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Moura #3
The Dark Beyond Moura
What should have been a refuge soon became a nightmare...
Still mourning for her young husband, widowed Anne Wicklow arrived in Venice during the carnival preceding Lent to assume the duties of housekeeper at the palace of ailing Mrs. Elvira Huddle.
Under Anne's gentle ministrations Mrs. Huddle seemed to be recovering—until a sudden, unaccountable turn for the worse took the old lady's life.
Still mourning for her young husband, widowed Anne Wicklow arrived in Venice during the carnival preceding Lent to assume the duties of housekeeper at the palace of ailing Mrs. Elvira Huddle.
Under Anne's gentle ministrations Mrs. Huddle seemed to be recovering—until a sudden, unaccountable turn for the worse took the old lady's life.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1968
58 people want to read
About the author
Virginia Coffman
104 books41 followersVirginia Edith Coffman aka Jeanne Duval, Diana Saunders, Victor Cross, Ann Stanfield, Virginia C. Du Vaul, Kay Cameron.
A native of San Francisco, Coffman contributed movie reviews to the Oakland Tribune from 1933-40. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1938 and was a movie and television script writer for Columbia, RKO, and other Hollywood studios in her early writing career (1944-56). She had her first success with writing novels in 1959, when Crown Publishing decided to take a chance on Moura, and the novel was showcased by Library Journal. By the 1980s, Coffman was recognized as "the author largely responsible for setting off the Gothics craze of the 1960s, "earning her the reputation of "Queen of the Gothics."1
She quit her day job in Reno and became a full-time writer in 1965. While historical romance novels seldom find their way into the literary canon, Coffman, who was both prolific and dedicated, took her writing seriously. Her research for historical fiction was meticulous. She also drew upon personal experience as a world traveler when setting some of her novels in Hawaii, Paris, and other romantic locales. Several of her historical romances and gothic mystery novels were translated into other languages, and many have been published in large print and audio editions.
She was recognized by Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who in the West. She was a member of the Authors League of America and the Mystery Writers Guild of America. The Reno Gazette-Journal featured Virginia Coffman and her sister in a biographical story on April 4, 2002. In 2003, she donated a collection of her gothic mystery and historical romance novels to the University of Nevada, Reno Libraries.
A native of San Francisco, Coffman contributed movie reviews to the Oakland Tribune from 1933-40. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1938 and was a movie and television script writer for Columbia, RKO, and other Hollywood studios in her early writing career (1944-56). She had her first success with writing novels in 1959, when Crown Publishing decided to take a chance on Moura, and the novel was showcased by Library Journal. By the 1980s, Coffman was recognized as "the author largely responsible for setting off the Gothics craze of the 1960s, "earning her the reputation of "Queen of the Gothics."1
She quit her day job in Reno and became a full-time writer in 1965. While historical romance novels seldom find their way into the literary canon, Coffman, who was both prolific and dedicated, took her writing seriously. Her research for historical fiction was meticulous. She also drew upon personal experience as a world traveler when setting some of her novels in Hawaii, Paris, and other romantic locales. Several of her historical romances and gothic mystery novels were translated into other languages, and many have been published in large print and audio editions.
She was recognized by Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who in the West. She was a member of the Authors League of America and the Mystery Writers Guild of America. The Reno Gazette-Journal featured Virginia Coffman and her sister in a biographical story on April 4, 2002. In 2003, she donated a collection of her gothic mystery and historical romance novels to the University of Nevada, Reno Libraries.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 3, 2017
I've loved Virginia Coffman since I was a girl. Her books were always well plotted, filled with historical tidbits woven into the plots, great characters, and an exciting story. I probably read this at some point but don't think so. It was just as good as others by her. My only reason for giving it 4 stars is the Kindle version was a mess. Extra words, misused words. If I didn't have a great experience with the author's work, I'd be very annoyed. I suspect this converted version just didn't have a good proofreading before they put it on Kindle. Fortunately, it was not so bad I couldn't enjoy the book.
If you've never read Coffman, I strongly encourage you to do so.
If you've never read Coffman, I strongly encourage you to do so.
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January 19, 2023My least favorite Moura book so far (tired of the “dizzying madness and masquerade at carnival” trope) but I did enjoy it. Sooo many typos in the 1968 ACE edition though.
Most of books in this series each seem to have multiple titles, making it confusing to figure out what order to read them in. Goodreads does seem to have the order right; the next book appears to be Return to Moura (AKA The Devil Beyond Moura, AKA The Devil Vicar), and the fifth and final book The Vampyre of Moura.
Most of books in this series each seem to have multiple titles, making it confusing to figure out what order to read them in. Goodreads does seem to have the order right; the next book appears to be Return to Moura (AKA The Devil Beyond Moura, AKA The Devil Vicar), and the fifth and final book The Vampyre of Moura.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews