Virginia Coffman

Virginia Coffman
BornJuly 30, 1914 
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedMarch 31, 2005
Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Other namesJeanne Duval, Ann Stanfield, Kay Cameron
OccupationWriter

Virginia Edith Coffman (July 30, 1914 – March 31, 2005) was an American writer. She published over 100 gothic romance novels in her career.

Early life and education

Virginia Edith Coffman was born in San Francisco, the daughter of William E. Coffman and Edythe Duval Coffman.[1] She grew up in Long Beach, California.[1][2][3][4] She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1938.[2][5] But she cited another important early influence on her work: "The greatest influence on my writing is due to the public libraries," she explained in 1959.[6]

Career

Coffman was an actress as a young woman,[1] and worked in Hollywood as a secretary and a script editor,[7] for David O. Selznick, Monogram Pictures, Hal Roach,[5] and Howard Hughes.[1] She wrote screenplays for television and film.[8] Following her work in the film industry, she moved to Reno, Nevada, where she wrote and worked as a secretary in a bank and in a realtor's office.[3][4][6] Coffman was active in the Reno chapter of American PenWomen,[9] and was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 1990.[1]

Coffman published at least 109 books,[1][10] most of them gothic romance novels with historical settings.[7][11] Her first novel was Moura (1959), which became the first of a five-book series. Her books include "generous helpings of steamy sex", to satisfy publishers' and readers' demands. "There's a lot of horror in my books, and more sex than there used to be," she told an interviewer in 1981.[5] She published under at least four pseudonyms, including Jeanne Duval, Kay Cameron, and Ann Stanfield.[2][7] Roberts argues that Coffman's fiction combines elements of Gothic fiction, detective fiction, and historical romance.[2]

Books

  • Moura (1959)[6]
  • Affair at Alkali (1960)
  • Curse of the Island Pool (1965)[12]
  • Black Heather (1966)[13]
  • A Few Fiends to Tea (1967, 1990)[14]
  • The Mist at Darkness (1968)[15]
  • The Vicar of Moura
  • The Vampyre of Moura
  • The High Terrace
  • Black Heather
  • Night at Sea Abbey
  • Of Love and Intrigue
  • The Chinese Door
  • The Lombard Heiress
  • The Lombard Cavalcade
  • Passion's Rebel (as Kay Cameron)
  • The Lady Serena (1978, as Jeanne Duval)[5][16]
  • The Orchid Tree
  • Veronique
  • The Tangerine Pool
  • Devil Vicar
  • The Demon Tower
  • The Beckoning
  • Marsanne
  • The Jeweled Darkness
  • Mistress Devon
  • Castle Barra
  • Call of the Flesh
  • The Guru and the Sex Goddess
  • The Dark Palazzo (1981)[17]
  • Dark Desire (1990)[18]

Personal life

Coffman lived with her sister Donnie Coffman Micciche, a singer, actress, writer, and artist, in their later years.[1][10] Coffman died in Reno on March 31, 2005.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Skorupa, Susan (April 1, 2002). "No time for sitting around". Reno Gazette-Journal. pp. 41, 43 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d Roberts, Bette B. (1982). "Coffman, Virginia (Edith)". In Vinson, James; Kirkpatrick, D. L. (eds.). Twentieth-Century Romance and Gothic Writers. Gale Research. pp. 158–161. ISBN 0-8103-0226-8. OCLC 8762908.
  3. ^ a b Olyphant, Winifred (October 28, 1959). "Local Authur [sic] Researches in Europe for Future Novel". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 7.
  4. ^ a b "Novelist Virginia Coffman Balks at Hollywood Style". Daily Press. November 21, 1969. p. 10.
  5. ^ a b c d Accola, John (January 23, 1981). "66-year-old writing 66th book". Tarrytown Daily News. p. 21. Retrieved June 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c "Reno's Virginia Coffman Author of Novel 'Moura'". Nevada State Journal. October 25, 1959. p. 12. Retrieved June 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c Land, Barbara (July 24, 1983). "Romance: It's Virginia Coffman's living...and her lifetime grand passion". Nevada State Journal. p. 65. Retrieved June 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b "Virginia Coffman". University of Nevada, Reno. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  9. ^ "Sisters to be Guest Artists at Penwomen Celebrity Lunch". Reno Gazette-Journal. May 10, 1960. p. 6. Retrieved June 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b O'Malley, Jaclyn (April 2, 2005). "Reno woman recalls her sister's rich life". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 2. Retrieved June 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Paige, Lori A. (October 9, 2018). The Gothic Romance Wave: A Critical History of the Mass Market Novels, 1960-1993. McFarland. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-4766-7565-7.
  12. ^ Coffman, Virginia (1965). Curse of the Island Pool.
  13. ^ Coffman, Virginia (1966). Black Heather. Lancer.
  14. ^ Coffman, Virginia (1990). A Few Fiends to Tea. Severn House. ISBN 978-0-7278-4003-5.
  15. ^ Coffman, Virginia (1968). The Mist at Darkness.
  16. ^ Duval, Jeanne (1978). The Lady Serena. Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-451-08163-6.
  17. ^ Coffman, Virginia (1981). The Dark Palazzo. Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-600-20206-6.
  18. ^ Coffman, Virginia (1990). Dark Desire. Piatkus. ISBN 978-0-86188-969-3.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.