Victoria Holt
Victoria Holt, born Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert, was a prolific English romance novelist credited with writing over two hundred works under various pen names, including Jean Plaidy and Phillipa Carr. She was born in London, with her birth year often cited between 1906 and 1910, though specific details about her early life remain largely private. Holt was influenced by classic authors such as Dickens and the Brontë sisters, which shaped her literary journey. After a challenging start in her writing career, she found success with her first romance novel, *Beyond the Blue Mountains*, published in 1947. Holt was known for her disciplined writing routine, producing approximately five thousand words a day. Despite her literary success, she led a modest life, often choosing to write in relative anonymity in a London flat. Holt continued to write until her death in January 1993 while on a Mediterranean cruise, leaving behind a legacy of enduring romance literature.
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Victoria Holt
- Born: September 1, 1906
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: January 18, 1993
- Place of death: Mediterranan Sea (on a cruise ship)
Biography
Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert, much better known as romance novelist Victoria Holt, was born in London. The exact year of her birth was kept a closely guarded secret, along with many details of her personal life; however, the date varies between 1906 and 1910. Her father was a dockworker and her mother stayed at home with their daughter. Not much is known of her parents other than they encouraged her to be an active reader and they loved literature as well. Holt counted Dickens, the Brontes and Tolstoy as her early influences.
Holt started work at an early age and worked at various times weighing gems, typing, and in a fancy goods store. Holt met George Hibbert, a married man, and they fell in love. He left his family and moved in with Holt in the 1920’s, where they lived in a small attic apartment in London. Holt and Hibbert married in 1935. Holt started writing after a few years, but nothing sold. The editor from The Daily Mail had told her that Holt would be better off writing more saleable works and she quickly decided to write a romance novel. She read twenty of them quickly and penned a romance. That work, Beyond the Blue Mountains, was published in England in 1947.
Holt wrote more than two hundred romances in her lifetime under many different pen names, including Eleanor Burford, Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, Phillipa Carr, and others. She wrote seven days a week, five hours a day, averaging five thousand words a day. Holt lived simply, living most of her life in a London flat with few outward signs of her growing wealth and fame. Her husband died in the early 1970’s. Holt continued to write until the time of her death withThe Black Opal published posthumously. Holt died in January, 1993, on a cruise of the Mediterranean Sea.