Patricia Veryan

Patricia Veryan
Born Patricia Bannister
November 21, 1923
Died May 18, 2009
Bellevue, Washington, US
Pen name Gwyneth Moore
Language English
Period 1978–2002
Genre Historical Fiction, Romance
Subject Jacobite Rebellion, Regency, Georgian

Patricia Valeria Bannister,[1] (born November 21, 1923 in London, England;[2] died November 18, 2009 in Bellevue, Washington, USA[3]) was a writer of historical romance fiction from 1978 until 2002. She wrote under the names Patricia Veryan and Gwyneth Moore.[4]

Her novels, which were written in English, have been translated into several foreign languages including Italian and German. She is best known for her historical novels set during the Georgian and Regency periods.[5]

Biography

Bannister was an avid reader at a young age and began writing her own stories by the time she was six.[6] Bannister dropped out of school when she was fourteen, worked in a factory in London for some time and finally enrolled in Miss Lodge Secretarial School.[6] Between 1938 and 1940, she was a secretary for the armed forces in London.[6] She worked for Columbia Pictures as a secretary for a two years before working for the U.S. Army in various places in Europe between 1942 and 1946.[6] Bannister met her husband, Allan Louis Berg in Frankfurt and they were married in 1946, moving to California.[6] She and her husband had two children and for several years, Bannister worked as a housewife.[6] In 1971, she returned to working as a secretary for the University of California's department of graduate affairs.[6]

She returned to writing again in 1977, at the urging of a friend.[4] By 1983, her novels had sold millions of copies and she was awarded the a "Silver Loving Cup" by Barbara Cartland for her work.[7] She was also given several Romantic Times awards.[2]

Works

Bannister wrote her first book, The Lord and the Gypsy, while she was working full-time and it was published in 1978.[6] Bannister's books published under the pseudonym Veryan, have been the most critically acclaimed.[4] Publishers Weekly praised her works and called The Riddle of Alabaster Royal (1997), a "Regency that rises farther above the formula than her fine novels usually do."[8] Kirkus Reviews called Never Doubt I Love (1995), one of her best Georgian-period novels.[9] Libraries are recommended to collect her books as part of a core collection of Regency Romances by Kristin Ramsdell in her 2012 "Genreflecting Advisory Series."[10] "Veryan's books are distinguished by well-developed central characters," according to Twentieth-century romance and historical writers,[11] a book which also discusses the suffering undergone by some of her heroes before they can be considered free of past wrongdoing: in, for example, The Lord and the Gypsy and Love Alters Not.[11]

Bibliography[12]

As Gwyneth Moore,

References

  1. Carty, T. J. (2014). Dictionary of Literary Pseudonyms in the English Language (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 273. ISBN 9781135955786.
  2. 1 2 Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, Gale 2009
  3. "Patricia Veryan | LibraryThing". www.librarything.com. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  4. 1 2 3 Contemporary Authors. Gale. 2005 via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)).
  5. Ramsdell, Kristin (15 February 2010). "Farewell". Library Journal. 135 (3): 80. Retrieved 18 July 2016 via EBSCO.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Furlong-Bolliger, Susan (2007). "Patricia Veryan". Guide to Literary Masters & Their Works. Literary Reference Center via EBSCO. (subscription required (help)).
  7. Ferretti, Fred (22 April 1983). "Romance Authors Have a Queen for 3 Days". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  8. "The Riddle of the Alabaster Royal". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  9. "Never Doubt I Love". Kirkus. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  10. Ramsdell, Kristin (2012). Romance Fiction: A Guide to the Genre (2nd ed.). Libraries Unlimited. p. 634. ISBN 9781610692359.
  11. 1 2 Lesley Henderson, D.L. Kirkpatrick, Twentieth-century romance and historical writers, St. James Press 1990, p657
  12. "Veryan Books". www.mandry.net. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
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