Penny Vincenzi

Penny was nine years old when she embarked on her storytelling career. She wrote her own magazine called “Stories”, which she copied out three times on carbon paper and sold for two pence at school. So began a career in writing which has seen 7 million copies sold, and 17 bestselling novels. After secretarial college, Penny worked as a junior secretary at Vogue and Tatler magazines, before moving to the Daily Mirror as personal assistant to Marje Proops, Britain's legendary agony aunt. Marje encouraged her to write, and she became fashion editor and beauty writer at the Mirror, working for the women's editor in what was irreverently known as the "fragrant department". Penny’s journalistic career as a celebrated writer and columnist spanned several decades working for many of the leading newspapers and magazines of the time. She once asked bestselling British author Jilly Cooper for advice on writing a novel while interviewing her for a magazine profile. Jilly put Penny in touch with her own agent, who promptly auctioned off her (then unwritten) first novel. It was quickly snapped up and the rest, as they say, is history. Penny died in 2018. She was the proud and much-loved mother of four equally proud daughters, and grandmother to nine grandchildren.