Virginia Coffman (1914–2005)
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Virginia Coffman was born in 1914 in San Francisco. She was a movie and television script writer for Columbia, RKO and other studios before she becoming a novelist. She wrote Lucifer's Cove, a series of romantic occult novels. Titles in the series include Castle at Witches Coven, the Devil's näytä lisää Mistress, the Devil's Virgin, Priestess of the Damned and Chalet of the Devil. She is also considered to be a pioneer in gothic mystery novels. Her other novels include, "Moura," her first novel, "Passion's Rebel," "The High Terrace," and "Black Heather." Coffman also wrote under the pseudonymns Kay Cameron, Victor Cross, Jeanne Duval, Virginia C. Du Vaul, Diana Saunders, and Ann(e) Stanfield. She has written over 109 titles. In 1990, she was named to the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame . She is a member of the Mystery Writers Guild of America. näytä vähemmän
Image credit: Virginia Coffman / Fantastic Fiction
Sarjat
Tekijän teokset
The Devil's Virgin 2 kappaletta
THE DEVIL'S VIRGIN - LUCIFER COVE BOOK 3 1 kappale
Wolken ueber Schloss Barra 1 kappale
Ta mej om du kan 1 kappale
The Castle at Witches Coven 1 kappale
Moura (The Moura Series Book 1) 1 kappale
Associated Works
Merkitty avainsanalla
Yleistieto
- Muut nimet
- Cameron, Kay
Cross, Victor
Duval, Jeanne
Du Vaul, Virginia C.
Saunders, Diane
Stanfield, Ann - Syntymäaika
- 1914-07-30
- Kuolinaika
- 2005-03-31
- Sukupuoli
- female
- Kansalaisuus
- USA
- Syntymäpaikka
- San Francisco, California, USA
- Kuolinpaikka
- Reno, Nevada, USA
- Koulutus
- University of California, Berkeley
- Ammatit
- scriptwriter
novelist
historical novelist
romance novelist
Gothic fiction writer
mystery writer - Organisaatiot
- Authors League of America
Mystery Writers of America - Lyhyt elämäkerta
- Virginia Coffman was born in San Francisco, California, and began writing movie reviews for the Oakland Tribune in 1933. She graduated from the University of California-Berkeley in 1938, and then worked as a screenwriter for several Hollywood studios. She worked on many television scripts as well as doing some acting herself. She published her first novel, Moura, in 1959, and by the 1980s was acknowledged as the author largely responsible for setting off the Gothics craze of the 1960s. She was a prolific author who published more than 90 titles in her lifetime under several pen names.
Jäseniä
Keskustelut
Paranormal Romance about the devil and a health spa or hot springs, Name that Book (helmikuu 2012)
Kirja-arvosteluja
A lot of gothic titles by this author available in kindle format from Amazon. This one included.
A lot of gothic titles by this author available in kindle format from Amazon. This one included.
This book was scary!
It all starts with the heroine Kathleen Bodmun running around on the moors looking for a stray kitten and getting caught in a rainstorm. She is forced to seek shelter in a nearby building,wich turns out to be an old abandoned inn.
At once she feels that there isnt something quite right about the place..a sinister atmosphere,and what is that strange tapping sound?
She is further scared when a man appears and wonders what the hell she is doing there
Feeling quite embarrassed at her state (drenched by the storm) she exclaims that she might think about buying the old inn for her girls school at wich the man seems displeased.
She returns to the place where she is staing with an old friend of her mothers and the womans granddaughter who for no reason dislikes Kathleen.
Turns out the man she encountered was Sir Anthony and that the inn Old Hags Head belonged to the old ladys daughter it was partially burned down after she was found murdered in the cellar.The one suspected of doing it was the daughters husband.
The local people claims that it was the Old Hag who did it though and that you can see her prowling the moors at night.
Things are further complicated when the dead daughters husband Patrick turns up and Kathleen by a various of circumstances finds herself returning to the inn.
You have to suspend disbelief at some things,like how often the heroine finds herself alone (without a chaperone) with some man or how plausible it would be for a 17 year old girl to try to start up a girls school. But I decided to put those thoughts aside and just immerse myself in the story
I also had some inkling about what was behind the strange going ons but that didnt stop me from being genuinely freaked out by what the heroine experienced. Its just something about the way the author described it that made it so creepy.
