Anne Weale, who for fifty years wrote ground breaking romances for Mills & Boon, died on 24 October.After selling short stories to a woman's magazine while still at school, Anne Weale became a newspaper reporter, the traditional training for a novelist. An enthusiastic traveller, she used authentic foreign backgrounds for her romances -- most famously, Antigua Kiss. She was, however, proudest of her "Longwarden" novels, Flora, All My Worldly Goods and Time & Chance which readers are still discovering in libraries and used book shops.
From 1998-2004, Anne wrote a website review column, Bookworm on the Net, for The Bookseller, the UK's leading book trade press magazine.
Anne was the most entertaining companion and I'll miss sharing breakfast with her at the New Cavendish Club. I'll miss her lively blog. I'll miss her emails. I'll miss her.
9 comments:
How very sad to read this news. I'll miss her interesting blog, her tough-minded, no-nonsense philosophy, her intelligence and wit. And I'll miss being able to read the memoir she had mentioned.
My condolences to her friends and family.
Nice post, Liz. Anne would have approved.
I'll miss her too.
Like all of us, I was shocked to hear the news of Jay's death.
I hardly had chance to get to know Jay, and yet was struck by her inner dynamism and interest in all things and all people.
Having enjoyed the romances written by Anne Weale I learned more about the lady behind them from books documenting the history of Mills and Boon, and can now appreciate the enormous contribution Jay made to the line.
You'll be missed, Jay
It is very sad news. Anne and I disagreed on much but she was a major force in romance writing and publishing for so long - and I always felt that she would go on for ever. I learned a lot from her and I will miss her too
I have loved Anne's work since the 60's when I discovered romance as a young person. I struck up a minor correspondence with her in 2000 when I discovered her internet address. She was so gracious and kind in her responses to me - I fairly gushed and was relieved that she was pleased to hear my praise. She encouraged me to find the books you mentioned as her proudest works and I did find them, read them, and "reported" back to her about how much I loved them. I have kept both the books and her emails. I am sad to hear of her death - she was a treasure.
I'll miss her, too, Liz. She was A Force To Be Reckoned With -- we shall not see her like again. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have known her.
Wow, I am very slow in catching up on life, it's been crazy... I am so sorry to hear of her passing. She always had such an interesting take on things, and provided me with a different perspective.
I just found out today!! My condolance to her family, friends and readers who will all miss her dearly.
Loved her Flora, it was the first book to ever make me cry! Will definitely be looking out for the the rest of her "Longwarden" series. Apart from All My Worldly Goods and Time & Chance are there any more?
No, CY, there just the three books, but Anne always thought they were her best work. I know she'd be delighted to have moved you to tears.
You asked about my Cinderella Valentine story. It was online at eHarlequin, but it has now been taken down and will, I assume, be issued as a mini ebook eventually.
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