Penelope Vincenzi (née Hannaford; 10 April 1939 – 25 February 2018) was a British novelist, who wrote 17 novels and 2 collections of stories. Her sales by 2014 amounted to over 7 million copies.

Early life

She was born Penelope Hannaford, on 10 April 1939 in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

, the daughter of Stanley George Hannaford (died 1985) and Mary Blanche Hannaford nee Hawkey (died 1987) of

New Milton New Milton is a market town in southwest Hampshire, England. To the north is in the New Forest and to the south the coast at Barton-on-Sea. The town is equidistant between Lymington and Christchurch, 6 miles (10 km) away. History ...

, Hampshire.Lucy Hume, ''

Debrett's People of Today ''Debrett's People of Today'' was a reference work published by Debrett's containing biographical details of approximately 25,000 notable people from across the spectrum of British society, a rival to the longer-established ''Who's Who''. Those in ...

'' 2017
p. 1893
Debrett's, , accessed 27 February 2018 She was an only child, with "the most ordinary background you could possibly imagine". As a child, the family moved to Devon. She was educated at

Notting Hill and Ealing High School Notting Hill and Ealing High School is an independent school for girls aged 4 – 18 in Ealing, London. Founded in 1873, it is one of the 26 schools that make up the Girls' Day School Trust. It has a Junior Department of 310 girls (ages 4–11) ...

Career

In 1962, she started to work for the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...

'' as a secretary, and after a year was working for the women's editor

Marjorie Proops Rebecca Marjorie Proops OBE (formerly Rayle, née Israel; 10 August 1911 – 10 November 1996) was a journalist and agony aunt in the United Kingdom, writing the column ''Dear Marje'' for the ''Daily Mirror'' newspaper. Proops was born in Wokin ...

, who knowing of her journalistic ambitions, let her help with research and small tasks. Vincenzi was also a fashion journalist who worked for various publications, including the ''

'' and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''.

Personal life

She met her future husband Paul Robert Vincenzi, an advertising executive, the son of Dr Julius Vincenzi of

Earls Colne Earls Colne is a village in Essex, England named after the River Colne, on which it stands, and the Earls of Oxford who held the manor of Earls Colne from before 1086 to 1703. History Manor of Earls Colne In the time of Edward the Confesso ...

, Essex, when she was 19. They married on 27 May 1960, and had four daughters. He died from a brain tumour in 2009. Vincenzi died on 25 February 2018, aged 78.

Publications (novels)

*''The Compleat Liar'' (non-fiction, 1977) *''Old Sins'' (1989) *''Wicked Pleasures'' (1992) *''An Outrageous Affair'' (1993) *''Another Woman'' (1994) *''Forbidden Places'' (1995) *''The Dilemma'' (1996) *''Windfall'' (1997) *''Almost a Crime'' (1999) *''No Angel'' (2000) *''Something Dangerous'' (2001) *''Into Temptation'' (2002) *''Sheer Abandon'' (2005) *''An Absolute Scandal'' (2007) *''The Best of Times'' (2009) *''The Decision'' (2011) *''A Perfect Heritage'' (2014) *''A Question of Trust'' (2017)

References

1939 births 2018 deaths British women novelists 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British novelists 21st-century British women writers British fashion journalists British women journalists Daily Mirror people British Vogue British romantic fiction writers Women romantic fiction writers Writers from Bournemouth People educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School British people of Italian descent {{UK-novelist-stub