Charlotte Lamb

Charlotte Lamb, born Sheila Ann Mary Coates, was an English author known for her prolific output of romance novels. She was born in Essex, England in 1937, just before the beginning of World War II. Due to the bombings in London, she was moved from home to home during her childhood. After attending the Ursuline Girls Convent and graduating at the age of sixteen, she worked as a clerk at the Bank of England. It was during her time at the bank that she took advantage of the enormous library available to her, furthering her education.

Later, she found work at the BBC as a secretary, where she met her husband, Richard Holland, a political reporter. With her husband's encouragement, she began writing romance novels. She wrote her first novel in just three days, while also raising three children. In total, she had five children, including a pair of twins. She used both her maiden and married names, Sheila Coates and Sheila Holland, as well as nicknames such as Laura Hardy, Victoria Wolf, and Sheila Lancaster, to publish her works. Her first novel published by Mills & Boon, "Follow a Stranger," was written under the name Charlotte Lamb.

Charlotte Lamb was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. She was one of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire and often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her novels touched on taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident heroines who were independent and capable of initiating romantic or sexual relationships. She was known for her swiftness and skill in writing, producing a minimum of two thousand words per day. She lived on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children. Charlotte Lamb passed away on October 8, 2000, but her many fans and the romance writing community continue to miss her.

In her lifetime, Charlotte Lamb wrote more than 160 novels, mostly for Mills & Boon. She was a prolific author, praised for her magnificently moody heroes and her ability to write rip-roaringly, mind-bogglingly, heart-poundingly successful romances. Her contributions to the genre have left a lasting impact, and her legacy continues to inspire and entertain readers to this day.