16 Facts About Denise Robins

Denise Robins was a prolific English romantic novelist and the first President of the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Denise Robins was the daughter of the novelist K C Groom, and mother of romance novelist Patricia Robins.

Robins was born Denise Naomi Klein on 1 February 1897 in London, England, the daughter of Kathleen Clarice Louise Cornwell, who was a prolific author who wrote under several names, and of her first husband, Herman Klein, who was a professor of music and journalist.

Denise Robins's mother Kathleen Clarice had been born in Melbourne, Australia, on 11 March 1872 and was the daughter of George Cornwell and his wife Jemima Ridpath, married in 1850.

Denise Robins's eldest daughter, Alice Cornwell, born 1852, was spectacularly rich by the 1890s, returning to England and buying the Sunday Times newspaper.

Denise Robins had a daughter Sibyl Klein, from a previous marriage, and they had two sons: Adrian Bernard Klein and Daryl Klein, before the birth of Denise Naomi Klein.

Denise Robins's eldest brother Adrian Bernard Klein became a writer, he was an artist and wrote books on photography and cinematography.

In 1938, the marriage ended in divorce, after Denise Robins met O'Neill Pearson in Egypt, they married in 1939.

However, like Agatha Christie, Denise Robins continued to publish most of her books under her first married name.

When she left school, Denise Robins Klein went to work as a journalist for the DC Thomson Press, then became a freelance writer.

Denise Robins began to follow in her mother's footsteps when her first novel was published in 1924.

The first book Denise Robins wrote for Nicholson was Life and Love, which was launched with a huge publicity campaign.

Denise Robins's first photo opportunity was a visit to Liverpool to open a new lending library, and the slogan 'Denise Robins for Romance' was posted on London buses.

Denise Robins was dubbed by the Daily Graphic "the queen of romantic fiction".

Denise Robins was elected as President of the Romantic Novelists' Association in 1961.

At the time of her death in 1985, Denise Robins's books had been translated into fifteen languages and had sold more than one hundred million copies.