Clark, Patricia Denise 1921–

(Claire Lorrimer, Susan Patrick, Patricia Robins)

PERSONAL: Born February 1, 1921, in Hove, Sussex, England; daughter of Arthur and Denise (a writer; maiden name, Klein) Robins; married D.C. Clark, 1948 (divorced); children: two sons, one daughter. Education: Attended schools in Sussex, England, in Switzerland, and in Munich, Germany.

ADDRESSES: Home—Chiswell Barn, Christmas Mill Ln., Marsh Green, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 5PR, England. Agent—Anthea Morton-Saner, Curtis Brown, 162-168 Regent St., London W1R 5TB, England.

CAREER: Writer. Woman's Illustrated, London, England, subeditor, 1938–40. Military service: Royal Air Force, Women's Auxiliary Air Force, worked in a radar filter room, 1940–45; became flight officer.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS; UNDER PSEUDONYM PATRICIA ROBINS

To the Stars, Hutchinson (London, England), 1944.

See No Evil, Hutchinson (London, England), 1945.

Three Loves, Hutchinson (London, England), 1949.

Awake My Heart, Hutchinson (London, England), 1950.

Beneath the Moon, Hutchinson (London, England), 1951.

Leave My Heart Alone, Hutchinson (London, England), 1951.

The Fair Deal, Hutchinson (London, England), 1952.

Heart's Desire, Hutchinson (London, England), 1953.

So This Is Love, Hutchinson (London, England), 1953.

Heaven in Our Hearts, Hutchinson (London, England), 1954.

One Who Cares, Hutchinson (London, England), 1954.

Love Cannot Die, Hutchinson (London, England), 1955.

The Foolish Heart, Hutchinson (London, England), 1956.

Give All to Love, Hutchinson (London, England), 1956.

Where Duty Lies, Hutchinson (London, England), 1957.

He Is Mine, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1957.

Love Must Wait, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1958.

Lonely Quest, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1959.

Lady Chatterley's Daughter, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1961.

The Last Chance, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1961.

The Long Wait, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1962.

The Runaways, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1962.

Seven Loves, Consul (London, England), 1962.

With All My Love, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1963.

The Constant Heart, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1964.

Second Love, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1964.

The Night Is Thine, Consul (London, England), 1964.

There Is but One, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1965.

No More Loving, Consul (London, England), 1965.

Topaz Island, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1965.

Love Me Tomorrow, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1966.

The Uncertain Joy, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1966.

Forbidden, Mayflower, 1967.

The Man behind the Mask, Sphere (London, England), 1967.

Return to Love, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1968.

Sapphire in the Sand, Arrow (London, England), 1968.

Laugh on Friday, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1969.

No Stone Unturned, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1969.

Cinnabar House, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1970.

Under the Sky, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1970, Atlantic Monthly Press (New York, NY), 1988.

The Crimson Tapestry, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1971, Atlantic Monthly Press (New York, NY), 1988.

Play Fair with Love, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1972, Atlantic Monthly Press (New York, NY), 1988.

None but He, Hurst & Blackett (London, England), 1973.

Forever, Severn House (London, England), 1991.

Fulfilment, Severn House (London, England), 1993.

Forsaken, Severn House (London, England), 1993.

NOVELS; UNDER PSEUDONYM CLAIRE LORRIMER

A Voice in the Dark, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1967, Avon (New York, NY), 1968.

The Shadow Falls, Avon (New York, NY), 1974.

Relentless Storm, Avon (New York, NY), 1975.

The Secret of Quarry House, Avon (New York, NY), 1976.

Mavreen, Arlington (London, England), 1976, Bantam (New York, NY), 1977.

Tamarisk, Arlington (London, England), 1978, Bantam (New York, NY), 1979.

The Garden, Arlington (London, England), 1980.

Chantal, Arlington (London, England), 1980, Bantam (New York, NY), 1981.

The Chatelaine, Arlington (London, England), 1981, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1982.

The Wilderling, Arlington (London, England), 1982, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1983.

Last Year's Nightingale, Century (London, England), 1984.

Frost in the Sun, Century (London, England), 1986.

Ortolans, Bantam (New York, NY), 1990.

The Calverly Inheritance, Doubleday (London, England), 1990.

The Spinning Wheel, Bantam (New York, NY), 1991.

The Silver Link, Bantam (New York, NY), 1993.

Fool's Curtain, Bantam (New York, NY), 1994.

Beneath the Sun, Severn House (London, England), 1995, Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2005.

Connie's Daughter, Severn House (London, England), 1995.

The Reunion, Severn House (London, England), 1997.

The Woven Thread, Severn House (London, England), 1997.

The Reckoning, Severn House (London, England), 1998.

Second Chance, Severn House (London, England), 1998.

An Open Door, Severn House (London, England), 1999.

Never Say Goodbye, Severn House (London, England), 2000.

Search for Love, Severn House (London, England), 2000, Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2004.

For Always, Severn House (London, England), 2001.

The Faithful Heart, Severn House (London, England), 2002, Thorndike (Waterville, ME), 2004.

Deception, Severn House (London, England), 2003.

