Sheila Holland, née Sheila Ann Mary Coates ( in

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England in

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

) was best known under the pseudonym Charlotte Lamb as a prolific romantic novelist. She signed her novels with her married or maiden names – Sheila Holland, Sheila Coates – and under the pseudonyms Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy. She was married to Richard Holland. They had five children, including a set of twins: Michael Holland,

Sarah Holland Sarah Holland (born November 1961 in Folkestone, Kent, England) is a writer, actress and singer best known for her 22 romantic novels for Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin which have been published in over 130 countries, selling millions of copi ...

Jane Holland Jane Holland (born 17 November 1966 in Ilford, London) is an English poet, novelist and astrologer. She won an Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors for her poetry in 1996 and her YA novel ''Witchstruck'', written as Victoria Lamb, w ...

, Charlotte Holland and David Holland.

Biography

Personal life

Born Sheila Ann Mary Coates on 22 December 1937 at

, England. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II. She attended the

Ursuline Academy Ilford Ursuline Academy Ilford is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form for girls in Ilford, London, England. The school was established by the Ursulines as Ilford Ursuline High School in 1903. It converted to Academy (Engl ...

, then the Ilford Ursuline High School for Girls in

Ilford, Essex Ilford is a large town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a population of 168,168 in 2011, compared to 303,858 for the ...

. She worked as a typist-secretary at the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

in London, from 1954 to 1956, and then as a junior researcher for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...

from the 1956 to 1958. In 1959, she married Richard Holland, then a Fleet Street journalist, later a

sub-editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (" copy") to improve quality and readability, as well as ensuring that a text is free of errors in grammar, style, and accuracy. ''The Ch ...

of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and a classical biographer. They had five children, including a set of twins: – Michael Holland,

, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Her husband prompted her to begin writing in the early 1970s. She died suddenly on in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the

. She had been living on the island since 1977 with her husband and four of her five children.

Writing career

A voracious reader, she wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot. In between raising her five children, she wrote many more novels. She began her writing career as her married name Sheila Holland and as her maiden name Sheila Coates. In 1973 she signed ''Follow a Stranger'' as her most famous pseudonym: Charlotte Lamb, but later she used several other pseudonyms, among them Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf and Laura Hardy. Her first historical and romantic novels were published by Robert Hale and serialised in Woman's Weekly Digest. By the late 1970s, she was an established and successful author, publishing as many as twelve novels a year with

Mills and Boon Mills & Boon is a romance imprint of British publisher Harlequin UK Ltd. It was founded in 1908 by Gerald Rusgrove Mills and Charles Boon as a general publisher. The company moved towards escapist fiction for women in the 1930s. In 1971, the ...

. That annual number rose over the next few years; by the late 1990s, she had published over 160 novels, most of them romances, others historical novels and romantic thrillers, achieving over 200 million sales worldwide. During the course of her career, she wrote for a variety of different international publishers including:

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

, Collins,

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

Hodder Headline Headline Publishing Group is a British publishing brand and former company. It was founded in 1986 by Tim Hely Hutchinson. In 1993, Headline bought Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hac ...

and

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. Known for her swiftness, literary style and versatility, Sheila Holland was able to write in several different genres – hence her plethora of pseudonyms as well as publishers. She typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel. She was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident -even dominant- heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship. Her last novel, a romantic thriller published posthumously with Hodder & Stoughton, was entitled ''The Angel of Death''.

Bibliography

As Sheila Holland

Single novels

*''Prisoner of the Heart'' (1972) *''Love in a Mist'' (1972) *''Lantern in the Night'' (1973) *''Falcon on the Hill'' (1974) *''Growing Season'' (1975) *''Shadows at Dawn'' (1975) *''Caring Kind'' (1976) *''Gold of Apollo'' (1976) *''Devil and Miss Hay'' (1977) *''Eleanor of Aquitaine'' (1978) *''Love's Bright Flame'' (1978) *''Maiden Castle'' (1978) *''Dancing Hill'' (1978) *''Folly by Candlelight'' (1978) *''The Masque'' (1979) *''Secrets to Keep'' (1980) *''Burning Memories'' (1981) *''Playing With Fire'' (1981) *''The Notorious Gentleman'' (1980) *''Miss Charlotte's Fancy'' (1980) *''Dream Master'' (1982) *''Tears and Red Roses'' (1982) *''Dark Fantasy'' (1982) *''Secrets'' (1983) *''Men Are Dangerous'' (1984) *''Secrets'' (1984) *''A Woman of Iron'' (1985)

As Sheila Coates

Single novels

*''A Crown Usurped'' (1972) *''Queen's Letter'' (1973) *''Flight of the Swan'' (1973) *''Bells of the City'' (1975)

