Rosemary Pollock

Rosemary Pollock
Born	1944 (age 79–80)
Pen name	Rosemary Pollock
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	British
Period	1969-1981
Genre	romance
Relatives	Ida Pollock (mother), Hugh Alexander Pollock (father), Gillian Baverstock (half-sister), Imogen Mary Smallwood (half-sister)

Rosemary Pollock (born 1944) is a British writer of romance novels. She is the daughter of romance writer and painter Ida Pollock (1908-2013) and Lieut Colonel Hugh Alexander Pollock D.S.O. Royal Scots Fusilers (1888–1971).

Biography

Rosemary's father Hugh had been married three times. In 1913, he married Marion Atkinson, with whom he had two sons, William Cecil Alexander (1914–1916) and Edward Alistair (1915–1969); they divorced after World War I. In 1924, he married the children's writer Enid Blyton (1897–1968), with whom he had two daughters, Gillian Mary (1931–2007) and Imogen Mary (b. 1935), they divorced in 1943. The same year, her father married the romance writer Ida Crowe; Rosemary was born the following year, and was to be their only child.

A veteran of World War I and assistant to Winston Churchill, her father was also editor of the book department in the publishing firm of George Newnes, but in 1941 he re-joined the Army, afterwards working for a while at the Cabinet Office in London. In 1950, his complicated life having led to financial problems, he had to file for bankruptcy and soon afterwards Rosemary's mother Ida became a prolific and successful romantic novelist, her books (under ten different pseudonyms)being brought out by several major publishers. During Rosemary's early years the family travelled widely, living in Switzerland, Italy, France, Ireland, Malta and in many different parts of England.

After Enid Blyton's death Rosemary was put in touch with her half sisters, but their father never saw them again; he died in Malta in 1971.

Career

Rosemary wrote nine romance novels from 1969 to 1981, and also helped her mother with some of her many projects. In 2009, her mother published her autobiography, Starlight.

Bibliography

Novels

• A Touch of Starlight (1969)
• The Mountains of Spring (1971)
• Song Above the Clouds (1972)
• Saffron Sea (1973)
• Summer Comes Slowly (1976)
• Tiger in Darkness (1978)
• White Hibiscus (1979)
• The Breadth of Heaven (1981)
• The Sun and Catriona (1981)

Anthologies in collaboration

• Mountains of Spring / O'kiss Me, Kate / Blue Jasmine (1976) (with Valerie Thian and Violet Winspear)
• Sea Lightning / White Hibiscus / Liberated Lady (1987) (with Linda Harrel and Sally Wentworth)