Penny Vincenzi

Penny Vincenzi
Born
Penelope Hannford

(1939-04-10)10 April 1939
Bournemouth, Hampshire, England
Died25 February 2018(2018-02-25) (aged 78)
OccupationNovelist
Spouse
Paul Vincenzi
​
​
(m. 1960; died 2009)​
Children4 daughters

Penelope Vincenzi (née Hannaford; 10 April 1939 – 25 February 2018) was a British novelist, who wrote 17 novels and two collections of stories.[1] Her book sales by 2014 amounted to over seven million copies.[2]

Early life

She was born Penelope Hannaford, on 10 April 1939 in Bournemouth, the daughter of Stanley George Hannaford (died 1985) and Mary Blanche Hannaford née Hawkey (died 1987) of New Milton, Hampshire.[2][3][4] She was an only child, with "the most ordinary background you could possibly imagine".[2] As a child, the family moved to Devon.[2] She was educated at Notting Hill and Ealing High School.[4]

Career

In 1962, she started to work for the Daily Mirror as a secretary and, after a year, was working for the women's editor Marjorie Proops, who, knowing of her journalistic ambitions, let her help with research and small tasks.[5][6]

Vincenzi was also a fashion journalist who worked for various publications, including the Daily Mirror and Vogue.[2]

Personal life

She met her future husband Paul Robert Vincenzi, an advertising executive, the son of Dr Julius Vincenzi of Earls Colne, Essex, when she was 19.[2][4] They married on 27 May 1960, and had four daughters.[2][4][5] He died from a brain tumour in 2009.[2]

Penny Vincenzi died on 25 February 2018, aged 78.[1]

Publications (novels)

  • The Compleat Liar (non-fiction, 1977)
  • Old Sins (1989)
  • Wicked Pleasures (1992)
  • An Outrageous Affair (1993)
  • Another Woman (1994)
  • Forbidden Places (1995)
  • The Dilemma (1996)
  • Windfall (1997)
  • Almost a Crime (1999)
  • No Angel (2000)
  • Something Dangerous (2001)
  • Into Temptation (2002)
  • Sheer Abandon (2005)
  • An Absolute Scandal (2007)
  • The Best of Times (2009)
  • The Decision (2011)
  • A Perfect Heritage (2014)
  • A Question of Trust (2017)

References

  1. ^ a b Cowdrey, Katherine (26 February 2018). "'Beloved' author Penny Vincenzi dies". The Bookseller. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Penny Vincenzi: 'I never plot what will happen'". telegraph.co.uk. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Penny Vincenzi". bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Lucy Hume, Debrett's People of Today 2017, p. 1893, Debrett's, ISBN 978-1-9997670-3-7, accessed 27 February 2018
  5. ^ a b "How We Met: Penny Vincenzi and Marjorie Proops". The Independent. 12 December 1993. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  6. ^ Kean, Danuta (28 February 2018). "Penny Vincenzi obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2018.


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