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Virginia Coffman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Virginia Coffman
Born(1914-07-30)July 30, 1914
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedMarch 31, 2005(2005-03-31) (aged 90)
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

[edit]

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

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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

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  • 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

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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

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Skorupa, Susan (April 1, 2002). "No time for sitting around". Reno Gazette-Journal. pp. 41, 43 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 Olyphant, Winifred (October 28, 1959). "Local Authur [sic] Researches in Europe for Future Novel". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 7.
  4. 1 2 "Novelist Virginia Coffman Balks at Hollywood Style". Daily Press. November 21, 1969. p. 10.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Accola, John (January 23, 1981). "66-year-old writing 66th book". Tarrytown Daily News. p. 21. Retrieved June 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 "Reno's Virginia Coffman Author of Novel 'Moura'". Nevada State Journal. October 25, 1959. p. 12. Retrieved June 30, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 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.
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