An obituary for Emma Darcy, a prolific romance novelist who wrote under a pseudonym, passed away in December 2020 at the age of 80.
Farewell to a Talented Author
After writing my review for Emma Darcy’s Don’t Ask Me Now, I found out the sad news that she had passed away four months ago, on December 21, 2020, at the age of 80. Emma Darcy was a pseudonym for the husband-and-wife duo of Frank and Wendy Brennan.
Emma Darcy’s Life
Wendy was born in Dorrigo, New South Wales, Australia, on November 28, 1940. She was a bright student and achieved success in college. She was the first female computer programmer in the Southern Hemisphere.
Wendy and Frank married in 1964, and after having children, Wendy chose to leave the workforce and stay home to raise them. Frank was a businessman and a pharmacist.
Both were lovers of reading, and they decided to join forces to write books together. Frank and Wendy wrote several books, which they submitted to Mills and Boon. The legendary editor, Jacqui Bianchi, aka bodice-ripper author Teresa Denys, accepted their submissions but asked for them to be tweaked a bit before publication.
In 1983, the couple released their first book as Emma Darcy, the Mills, and Boon/ Harlequin Presents Twisting Shadows.
Frank and Wendy wrote 45 books together before Frank passed away in 1995. After his death, Wendy continued to write as Emma Darcy, even branching out to write longer contemporary works and mysteries. In total, Darcy published over 100 romances in addition to her other works.
Her family was filled with talent, as author Miranda Lee, Wendy’s younger sister, also wrote for Mills and Boon/ Harlequin.
Emma Darcy was Australia’s greatest-selling romance novelist, with over 70 million copies of her books sold.
Emma Darcy’s Books and Legacy
From 1993 to 2004, Emma ran the Emma Darcy Award Contest in association with the Romance Writers of Australia. This competition offered to provide financial support for writers who needed help finishing their manuscripts, and the winner’s work was automatically submitted to a Mills & Boon editor for possible publication.
Emma Darcy was a wonderful writer with an attentive eye for details and emotion. Many of her plots included love triangles or couples already in relationships who were facing adversity.
Some of my favorite books of hers include these Harlequin Presents: Don’t Ask Me Now; Marriage Meltdown; The Shining of Love; Bride of Diamonds; and Fantasy.
I have added an Emma Darcy page that you can access in the header menu under Authors or by clicking here:
Links
Harlequin.com: Remembering Emma Darcy
Belated thanks for highlighting this, I’ve been missing things! I love Emma Darcy novels–I’ve always preferred HQN’s less OTT plots so ED’s pragmatism and strong heroines appeal to me. And the same can be said for Miranda Lee, that she and Wendy Brennan are sisters is so cool.
Hello, Iris. Apologies for the late response. Emma Darcy and Miranda Lee have different styles, and I enjoy them both very much. Alas, Emma is gone and Miranda no longer writes, so all I have is an ever-shrinking backlist to rely on. Australia produced some great authors for HP/ Mills and Boon.