Especially evocative is when the heroine is stalked by something she thinks is a wild dog and flees for her life in fear. She is found by Sir Anthony and taken to his home where she is put in bed to recover...and then she glances out the window and sees a figure crawling over the moors towards the house....
Now thats what I call the right gothic spirit!
But it did have its flaws apart from those i mentioned.
The romance on the other hand isnt that strong. The hero remains a mystery throughout and the age difference and the speed wich the heroine realizes her feeling did some to keep me from believing in it fully. And his incessant use of "child" in reference to the heroine also does its bit.
A funny thing that I have to mention is that this takes place on the Yorkshire moors and the heroine hails from Cornwall-the other place where so many gothics take place.
I couldnt help but think that the author was making a point there.
If youre looking for a truly scary gothic this is it.
I recommend it..but also that you dont read it late at night. Otherwise your imagination might start playing tricks on you...… (lisätietoja)
It all starts with the heroine Kathleen Bodmun running around on the moors looking for a stray kitten and getting caught in a rainstorm. She is forced to seek shelter in a nearby building,wich turns out to be an old abandoned inn.
At once she feels that there isnt something quite right about the place..a sinister atmosphere,and what is that strange tapping sound?
She is further scared when a man appears and wonders what the hell she is doing there
Feeling quite embarrassed at her state (drenched by the storm) she exclaims that she might think about buying the old inn for her girls school at wich the man seems displeased.
She returns to the place where she is staing with an old friend of her mothers and the womans granddaughter who for no reason dislikes Kathleen.
Turns out the man she encountered was Sir Anthony and that the inn Old Hags Head belonged to the old ladys daughter it was partially burned down after she was found murdered in the cellar.The one suspected of doing it was the daughters husband.
The local people claims that it was the Old Hag who did it though and that you can see her prowling the moors at night.
Things are further complicated when the dead daughters husband Patrick turns up and Kathleen by a various of circumstances finds herself returning to the inn.
You have to suspend disbelief at some things,like how often the heroine finds herself alone (without a chaperone) with some man or how plausible it would be for a 17 year old girl to try to start up a girls school. But I decided to put those thoughts aside and just immerse myself in the story
I also had some inkling about what was behind the strange going ons but that didnt stop me from being genuinely freaked out by what the heroine experienced. Its just something about the way the author described it that made it so creepy.
Especially evocative is when the heroine is stalked by something she thinks is a wild dog and flees for her life in fear. She is found by Sir Anthony and taken to his home where she is put in bed to recover...and then she glances out the window and sees a figure crawling over the moors towards the house....
Now thats what I call the right gothic spirit!
But it did have its flaws apart from those i mentioned.
The romance on the other hand isnt that strong. The hero remains a mystery throughout and the age difference and the speed wich the heroine realizes her feeling did some to keep me from believing in it fully. And his incessant use of "child" in reference to the heroine also does its bit.
A funny thing that I have to mention is that this takes place on the Yorkshire moors and the heroine hails from Cornwall-the other place where so many gothics take place.
I couldnt help but think that the author was making a point there.
If youre looking for a truly scary gothic this is it.
I recommend it..but also that you dont read it late at night. Otherwise your imagination might start playing tricks on you...… (lisätietoja)
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The House on the Moat by Virginia Coffman (1972) 256 pages.
SETTING: 1810 Kent County, England
I would actually consider this a mystery with a bit of romance….just a bit. But, the story was way too short and needed a LOT more depth. The dialogue was unnatural and very amateurish.
Kathleen Killain (23 years) was hired by, of course, the most handsome Lord Talford (late 30’s), the magistrate of the district, as housekeeper and manager over servants at Moat House. But, it was Lord Talford’s whiney little nephew, Peregrine “Perry” and his bride, Nerissa Poyes, she would be working for. Let’s just say Perry was a bit twisted and had a lot to do with the deaths going on around that place. He resented that his uncle ruled over Moat House until Perry was mature enough, and married, and could handle the care and upkeep of such a place.
Perry’s father (Lord Talford’s brother) was murdered on the stairs of the mansion and servants believe the place to be haunted by his ghost. There was something sinister going on when a servant was found dead on the same stairs, and Kathleen didn’t know who to trust. When Kathleen was close to solving the mystery (which didn’t quite add up at the end), then her own life was threatened. But, of course, Lord Talford showed up just in time to save her.… (lisätietoja)