As Charlotte Lamb

Single novels

*''Follow a Stranger'' (1973) *''Carnival Coast'' (1973) *''A Family Affair'' (1974) *''Sweet Sanctuary'' (1976) *''Star-crossed'' (1976) *''Festival Summer'' (1977) *''Florentine Spring'' (1977) *''Heron Quest'' (1977) *''Kingfisher Morning'' (1977) *''Hawk in a Blue Sky'' (1977) *''Cruel Flame'' (1978) *''Desert Barbarian'' (1978) *''Devil's Arms'' (1978) *''Master of Comus'' (1978) *''Call Back Yesterday'' (1978) *''Beware of the Stranger'' (1978) *''Disturbing Stranger'' (1978) *''Autumn Conquest'' (1978) *''Long Surrender'' (1978) *''Duel of Desire'' (1978) *''Pagan Encounter'' (1978) *''Dark Master'' (1979) *''Fever'' (1979) *''Forbidden Fire'' (1979) *''Sensation'' (1979) *''Twist of Fate'' (1979) *''Silken Trap'' (1979) *''Temptation'' (1979) *''Dark Dominion'' (1979) *''Love is a Frenzy'' (1979) *''Frustration'' (1979) *''Compulsion'' (1980) *''Frozen Fire'' (1980) *''Man's World'' (1980) *''Night Music'' (1980) *''Obsession'' (1980) *''Savage Surrender'' (1980) *''Storm Centre'' (1980) *''Crescendo'' (1980) *''Stranger in the Night'' (1980) *''Seduction'' (1980) *''Abduction'' (1981) *''Dangerous'' (1981) *''Desire'' (1981) *''Girl from Nowhere'' (1981) *''Heartbreaker'' (1981) *''Illusion'' (1981) *''Retribution'' (1981) *''Wild Affair'' (1982) *''Midnight Lover'' (1982) *''Darkness of the Heart'' (1983) *''The Sex War'' (1983) *''Betrayal'' (1983) *''A Violation'' (1983) *''Haunted'' (1983) *''Infatuation'' (1984) *''Naked Flame'' (1984) *''Scandalous'' (1984) *''For Adults Only'' (1984) *''Love Games'' (1985) *''Man Hunt'' (1985) *''Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?'' (1985) *''Sleeping Desire'' (1985) *''Bride Said No'' (1985) *''Explosive Meeting'' (1985) *''Heat of the Night'' (1986) *''Love in the Dark'' (1986) *''Circle of Fate'' (1987) *''Whirlwind'' (1987) *''Hide and Seek'' (1987) *''Kiss of Fire'' (1987) *''Echo of Passion'' (1987) *''Out of Control'' (1987) *''No More Lonely Nights'' (1988) *''You Can Love a Stranger'' (1988) *''Desperation'' (1988) *''Seductive Stranger'' (1989) *''Runaway Wife'' (1989) *''Rites of Possession'' (1990) *''Dark Pursuit'' (1990) *''Spellbinding'' (1990) *''Dark Music'' (1990) *''The Threat of Love'' (1990) *''Heart on Fire'' (1991) *''Shotgun Wedding'' (1991) *''Sleeping Partners'' (1991) *''Forbidden Fruit'' (1991) *''Dreaming'' (1993) *''Fire in the Blood'' (1993) *''Falling in Love'' (1993) *''Wounds of Passion'' (1993) *''Guilty Love'' (1994) *''Body and Soul'' (1994) *''Vampire Lover'' (1994) *''Dying for You'' (1994) *''In the Still of the Night'' (1995) *''Walking in Darkness'' (1996) *''Lovestruck'' (1997) *''The Marriage War'' (1997) *''Deep and Silent Waters'' (1998) *''The Yuletide Child'' (1998) *''Treasons of the Heart'' (1999) *''Hot Surrender'' (1999) *''The Seduction Business'' (1999) *''Dormant: Shadow of Angels'' (2000) *''Angel of Death'' (2000) *''The Boss's Virgin'' (2001)

Enemies & Lovers series

#''Possession'' (1979) #''A Secret Intimacy'' (1983)

Barbary Wharf series

#''Besieged'' (1992) #''Battle for Possession'' (1992) #''Too Close for Comfort'' (1992) #''Playing Hard to Get'' (1992) #''A Sweet Addiction'' (1992) #''Surrender'' (1992)

Sins series

#''Secret Obsession'' (1995) #''Deadly Rivals'' (1995) #''Haunted Dreams'' (1995) #''Wild Hunger'' (1995) #''Dark Fever'' (1995) #''Angry Desire'' (1995) #''Hot Blood'' (1996)

Pages & Privileges series (multi-author)

*''Dark Fate'' (1994)

Man Talk series (multi-author)

*''An Excellent Wife?'' (1998)

Collections

*''Duet: Spellbinding / Dark Music'' (1993) *''Best of Charlotte Lamb: Call Back Yesterday / Autumn Conquest'' (1984) *''Best of Charlotte Lamb: Devil's Arms / Love is a Frenzy'' (1984) *''Best of Charlotte Lamb: Compulsion / Seduction'' (1985) *''The Charlotte Lamb Collection: Love in the Dark / Circle of Fate'' (1991) *''Charlotte Lamb a Collection-Sept 93: Sex War / Desperation / Out of Control'' (1993) *''Charlotte Lamb: a Collection'' (1995) *''Duet: Call Back Yesterday / Circle of Fate'' (2003) *''Duet: Wild Affair / Scandalous'' (2004) *''Duet: Stranger in the Night / Runaway Wife'' (2005)

Omnibus in collaboration

*''Dolphin Bay'' by

Gloria Bevan Gloria Isabel Bevan (20 July 1911 - 1998.) was an Australian-born New Zealand writer of romantic fiction. Early life Bevan was born on 20 July 1911 in Kalgoorlie, Australia, where her father was a mining engineer. When she was three years old, ...

