Virginia Henley
Encyclopedia
Virginia Henley, née Virginia Syddall (b. 5 December 1935 in Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

), is a British successful writer of historical-romance novel
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...

s. She is well-known for her Medieval, Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 and other period piece romance novels.

Biography

Virginia Syddall was born in 5 December 1935 in Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, UK. Her father, Thomas Syddall, taught her to love history, she later on obtained a university degree in History.

Virginia has been married to Arthur Henley since 1956, and they had two sons. The marriage was installed in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, where she was a housewife, who read "The Wolf and the Dove" by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, and decided start to write. She sold her first novel The Irish Gypsy in 1982 to Avon Books.

She became a friend of other prominent writers such as Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Bertrice Small
Bertrice Small
Bertrice Small is an U.S.American New York Times bestselling writer of historical and erotic romance novels. Bertrice lives on Long Island, New York with her husband George Small. She is a member of The Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, PAN, and PASIC...

, Heather Graham Pozzessere
Heather Graham Pozzessere
Heather Graham Pozzessere is a best-selling US writer, who writes primarily romance novels...

, Kat Martin
Kat Martin
Kathleen Kelly Martin is an American writer of romance novels under the pen names of Kat Martin, Kathy Lawrence and Kasey Marx. She is married to writer and photographer Larry Jay Martin.-Biography:...

, Christina Skye, Marsha Canham
Marsha Canham
Marsha Canham is a Canadian writer of historical, romance novels since 1984. She has won two Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Awards.-Biography:Marsha Canham resides in Toronto...

 and Susan Johnson
Susan Johnson (novelist)
Susan Johnson , is an American author of numerous New York Times bestselling sexually explicit romance novels. She is unusual among romance writers for providing footnotes in some of her novels.-Stand Alone Titles:*Pure Sin...

.

Now, with her husband retired, they live the warm months in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...

 (United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

), and they spend summers in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, where live their two children, and three grandsons.

Writing career

Virginia Henley is the author of eighteen historical novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Seduced and Desired, as well as three novellas. Her work has been translated into fourteen languages.

Style

Virginia Henley's novels are not typical 'bodice rippers' - attention is paid to many details such as historical events, which are integrated seamlessly into an otherwise fictional story. This attention to historical details is a hallmark of her novels. From the practices and traditions of the day, to the trends in fashion and down to the lives of prominent families in history - Henley combines them to create a rich background for her characters. Apart from the male and female protagonists, Henley's romance novels also contain colorful supporting characters, each with their own adventures and romances which at times even rival those of the main protagonists.

Henley has won several awards for her work - including the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award, Waldenbooks' Bestselling Award, Maggie Award for Excellence from the Georgia Romance Writers. She is also regularly praised and given rave reviews by Affaire de Coeur, Heartland Critiques, Rendezvous and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

.

Publishing Houses

Virginia Henley first published her books under Dell Publishing. From the 1980s to 1992, all her novels were published by Dell. In 1993, Island Books, a division of Dell Books, began publishing her works. There are marked differences between Henley's books published by Dell and those published by Island Books. The novels published by Dell had illustrated cover pages, with a plot synopsis on the back cover. The books published by Island had only her name and the novel's title over a background image of a particular flower with the illustration appearing on the second page.

Single Novels

  • The Irish Gypsy (1982) = Enticed (1994)
  • Bold conquest (1983)
  • Wild Hearts (1985)
  • The Raven and the Rose (1987)
  • The Hawk and the Dove (1988)
  • The Pirate and the Pagan (1990)
  • Seduced (1994)
  • Desired (1995)
  • Enslaved (1995)
  • Dream lover (1997)
  • A Woman of Passion (1998) Based on the life of Bess of Hardwick
    Bess of Hardwick
    Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (c. 1521 – 13 February 1608, known as Bess of Hardwick, was the daughter of John Hardwick, of Derbyshire and Elizabeth Leeke, daughter of Thomas Leeke and Margaret Fox...

