Barbara Cartland
Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, CStJ (9 July 1901 – 21 May 2000) was an English author, historian, playwright, political speaker, lecturer, media personality, particularly radio and television appearances, and one of the List of prolific writers. She was one of the most prolific and commercially successful authors of the twentieth century. Her 723 novels were translated into 36 different languages, and she continues to be referenced in the Guinness World Records for the most novels published in a single year.from 1976. As Barbara Cartland she is known for her numerous romantic novels, but she also wrote under her married name of Barbara McCorquodale. She wrote more than 700 books, as well as plays, music, verse, drama, magazine articles and operetta she reportedly sold more than 750 million copies. Other sources estimate her book sales at more than 1 billion copies. She specialised in 19th-century Victorian era pure romance. Her novels all featured portrait style artwork, particularly the cover art. As head of Cartland Promotions she also became one of London's most prominent society figures and one of Britain's most popular media personalities, right up until her death in 2000.