/ ''Festival Summer'' by Charlotte Lamb / ''Safari South'' by

Kay Thorpe Kay Thorpe (born 1935) is a British author of 77 romance novels, now totalling over 21 million copies sold. She published her novels in Mills & Boon since 1968. All her novels have also been published under Harlequin Enterprises Limited. Over a p ...

(1981) *''Romance Treasury'': ''Web of Silver'' by

Elizabeth Hunter Elizabeth Ann "Beth" Hunter (also Walters and Sutherland) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Clarissa House. She made her first on-screen appearance on 17 April 2003 and departed o ...

/ ''The voice in the Thunder'' by Charlotte Lamb / Carnival Coast by Lucy Gillen (1982) *''Romance Treasury'': ''This Wish I Have'' by Amanda Doyle / ''Sister to Meryl'' by Nerina Hilliard / ''Desert Barbarian'' by Charlotte Lamb (1986) *''Nine Months'': ''Forbidden Fruit'' / ''Simply Irresistible'' (1996) (Charlotte Lamb with Miranda Lee) *''Snowbound'' (1997) (Shotgun Wedding by Charlotte Lamb / ''Murder by the Book'' by Margaret St. George / ''On a Wing and a Prayer'' by Jackie Weger *''Captive Hearts'' (1998) (with

Lynne Graham Lynne Graham (born 30 July 1956 in Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish author of over 100 romance novels. She published her novels in Mills & Boon since 1987. Biography Graham was born on 30 July 1956 in Northern Ireland to an Irish- Scot ...

with Charlotte Lamb and

Robyn Donald Robyn Donald (born 14 August 1940) is a prolific New Zealand writer of romance novels since 1977. Her books have print runs of up to 500,000 copies at a time. Biography Donald was born in Warkworth where her father owned a dairy farm. She tra ...

) *''Boardroom to Bedroom'' (2001) (with

Emma Darcy Emma Darcy is the pseudonym used by the Australian husband–wife writing team of Wendy Brennan (28 November 1940 – 12 December 2020) and Frank Brennan (1936 – 1995), they wrote in collaboration over 45 romance novels. In 1993, for the E ...

and Catherine George) *''Bewitched by the Boss'' (2006) (Charlotte Lamb with

Alison Fraser Alison Fraser is an American actress, voice actress and singer who has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in television and film. In concert, she has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The White House, Town Hall, The Brooklyn Botan ...

and

Leigh Michaels Leigh Michaels is the pseudonym used by LeAnn Lemberger (born July 27, 1954, in Iowa, United States), a popular United States writer of over 80 romance novels. She published her novels in Harlequin Enterprises Ltd since 1984 to 2006. She also t ...

)

Graphic novels

*''Idol Dreams'' (2006) art by Yoko Hanabusa, the original story ''A Wild Affair'' *''Heart on Fire'' (2007) art by Yohna

As Sheila Lancaster

Single novels

*''Dark Sweet Wanton'' (1979) *''The Tilthammer'' (1980) *''Mistress of Fortune'' (1982)

As Victoria Wolf

Single novels

*''Sweet Compulsion'' (1979)

Omnibus in collaboration

*''Romance Treasury'': ''Heart of the Scorpion'' by Janice Gray / ''The Winds of Heaven'' by

Margaret Way Margaret Way (07 August 1935 in Brisbane - 10 August 2022 in Cleveland, Queensland, Australia) was an Australian writer of romance novels and women's fiction. A prolific author, Way wrote more than 120 novels since 1970, many through Mills & Bo ...

/ ''Sweet Compulsion'' by Victoria Wolf (1987)

As Laura Hardy

(Same titles as Sheila Holland)

Single novels

*''Burning Memories'' (1981) *''Playing With Fire'' (1981) *''Dream Master'' (1982) *''Tears and Red Roses'' (1982) *''Dark Fantasy'' (1983) *''MenAre Dangerous'' (1984)

References and sources

Daughter's blog about Charlotte LambCharlotte Lamb in Mills & Boon
* ttp://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/charlotte-lamb/ Fantastic-Fiction's list of novels by Charlotte Lamb*

External links

Charlotte Holland's website, pirategirrl.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb, Charlotte 1937 births 2000 deaths English women novelists English romantic fiction writers British women romantic fiction writers 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English novelists