Ida Cook | |
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Born | 1904 Sunderland, England, UK |
Died | December 22, 1986 (aged 81–82) |
Pen name | Mary Burchell, James Keene (with Will Cook) |
Occupation | Novelist |
Nationality | British |
Writing period | 1936-1985 |
Genres | Romance |
Notable work(s) | The Warrender Saga |
Relative(s) | Mary Louise Cook (sister) |
Ida Cook (b. 1904 in Sunderland, England, UK - d. 22 December 1986) was a British campaigner for Jewish refugees and a novelist.
Ida Cook and her sister Mary Louise Cook (1901-1991) rescued Jews from the Nazis during the 1930s. The sisters helped 29 people escape, funded mainly by Ida's writing. In 1965, the Cook sisters were honored as Righteous Gentiles by the Yad Vashem Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority in Israel.
Ida Cook wrote more than 125 romance novels as Mary Burchell' for Mills & Boon (reedited by Harlequin), and also wrote as James Keene with Will Cook. She helped to found and was for many years president of the Romantic Novelists' Association. She wrote her autobiography in 1950, We Followed Our Stars, reedited as Safe Passage, current in print.
Contents |
Biography
Personal life
Ida Cook was born 1904 in Sunderland, England, UK. With her old sister Mary Louise Cook (1901-1991), she attending the Duchess' School in Alnwick and later took civil service jobs in London, and developed a passionate interest in opera.[1]
During the 1930s, the sisters visited Germany, posing as opera fanatics, willing to travel anywhere to see a favorite artist. When returning to England, they smuggled in valuables, which allowed Jews fleeing Germany to satisfy the British financial security requirements for immigration. They worked with Austrian conductor Clemens Krauss and his wife, the soprano Viorica Ursuleac, who initially had told them of the prosecution of the Jews. The sisters helped 29 people escape, funded mainly by Ida's writing. In 1965, the Cook sisters were honored as Righteous Gentiles by the Yad Vashem Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority in Israel.
Writing career
In 1936, Ida published her first romance novels as Mary Burchell. During her career she wrote more than 100 romances for Mills & Boon (reedited by Harlequin Books), including the famous The Warrender Saga, a series about the Opera world.
She also wrote some western novels as James Keene with the author William Everett Cook (aka Will Cook or Frank Peace).
In 1950, she wrote her autobiography, We Followed Our Stars', reedited as Safe Passage, current in print.
Bibliography
As Mary Burchell
Single novels
- Wife to Christopher, 1936
- Except my Love, 1937
- Nobody Asked Me, 1937
- But Not For Me, 1938
- Other Lips Have Loved You = Two Loves Have I, 1938
- With all my worldy goods, 1938
- Yet Love Remains, 1938
- After Office Hours, 1939
- Little Sister, 1939
- One of the Family, 1939
- Such is Love, 1939
- I'll Go With You, 1940
- Pay Me Tomorrow, 1940
- Yours With Love, 1940
- Accompanied by his Wife, 1941
- Always Yours, 1941
- Just a Nice Girl, 1941
- Strangers May Marry, 1941
- Love Made the Choice, 1942
- Thine Is My Heart, 1942
- Where Shall I Wander?, 1942
- Dare I Be Happy?, 1943
- My Old Love Came, 1943
- Dearly Beloved, 1944
- Take Me with You, 1944
- Thanks to Elizabeth, 1944
- Away Went Love, 1945
- Meant for Each Other, 1945
- Find Out the Way, 1946
- First Love-Last Love, 1946
- Wife by Arrangement, 1946
- Not Without You, 1947
- Under Joint Management, 1947
- Ward of Lucifer, 1947
- If You Care, 1948
- The Brave in Heart 1948
- Then Come Kiss Me, 1948
