Cartland, Dame Barbara

Cartland, Dame (Mary) Barbara (Hamilton)

(born July 9, 1901, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Eng.—died May 21, 2000, Hatfield, Hertfordshire) English author. Her first novel, Jigsaw (1925), was a popular success. She wrote two more novels and a play during the 1920s; thereafter her output grew steadily, and by the 1970s she was averaging 23 books a year, all of which she dictated. Her approximately 600 books, mostly formulaic romance novels, have sold more than 600 million copies. Cartland's nonfiction includes autobiographies and books on health food, vitamins, and beauty. She was the step-grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales.