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Valerie Anand | |
|---|---|
| Born | Valerie May Florence Stubington[1] (1937-07-06)6 July 1937[2] |
| Died | 13 January 2024(2024-01-13) (aged 86) |
| Spouse | |
Valerie May Florence Anand (néeStubington; 6 July 1937 – 13 January 2024) was an English author of historical fiction.[3]
Anand spent her early childhood in Kent before theSecond World War broke out, after which her father joined theRAF while she and her mother went to live with his Aunt Clara inLeatherhead, Surrey. Her father's anecdotes from the war inspired Anand to later learn to fly a plane herself, training atLondon Biggin Hill.[4]
Initially disinterested in history as a subject, Anand was influenced to write medieval historical fiction after seeing the filmIvanhoe (1952) in cinemas as a teenager.[4]
Anand began her career working as a secretary atOdhams Press before going into trade journalism and then industrial editing. She operated magazines for the furniture storeHeal's and the engineering company Matthew Hall.[2][4]
Under the pen nameFiona Buckley[5][6] she wrote the series of historical mysteries, set in the reign ofElizabeth I of England, featuring "Ursula Blanchard" (whose full name is Ursula Faldene Blanchard de la Roche Stannard). Under her own name, she wrote historical fiction based on the royalty of England and theBridges over Time series which follows a family from the eleventh century through the twentieth century. She has also writtenTo a Native Shore, a contemporary novel that explores British prejudice toward Indian Sikhs.
Anand also held the copyrights toThe Fallen Pinnacle, a 1997 novel aboutAtlantis written under the pseudonymValerie M. Irwin.
Valerie Anand was a believer in the innocence of King Richard III in the matter of thePrinces in the Tower, i.e. aRicardian. She presented this view inCrown of Roses, making the point that the former tutor of Edward V,John Alcock, remained on good terms with the king, which he presumably would not have done had he suspected him of being responsible for the death of his former student.[7]
Anand was a feminist and critical of the 1950s ideals of marriage and domestic life. At age 31, Anand met her future husband Dalip Singh Anand of Northern India. The couple married in 1970.[4]
At the end of her life, Anand lived inMitcham, South London.[8]
