Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland
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Barbara Cartland wrote 723 romance novels. They sold over 1 billion copies worldwide, a Guinness World Record. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1991. Her daughter Raine Spencer was Princess Diana’s stepmother. She campaigned for gypsy rights and founded Barbaraville, the first gypsy camp, in 1964.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Barbara Cartland — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Barbara Cartland by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Barbara Cartland — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Barbara Cartland left school at 15 after her father died in World War I. Born on 9 July 1901 in Edgbaston, Birmingham, she was the eldest child of James Bertram Falkner Cartland and Mary Hamilton Scobell. She attended Malvern St James and The Alice Ottley School. Her father’s death left the family in financial hardship, forcing her to leave school to support her mother and siblings.
She began writing romantic novels to support her family. She published her first novel, Jigsaw, in 1923. She went on to write 723 novels, selling over 1 billion copies in 36 languages, earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records. In 1978, she sang an album of love songs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. During World War II, she served as Chief Lady Welfare Officer in Bedfordshire. She oversaw 20,000 service personnel and organized wedding dresses for brides. In 1931, she helped devise the first airplane-towed glider airmail, receiving the Bishop Wright Air Industry Award in 1984. She appeared on television shows such as Champs-Elysées 1982 and Sacrée Soirée 1987.
Barbara Cartland married Alexander George McCorquodale in 1927; they divorced in 1933. She then married his cousin, Hugh Rowley McCorquodale, in 1936, and they remained together until his death in 1963. She had two sons, Ian Hamilton McCorquodale and Glen McCorquodale. Her daughter from her second marriage, Raine Spencer, became Princess Diana’s stepmother. Ronald Cartland, her brother, was the first MP killed in World War II. She wrote his biography, which included a preface by Winston Churchill.
Barbara Cartland holds a Guinness World Record for most novels published in a year: 23 novels in one year. In 1991, she became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature. Beyond writing, she founded the National Association for Health in 1964 and campaigned for gypsy conditions, leading to an act of Parliament and the creation of Barbaraville. She received the Dame of Grace of the Order of St John for health advocacy. Her 723 novels have sold over 1 billion copies and been translated into 36 languages.
Browse the complete filmography of Barbara Cartland — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Barbara Cartland — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Barbara Cartland's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
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A wall of memorable lines from Barbara Cartland — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I Always Use Boot Polish on My Eyelashes, Because I Am Very Emotional Person and It Doesn’t Run When I Cry.
I Was the Person Who Invented Second Hand Clothes Shops.
A Man Should Certainly Not Be a Virgin on His Wedding Night. You Want One Person Who Knows What He Is Doing.
We Must Get Back to the Days When the English Gentleman Was Admired and Looked up to by Everyone.
The Point Is You Make a Certain Amount of Money, but You Are Never Certain When Labour Might Get In. and Don’t Forget That Last Time We Had Labour It Took Us 10 Years to Get Over It.
There Is No Point in Wearing Arty Crafty Clothes If You Don’t Look Good in Them. Women Should Wear Pretty Clothes and Look Like Women. Why Must They Try to Be Men?
I Have No Idea What I Make….Occasionally I Ask, ‘Are We in Debt?’ We Always Are.
Little-known facts about Barbara Cartland — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Her daughter Raine Spencer 9/9/1929-21/10/2016 was Princess Diana’s stepmother. Cartland was an elected member of the London County Council and later of the Greater London Council.
She died on the same day as John Gielgud.
She wrote 723 romance novels and sold over 1 billion copies, earning a Guinness World Record for most novels published in a year.
In the early 1960s, she campaigned for gypsy rights, resulting in an act of Parliament. She opened the first gypsy camp, Barbaraville, in 1964, and now there are 14 in Hertfordshire.
She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1991 Queen’s New Year Honours List for services to literature.
Her second husband was her first husband’s cousin.
She had two sons, Ian and Glen.
During World War II, she was Chief Lady Welfare Officer in Bedfordshire, looking after 20,000 service men and women. She gathered wedding dresses for service brides, buying 1,000 second-hand gowns for the A.T.S., W.A.A.F.S., and W.R.E.N.S. In 1945, she received a Certificate of Merit from Eastern Command.
She fought for better conditions and salaries for midwives and nurses, earning her Dame of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, Chairman of the St John Council in Hertfordshire, and Deputy President of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
She wrote biographies of historical figures, including her brother Ronald Cartland, the first MP killed in World War II; the book has a preface by Sir Winston Churchill.
In 1978, she sang an album of love songs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 1931, she and two Royal Air Force Officers devised and created the first airplane-towed glider airmail. In 1984, she received the Bishop Wright Air Industry Award at Kennedy Airport in New York.
In 1964, she founded the National Association for Health in the UK, a front for health stores and alternative medicine products, which now has a huge annual turnover.
In January 1988, she received La Medaille De Vermeil De La Ville De Paris The Gold Medal of Paris for achieving 25 million books sold in France.
She is mentioned in the 1984 version of The Day Before You Came by Blancmange.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Barbara Cartland.
Celebrities similar to Barbara Cartland — same craft, ranked by reach.
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