  • Ravished (2002)
  • Undone (2003)
  • Insatiable (2004)
  • Unmasked (2005)

Medieval Plantagenet Trilogy

  1. The Falcon and the Flower (1989)
  2. The Dragon and the Jewel (1991)
  3. The Marriage Prize (2000)

De Warenne Family Saga

  1. A Year and A Day (1998)
  2. Infamous (2006)
  3. Notorious (2007)

Omnibus in Collaborations

  • "Christmas Eve" in A Gift of Joy (1995) (with Jo Goodman, Brenda Joyce and Fern Michaels
    Fern Michaels
    Fern Michaels is an American author of romance and thriller novels, including nearly 50 best selling books with more than 70 million copies in print...

    )
  • "Letter of love" in Love's Legacy (1996) (with Madeline Baker, Mary Balogh
    Mary Balogh
    Mary Balogh is a Welsh-Canadian historical romance novelist.-Personal life:...

    , Elaine Barbieri, Lori Copeland
    Lori Copeland
    Lori Copeland is an American author of over 95 novels.-Biography:Lori Copeland had a relatively late start in writing, breaking into publishing in 1982 when she was already forty years old...

    , Cassie Edwards
    Cassie Edwards
    Cassie Edwards is a best-selling American author of over 100 historical romance novels. She has been published by Dorchester Publishing, Signet Books, Kensington Publishing and Harlequin.-Biography :...

    , Heather Graham, Catherine Hart, Penelope Neri, Diana Palmer
    Diana Palmer (author)
    Susan Kyle, née Susan Eloise Spaeth is an award winning American writer well-known as Diana Palmer, who has published romantic novels since 1979. She has also written romances as Diana Blayne, Katy Currie, and under her married name Susan Kyle and a science fiction novel as Susan S...

     and Janelle Taylor
    Janelle Taylor
    Janelle Taylor is an American author of historical romance novels.-Biography:Janelle Diane Williams was born June 28, 1944 in Athens, Georgia. She graduated from Athens High School in 1962, and spent the next three years as an orthodontic nurse in Athens. In 1965 she married Michael Taylor...

    )
  • "Love and joy" in A Christmas Miracle (1996) (with Katherine Kingsley, Stephanie Mittman and Rebecca Paisley
    Rebecca Paisley
    Rebecca Boado Rosas was an American author of romance novels as Rebecca Paisley from 1990 to 1997.-Biography:Rebecca Boado's father, Emil Edward Boado of the Air Force, died during the war of Vietnam. With five years, she began to write a repugnant poem to her sister. Rebecca married with Mr...

    )
  • "Christmas Eve" in Let It Snow (2003) (with Holly Chamberlin, Marcia Evanick and Fern Michaels
    Fern Michaels
    Fern Michaels is an American author of romance and thriller novels, including nearly 50 best selling books with more than 70 million copies in print...

    )
  • "Christmas Eve" in Deck the Halls (2004) (with Marcia Evanick, Lisa Jackson, Fern Michaels
    Fern Michaels
    Fern Michaels is an American author of romance and thriller novels, including nearly 50 best selling books with more than 70 million copies in print...

     and Linda Lael Miller
    Linda Lael Miller
    Linda Lael Miller , is a best-selling American author of more than seventy contemporary and historical romance novels. She has also written under the pen name Lael St. James.-Personal life:...

    )
  • "Smuggler's Lair" in Lords of Desire (2009) (with Kristi Astor, Victoria Dahl and Sally MacKenzie
    Sally MacKenzie
    Sally MacKenzie is a USA Today bestselling romance novelist who has currently published eight books, The Naked Duke , The Naked Marquis , The Naked Earl , The Naked Gentleman , The Naked Baron , The Naked Viscount , The Naked King , and Bedding Lord Ned...

    )
  • "Beauty and the Brute" in Lords of Passion (2010) (with Kate Pearce, and Maggie Robinson)

Awards

  • 1988 Winner of the Romantic Times Award for Best Elizabethan Historical Romance by The Hawk and the Dove
  • 1989 Winner of the Romantic Times Award for Most Sensual by The Falcon and the Flower
  • 1990 Winner of the Romantic Times Award for Best English Historical Romance by The Pirate and the Pagan
  • Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Waldenbooks' Bestselling Award
  • Affaire de Coeur
  • Heartland Critiques
  • Maggie Award for Excellence from the Georgia Romance Writers
  • Rendezvous Award
  • USA Today
    USA Today
    USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

     Award

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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