Victoria Holt wasn’t her actual name. Neither was Jean Plaidy, Philippa Carr, or any of the other monikers she was known to use. She was not someone who created aliases for disguise, but a woman, utilizing various pseudonyms, who happened to be one of the most prolific British authors of the twentieth century.
Born Eleanor Alice Burford in 1906 (and later Eleanor Hibbert), she wrote over 200 novels, publishing several books per year in different genres employing eight different pen names. Her final novel as Victoria Holt was published in 1993, the year of her death.
It was the Victoria Holt series of books that I read and loved, with the first being Eleanor Hibbert’s first one written in this genre, Mistress of Mellyn. I discovered it in a school library and was hooked. Classified as Gothic Romance Suspense, the Holt books took place in the 19th century with the setting of many being Cornwall. In fact, there was much speculation at the time that Victoria Holt was actually Daphne du Maurier because Mistress of Mellyn was similar to du Maurier’s Rebecca. Obviously that wasn’t true, but the Holt series of books are similar in tone.
I’ve long had a fascination with Cornwall in the UK which probably started with these books. I finally visited last year and the entire area is as beautiful as I imagined it to be. Ironically, it was in Cornwall that Burford (married to George Hibbert) came up with the name Jean Plaidy. The Hibberts lived in the town of Looe in Cornwall, overlooking Plaidy Beach during World War II. Eleanor Hibbert would later continue to spend her summers there. Again, I was so close. During my visit last fall, I enjoyed a day in Polperro, a ten minute drive (less than five miles) from Looe. I wish I’d known this information at the time; however, it is clear how the area influenced Hibbert’s books.
I’ve read all of the Victoria Holt novels, purchasing the newer ones when they were released, and finding the older ones in used bookstores. Some of the older books that I own are probably library copies, and I bought many of them at John K. King bookstore in Detroit, Michigan (which is worthy of its own blog post — I highly recommend a visit, for the experience if nothing else). But I love them all; I’ve read a few Plaidy and Carr books, too, but I have a lot of catching up to do in those genres. And I still collect the special hard copy and paperback books to own, even though I now read most books on my Kindle for convenience, especially when traveling.
There is limited information on Eleanor Hibbert’s personal life, but by the time of her death in 1993 Hibbert had sold 75 million books translated in 20 languages under the name Victoria Holt alone. I highly recommend this fabulous author.
