Denise Robins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Denise Robins
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Denise Naomi Klein 1 February 1897 London, England1 |
| Died | 1 May 1985 (aged 88) England |
| Pen name | Denise Chesterton, Eve Vaill, Anne Llewellyn, Denise Robins, Hervey Hamilton, Francesca Wright, Ashley French, Harriet Gray, Julia Kane |
| Occupation | Journalist, Novelist |
| Nationality | English |
| Citizenship | British |
| Period | 1918–1985 |
| Genre | Gothic romance, Romantic novelist |
| Spouse | (1) Arthur Robins (1918–1938) (2) O'Neill Pearson (1939–19??) |
| Children | (1) Eve Louise Robins (2) Patricia Robins (a.k.a. Claire Lorrimer) (3) Anne Eleanor Robins |
| Relatives | K. C. Groom (mother), Herman Klein (father) Adrian Klein (brother) Daryl Klein (brother) |
Denise Robins (born Denise Naomi Klein; February 1, 1897 – May 1, 1985) was a very successful English writer of romantic novels. She was also the first President of the Romantic Novelists' Association from 1960 to 1966.
Denise Robins wrote under her first married name, Denise Robins. She also used many other pen names, like Denise Chesterton, Eve Vaill, Anne Llewellyn, Hervey Hamilton, Francesca Wright, Ashley French, Harriet Gray, and Julia Kane. She wrote short stories, plays, and about 170 Gothic romance novels.
In 1965, Denise Robins published her life story, called Stranger Than Fiction. By the time she passed away in 1985, her books had been translated into fifteen languages. They had sold over one hundred million copies around the world. In 1984 alone, her books were borrowed more than one and a half million times from libraries in Britain.
Denise Robins was the daughter of another novelist, K. C. Groom. Her own daughter, Patricia Robins, also became a famous romance novelist. Some other members of her family were well-known artists.
Contents
Biography
Denise Robins's Early Life
Denise Naomi Klein was born in London, England, on February 1, 1897. Her mother was Kathleen Clarice Louise Cornwell, who was also a very productive writer. Her father was Herman Klein, a music professor and journalist. Her father's family had Russian Jewish roots. He was born in Norwich in 1856.
Denise's mother, Kathleen Clarice, was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1872. Her grandfather, George Cornwell, was a railway guard who became a successful gold prospector and builder in Australia. Kathleen's older sister, Alice Cornwell, became very rich. She returned to England and bought Sunday Times newspaper in the 1890s.
Denise's parents married in 1890. Her father had a daughter, Sibyl Klein, from an earlier marriage. Denise's parents had two sons, Adrian Bernard Klein (1892–1969) and Daryl Klein (1894), before Denise was born. Denise's childhood was not always easy. Her parents separated when she was young. Her mother later remarried.
In 1905, Denise's mother and stepfather faced some financial difficulties related to promoting dog shows. After this, the family lived in America for a few years. By 1908, Kathleen was back in London and writing Christian novels. She married a third time in 1918 and wrote books under the name Mrs Sydney Groom.
Denise's older brother, Adrian Bernard Klein, also became a writer. He was an artist and wrote books about photography and cinematography. He served in the British Army and later changed his name to Adrian Cornwell-Clyne.
Family Life and Marriages
Denise Naomi Klein married Arthur Robins in 1918. He worked as a corn broker. They had three daughters: Eve Louise, Patricia Robins, and Anne Eleanor. Patricia Robins (also known as Claire Lorrimer) became a best-selling author, just like her mother.
In 1938, Denise and Arthur Robins separated. Denise then met O'Neill Pearson in Egypt, and they married in 1939. Even after her second marriage, Denise Robins continued to publish most of her books using her first married name, Denise Robins.
Denise Robins's Writing Career
After finishing school, Denise Klein started working as a journalist for the D. C. Thomson Press. Later, she became a freelance writer, meaning she worked for herself. She began writing novels, and her first book was published in 1924.
Her story series called What is Love? appeared in The Star newspaper from December 1925 to February 1926. Her first play, Heatwave, which she wrote with Roland Pertwee, was performed in London in 1929.
Denise Klein used many different pen names for her fiction books. Some of these were Denise Chesterton, Francesca Wright, Ashley French, Harriet Gray, Hervey Hamilton, and Julia Kane. After she married Arthur Robins, many of her books were published under her married name.
Robins had been writing and publishing books for ten years when she met Charles Boon from Mills & Boon in 1927. She signed her first contract with his company that same year. For her first three novels, she received an advance of thirty pounds and ten percent of the sales. Her next contract was for six more books, and she received twenty-five pounds for each. For her third contract, she got one hundred pounds for each of four books, plus twelve and a half percent of sales.
The colorful covers of Mills & Boon books were very popular. For example, the cover of Robins's book Women Who Seek (1928) showed a stylish young woman checking her make-up.
Denise Robins became the most successful and highest-paid writer for Mills & Boon. In 1932, she signed a contract for £2,400 for eight books. These books included Shatter the Sky (1933) and How Great the Price (1935). This was her last work for Mills & Boon.
A new publisher, Nicholson & Watson, offered her a better deal. Arthur Boon, from Mills & Boon, said that Denise Robins was a "superstar" and knew she could sell more books than other authors.
Denise Robins explained in her autobiography that a young man named Ivor Nicholson offered her a large sum of money just for signing a contract with his new publishing house. She told Charles Boon about the offer. He was upset and let her out of her contract with Mills & Boon. So, she reluctantly left her old publishers and became the "star" author for Nicholson & Watson.
Her first book for Nicholson & Watson was Life and Love (1935). It was launched with a big advertising campaign. Denise Robins visited Liverpool to open a new library, and the slogan 'Robins for Romance' was put on London buses.
Joseph McAleer described Robins as very good at writing exciting and passionate scenes in her books.
During her long writing career, from about 1917 until her death in 1985, Denise Robins wrote more than 160 books. The Daily Graphic newspaper called her "the queen of romantic fiction."
She was chosen as the President of the Romantic Novelists' Association in 1961.
In 1965, Denise Robins published her autobiography, Stranger Than Fiction. The book described her life, saying that even though she had a difficult childhood, she never stopped believing in love.
When she passed away in 1985, Denise Robins's books had been translated into fifteen languages. They had sold over one hundred million copies worldwide. In 1984, her books were borrowed more than one and a half million times from British libraries. Some of her most popular books were House of the Seventh Cross, Khamsin, and Dark Corridor. In October 2011, the first twelve of her novels were released as e-books.
