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Mistress Devon
Book by Coffman, Virginia
249 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
1 person is currently reading
20 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 26, 2011
i was pretty excited to read this 2nd Virginia Coffman novel as I adored Moura, my first...however was sadly disappointed. The writing was cryptic and confusing in places, and this was definitely not a gothic suspense novel as Moura was, and as I am sure most of Coffman's books are as she is known for them. Perhaps that is why this one is sub-titled "A Novel"...in any event, the only mystery in this book was which brother the heroine would end up with, which one was the "good" and which was the "bad" one, and whether or not certain members of her theater troupe were actually "Sons of the Revolution". As far as a historical romance goes, I guess it was okay, I've not read many to compare it to but I have read a few of the old Harlequin Historicals from the 60's and 70's and they were fun...I think this novel was a glorified version of one of those in the end...so I added a romance shelf to my good reads profile and will start filling it up with new novels I come across in my quest for more perfect gothic reads! 2+
November 18, 2008
I basically read this because my name is in the title but it had topics surprisingly close to my own life (A Devon named after England, theatre/arts, and Boston) however it ended up not have much to it. A quick easy read though which is always nice.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews