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Virginia Coffman (1914–2005)

Autor von Moura

86+ Werke 386 Mitglieder 6 Rezensionen

Über den Autor

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 mehr anzeigen 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. weniger anzeigen
Bildnachweis: Virginia Coffman / Fantastic Fiction

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Werke von Virginia Coffman

Moura (1959) 21 Exemplare
The Vampyre of Moura (1970) 20 Exemplare
Der Vikar des Bösen. (1966) 12 Exemplare
A Few Fiends to Tea (1967) 12 Exemplare
The Dark Palazzo (1973) 11 Exemplare
Black Heather (1976) 10 Exemplare
House on the Moat (1972) 9 Exemplare
The Golden Marguerite (1981) 9 Exemplare
The Stalking Terror (1968) 9 Exemplare
Curse of the Island Pool (1965) 8 Exemplare
Castle at Witches' Coven (1967) 8 Exemplare
The Demon Tower (1966) 8 Exemplare
The Beckoning (1965) 8 Exemplare
The house at Sandalwood (1974) 7 Exemplare
A Haunted Place (1978) 7 Exemplare
Veronique: A Novel (1975) 7 Exemplare
Royal Summer (1986) 7 Exemplare
The Lady Serena (1978) 7 Exemplare
The Beach House (1970) 6 Exemplare
Night at Sea Abbey (1978) 6 Exemplare
The Orchid Tree (1984) 6 Exemplare
The High Terrace (1966) 6 Exemplare
From Satan, with Love (1978) 6 Exemplare
Blumen der Angst (1976) 5 Exemplare
Mistress Devon (1972) 5 Exemplare
Chalet Diabolique (1978) 5 Exemplare
Fire Dawn (1977) 5 Exemplare
Masque By Gaslight (1970) 5 Exemplare
The Master of Blue Mire (1971) 5 Exemplare
The Dark Gondola (1968) 5 Exemplare
The Mist at Darkness (1974) 4 Exemplare
Isle of the Undead (1970) 4 Exemplare
The Doxy Masque (1986) 4 Exemplare
The Gaynor women: A novel (1980) 4 Exemplare
Passion's Rebel (1983) 4 Exemplare
DANGEROUS LOYALTIES (1993) 4 Exemplare
Cliffs of Dread (1978) 4 Exemplare
The Candidate's Wife (1990) 4 Exemplare
Dark Winds (1985) 4 Exemplare
The Devil's Mistress (1970) 4 Exemplare
The Ice Forest (1975) 4 Exemplare
The Ravishers (1980) 3 Exemplare
Of Love and Intrigue (1969) 3 Exemplare
The Alpine Coach (1980) 3 Exemplare
The Passion of Letty Fox (1987) — Autor — 3 Exemplare
The Hyde Place (2012) 3 Exemplare
Evil at Queen's Priory (1978) 3 Exemplare
The Shadow Box (1976) 3 Exemplare
The Rest is Silence (1967) 3 Exemplare
The Lombard Cavalcade: A Novel (1982) 3 Exemplare
A Fear Of Heights (1991) 3 Exemplare
Castle Barra (1974) 3 Exemplare
Priestess of the Damned (1970) 3 Exemplare
Masque of Satan (1971) 2 Exemplare
The Devil's Virgin 2 Exemplare
Dark Desire (1987) 2 Exemplare
Marsanne (1976) 2 Exemplare
Hyde Place: A novel (1974) 2 Exemplare
Haunted Place (1975) 2 Exemplare
The Jewelled Darkness (1989) 2 Exemplare
Venetian Masque (1991) 2 Exemplare
Careen (1977) 2 Exemplare
A Splash of Rubies (1999) 1 Exemplar
Golden Gate People (2000) 1 Exemplar
Ta mej om du kan 1 Exemplar
Tana Maguire (1987) 1 Exemplar
Schloß Moura (1982) 1 Exemplar
Garden of Shadows (1973) 1 Exemplar
The Looking Glass (1978) 1 Exemplar
The wine-dark opal (1997) 1 Exemplar
Chinese Door (1976) 1 Exemplar

Zugehörige Werke

How to Write a Romance and Get it Published (1983) — Mitwirkender, einige Ausgaben123 Exemplare
Edwina Noone's Gothic Sampler (1966) — Mitwirkender — 10 Exemplare

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Wissenswertes

Andere Namen
Cameron, Kay
Cross, Victor
Duval, Jeanne
Du Vaul, Virginia C.
Saunders, Diane
Stanfield, Ann
Geburtstag
1914-07-30
Todestag
2005-03-31
Geschlecht
female
Nationalität
USA
Geburtsort
San Francisco, California, USA
Sterbeort
Reno, Nevada, USA
Ausbildung
University of California, Berkeley
Berufe
scriptwriter
novelist
historical novelist
romance novelist
Gothic fiction writer
mystery writer
Organisationen
Authors League of America
Mystery Writers of America
Kurzbiographie
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.

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2023 - ‘70’s Immersion Reading Challenge

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.
… (mehr)
 
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MissysBookshelf | Aug 27, 2023 |
A lot of gothic titles by this author available in kindle format from Amazon. This one included.
 
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Litrvixen | Jun 23, 2022 |
A lot of gothic titles by this author available in kindle format from Amazon. This one included.
 
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Litrvixen | Jun 23, 2022 |
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...
… (mehr)
 
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Litrvixen | Jun 23, 2022 |

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Statistikseite

Werke
86
Auch von
2
Mitglieder
386
Beliebtheit
#62,660
Bewertung
3.2
Rezensionen
6
ISBNs
212
Sprachen
1

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