Over My Dead Body (mystery), Severn House (London, England), 2003.

Troubled Waters, Severn House (London, England), 2004.

Dead Centre (mystery), Severn House (London, England), 2005.

FOR JUVENILES; UNDER PSEUDONYM PATRICIA ROBINS

The Adventures of Three Baby Bunnies, Nicholson & Watson (London, England), 1934.

Tree Fairies, Hutchinson (London, England), 1945.

Sea Magic, Hutchinson (London, England), 1946.

The Heart of a Rose, Hutchinson (London, England), 1947.

The 100-Pounds Reward, Wheaton (Exeter, England), 1966.

OTHER

(Under pseudonym Patricia Robins) Seven Days Leave (poetry), Hutchinson (London, England), 1943.

(Under pseudonym Susan Patrick) Statues of Snow (novel), Hutchinson (London, England), 1948.

House of Tomorrow (biography), Corgi (London, England), 1987.

(Under pseudonym Claire Lorrimer) Variations (short stories), Bantam (New York, NY)), 1991.

ADAPTATIONS: The novels The Chatelaine and Fool's Curtain have been adapted as audio books.

SIDELIGHTS: Patricia Denise Clark has achieved success in two distinct areas of romance fiction. As Patricia Robins, she has published nearly fifty novels that have been characterized as traditional romances. As Claire Lorrimer, she has attracted critical notice for many novels that generally fall into the category of epic, historical romance.

For the first thirty years of her career, Patricia Robins produced novels that, according to Geoffrey Sadler of Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers, "use controversial subjects as themes" and display "a refreshing honesty in her treatment of physical passion, neither over-glamorizing nor sensationalizing what is a basic fact of life." Sadler cited the example of Forever, in which "the heroine is forced to resolve the conflict of adulterous passion with pity for a husband who has recently gone blind. The unsentimental presentation of the dilemma, and the complex personalities of the characters themselves, lend added interest to an otherwise conventional love story."

Claire Lorrimer emerged in the late 1960s, allowing the author to explore a variety of sub-genres, including gothic and suspense novels. Eventually Lorrimer settled on the epic, historical romance, as evidenced by Mavreen, which features a "tempestuous and striking [heroine] against a strongly drawn historical background," according to Sadler. Similar novels followed, in steady succession.

The Chatelaine, a novel of the "Rochford" series, is the story of Willow, an American heiress who marries an English nobleman, Rowell Rochford, unaware that he is the bankrupt head of a family riddled with ominous secrets. Sadler observed: "The Chatelaine is one of the most impressive of Lorrimer's novels to date, compact and well crafted. Willow, in her gradual assertion of independence from Rowell and his dragon of a mother, is at once interesting and credible." The critic suggested that, as Lorrimer's popularity grew, her writing matured along with it. He pointed especially to The Spinning Wheel, which he ranked "among Lorrimer's finest novels…. The involved tale … [shows] the author working at the peak of her form. Her depiction of rural Sussex life in the period before World War I is superb, equalled only by her convincing presentation of [the heroine's] career as a fashion designer in Paris. Mastery of characters and plot is matched by a strength of period detail and atmosphere."

Lorrimer has also published murder mysteries. In Dead Centre the apparent hit-and-run death of Poppy Matheson turns out to be more sinister than it seems. Murder by golf club seems more likely, but can it be proved beyond reasonable doubt? According to Booklist contributor Emily Melton, the tone of the novel fluctuates—"at times deadly serious and at times a bit like a silly drawing-room comedy"—but overall she found the story entertaining. Over My Dead Body features multiple murder victims, all connected in one way or another to a neighborhood dispute over whether a quiet dead-end road should be upgraded. Murder suspects abound; several of the seemingly ordinary residents of Millers Lane could have a vested interest in preserving the bucolic nature of the neighborhood. Which one/s could stoop to murder? Critical reception to Over My Dead Body was somewhat mixed, but in her Booklist appraisal, Melton cited "modern characters, an inventive plot, and plenty of reader appeal."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers, 3rd edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1994.

PERIODICALS

Best Sellers, August 15, 1970, review of Voice in the Dark, p. 195.

Booklist, July, 2003, Emily Melton, review of Over My Dead Body, p. 1870; January 1, 2004, Emily Melton, review of Deception, p. 837; March 1, 2005, Emily Melton, review of Dead Centre, p. 1147.

Books and Bookmen, February, 1968, review of Voice in the Dark, p. 28.

British Book News, August, 1983, review of The Wilderling, p. 469.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2003, review of Over My Dead Body, p. 940.

Library Journal, February 1, 1988, Andrea Lee Shuey, review of Frost in the Sun, p. 76; September 1, 2003, Rex Klett, review of Over My Dead Body, p. 214.

Publishers Weekly, November 22, 1976, review of Mavreen, p. 50; December 4, 1978, review of Tamarisk, p. 61; December 18, 1987, Sybil Steinberg, review of Frost in the Sun, p. 57; August 5, 1988, Sybil Steinberg, review of A Voice in the Dark, p. 72.

West Coast Review of Books, May, 1977, review of Mavreen, p. 57.