Penny Vincenzi
Penny Vincenzi was a prominent English novelist and magazine editor, born in 1939, who gained acclaim for her best-selling works. Her early interest in writing emerged during childhood when she created and sold her own magazine at school. After a brief period working in a library and attending secretarial college, she embarked on a successful career in journalism, holding positions at publications such as Vogue and the Daily Mirror. Vincenzi's literary career took off with her debut novel, "Old Sins," published in 1989, and she became widely recognized for her Spoils of Time trilogy, exploring the life of the Lytton family from the 1910s through World War II. Over her career, she published sixteen novels, many of which reached the New York Times Best Seller list. In addition to her fiction, Vincenzi also wrote nonfiction and contributed to various magazines. She passed away on February 25, 2018, at the age of seventy-eight, leaving behind a rich legacy in the world of literature.
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Penny Vincenzi
- Born: April 10, 1939
- Birthplace: Bournemouth, England
- Died: February 25, 2018
Biography
Best-selling English novelist and magazine editor Penny Vincenzi was born in 1939. As a child, she wrote her own magazine, Stories, which she copied and sold at school. At the age of sixteen, she worked at the Harrods library before attending secretarial college. She married Paul Robert Vincenzi in 1960, and the couple had four children, Polly, Sophie, Emily, and Claudia.
Vincenzi worked as a secretary at Vogue, Tatler, and the Mirror, before being promoted at the Mirror to personal assistant of advice columnist Marje Proops. With Proops guidance and assistance, Vincenzi became a fashion and beauty writer at the Daily Mirror. She was fashion editor at the controversial and groundbreaking 1960’s fashion magazine Nova, the beauty editor at Woman’s Own, and the deputy editor at Options. She worked briefly at the classic British cosmetics company Boots, assisting in the launch of a popular cosmetic line before cofounding the magazine Looking Good, which was sold in association with the Boots line but was financed and edited independently.
In order to start the magazine, Vincenzi and her husband, Paul, sold their house and borrowed money. Connections she made at Nova with talented contributors, such as art director David Hillman and photographer Terence Donovan, both of whom had been seminal in creating the mod look still associated with Swinging London, helped sell every copy of Looking Good’s first issue, and the Vincenzis were able to repay their debts. At the time of the launch, Vincenzi was a contributing editor for Cosmopolitan magazine, where she met agent Desmond Elliott, who optioned her first novel, Old Sins, and published it in 1989. Her second novel, Wicked Pleasures, was published in 1992.
Vincenzi was best known for her Spoils of Time trilogy, which tells the story of the Lytton family. The trilogy, consisting of the novels No Angel (2000), Something Dangerous (2001), and Into Temptation (2002), begins in the 1910’s and continues through World War II. American editions of the novels were first released between 2003 and 2005.
In addition to her novels, Vincenzi also wrote nonfiction. The Compleat Liar (1977), inspired by one of her magazine pieces and illustrated by Pete Willmin, was her first published book. A comic guide to parenting, There’s One Born Every Minute: A Survival Guide for Parents, was released in 1984 with illustrations by Ian Dicks. Taking Stock: Over Seventy-Five Years of the OXO Cube appeared in 1985 to commemorate the anniversary of the OXO cube, a British brand of instant beef bouillon.
Vincenzi published sixteen novels between 1992 and 2017, with many reaching number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. Other romance novels by Vincenzi include Sheer Abandon (2003), An Outrageous Affair (2008), The Decision (2011), and A Question of Trust (2017). She died at age seventy-eight on February 25, 2018.
Bibliography
Genzlinger, Neil. "Penny Vincenzi, Best-Selling British Author, Is Dead at 78" The New York Times, 2 Mar. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/03/02/obituaries/penny-vincenzi-best-selling-british-author-is-dead-at-78.html. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018.
Penny Vincenzi, 2018, pennyvincenzi.com/. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018.
Vincenzi, Penny. “Once Upon a Life: Penny Vincenzi.” The Guardian, 10 Sep. 2011. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/sep/11/once-upon-a-life-penny-vincenzi. Accessed 15 Oct. 2018.
Penny VincenziGuide to Literary Masters & Their Works2007Salem Press