- Choose Which You Will, 1949
- I Will Love You Still, 1949
- If This Were All, 1949
- Wish on the Moon, 1949
- A Letter for Don, 1950
- At First Sight, 1950
- Love Him or Leave Him, 1950
- Here I Belong, 1951
- Mine for a Day, 1951
- Tell Me My Fortune, 1951
- Over the Blue Mountains, 1952
- Stolen Heart, 1952
- Sweet Adventure, 1952
- A Ring on Her Finger, 1953
- No Real Relation, 1953
- The Heart Cannot Forget, 1953
- The Heart Must Choose 1953
- Nurse Allison's Trust = Meet Me Again, 1954
- Under the Stars of Paris, 1954
- When Love's Beginning, 1954
- The Prettiest Girl, 1955
- Yours to Command, 1955
- For Ever and Ever, 1956
- Loving is Giving, 1956
- On the Air, 1956
- To Journey Together, 1956
- And Falsely Pledge My Love, 1957
- It's Rumoured in the Village, 1957
- Joanna at the Grange, 1957
- Love is my Reason, 1957
- Nurse Marika, loyal in all = Loyal in all, 1957
- Dear Sir 1958
- Dear Trustee, 1958
- Hospital Corridors, 1958
- The Girl in the Blue Dress, 1958
- Honey, 1959
- Star Quality = Surgeon of Distinction, 1959
- Across the Counter, 1960
- Choose the One You'll Marry, 1960
- Corner House, 1960
- Paris-and my love, 1960
- My Sister Celia, 1961
- Reluctant Relation, 1961
- The Wedding Dress, 1961
- House of Conflict, 1962
- Inherit My Heart, 1962
- Dangerous Loving, 1963
- Sweet Meadows, 1963
- Do Not Go, My Love, 1964/01
- The Strange Quest of Anne Weston = The Strange Quest of Nurse Anne, 1964
- Girl With a Challenge, 1965
- Her Sister's Children, 1965
- The Other Linding Girl, 1966
- Cinderella After Midnight, 1967
- Damaged Angel, 1967/01
- The Marshall Family, 1967
- Though Worlds Apart, 1967
- Missing from Home, 1968
- A Home for Joy, 1969
- The Rosewood Box, 1970
- Call and I'll Come, 1970
- Second Marriage, 1971
- One Man's Heart 1971
- Bargain Wife, 1979
The Warrender Saga
- A Song Begins, 1965
- The Broken Wing, 1966
- When Love is Blind, 1967
- The Curtain Rises, 1969
- Child of Music, 1971
- Music of the Heart, 1972
- Unbidden Melody, 1973
- Song Cycle, 1974
- Remembered Serenade, 1975
- Elusive Harmony, 1976
- Nightingales, 1980
- Masquerade with Music, 1982
- On Wings of Song, 1985
Omnibus collections
- 3 Great Novels: Me With You; Choose Which You Will; Meant for Each Other (1975)
- 3 Great Novels: The Heart Cannot Forget; Ward of Lucifer; A Home for Joy
- 3 Great Novels: The Other Linding Girl; Girl with a Challenge; My Sister Celia
- It's Rumored in the Village / Except My Love / Strangers May Marry (1983)
Anthologies in collaboration
- Golden Harlequin Library XLI: Over The Blue Mountains; Summer Lightning; Lucy Lamb; Doctor's Wife (1973) (with Sara Seale and Jill Tahourdin)
- Tell Me My Fortune / A Scent Of Lemons / Country Of The Wine (1979) (with Jill Christian and Mary Wibberley)
- Just a Nice Girl / Pride of Madeira / Valley of Paradise (1983) (with Elizabeth Hunter and Margaret Rome)
- The Hills of Maketu / Under the Stars of Paris / Every Wise Man (1986) (with Gloria Bevan and Jacqueline Gilbert)
As Ida Cook
Non-fiction
- We Followed Our Stars (1950), rereleased as Safe Passage (1976 and 2008) (autobiography)
References and sources
- ^ a b Mary Burchell in Fantastic Fiction, http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/mary-burchell, retrieved on 2008-09-08
Persondata | |
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NAME | Cook, Ida |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Burchell, Mary (pseudonym) |
SHORT DESCRIPTION | Novelist |
DATE OF BIRTH | 1904 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Sunderland, England, UK |
DATE OF DEATH | December 22, 1986 |
PLACE OF DEATH |