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and o ...

'' (1989)

Bibliography

;As Lucinda Edmonds *''Lovers and Players'' (1992) *''Hidden Beauty'' (1993) *''Enchanted'' (1994) *''Not Quite an Angel'' (1995) *''Aria'' (1996) *''Losing You'' (1997) *''Playing With Fire'' (1998) *''Seeing Double'' (2000) ;As Lucinda Riley *''The Orchid House'' (also known as ''Hothouse Flower'') (2010) *''The Girl on the Cliff'' (2011) *''The Light Behind the Window'' (also known as ''The Lavender Garden'') (2012) *''The Midnight Rose'' (2013) *''The Angel Tree'' (2014) *''The Italian Girl'' (a rewrite of ''Aria'') (2014) *''The Olive Tree'' (also published as ''Helena's Secret'') (2016) *''The Love Letter'' (a rewrite of ''Seeing Double'') (2018) *''The Butterfly Room'' (2019) *'' The Murders at Fleat House'' (2022)

The Seven Sisters series

*''The Seven Sisters'' (2014) *''The Storm Sister'' (2015) *''The Shadow Sister'' (2016) *''The Pearl Sister'' (2017) *''The Moon Sister'' (2018) *''The Sun Sister'' (2019) *''The Missing Sister'' (2021)

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Lucinda 1965 births 2021 deaths Irish novelists 20th-century actresses from Northern Ireland Television actresses from Northern Ireland 20th-century Irish women writers 20th-century Irish novelists 21st-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish novelists People from Lisburn Deaths from esophageal cancer Deaths from cancer in Northern Ireland