Sheila Ann Mary Coates was born on 1937 in Essex, England, just before the Second World War in the East End of London. As a child, she was moved from relative to relative to escape the bombings of World War II.
Sheila attended the Ursuline Convent for Girls. On leaving school at 16, the convent-educated author worked for the Bank of England as a clerk. Sheila continued her education by taking advantage of the B of E's enormous library during her lunch breaks and after work. She later worked as a secretary for the BBC. While there, she met and married Richard Holland, a political reporter.
A voracious reader of romance novels, she began writing at her husband's suggestion. She wrote her first book in three days with three children underfoot! In between raising her five children (including a set of twins), Charlotte wrote several more novels. She used both her married and maiden names, Sheila Holland and Sheila Coates, before her first novel as Charlotte Lamb, Follow a Stranger, was published by Mills & Boon in 1973. She also used the pennames: Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Wolf and Laura Hardy.
Sheila was a true revolutionary in the field of romance writing. One of the first writers to explore the boundaries of sexual desire, her novels often reflected the forefront of the "sexual revolution" of the 1970s. Her books touched on then-taboo subjects such as child abuse and rape, and she created sexually confident - even dominant - heroines. She was also one of the first to create a modern romantic heroine: independent, imperfect, and perfectly capable of initiating a sexual or romantic relationship.
A prolific author, Sheila penned more than 160 novels, most of them for Mills & Boon. Known for her swiftness as well as for her skill in writing, Sheila typically wrote a minimum of two thousand words per day, working from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. While she once finished a full-length novel in four days, she herself pegged her average speed at two weeks to complete a full novel.
Since 1977, Sheila had been living on the Isle of Man as a tax exile with her husband and four of their five children: Michael Holland, Sarah Holland, Jane Holland, Charlotte Holland and David Holland. Sheila passed away on October 8, 2000 in her baronial-style home 'Crogga' on the Island. She is greatly missed by her many fans, and by the romance writing community.
231 works Add another?
Most Editions | First Published | Most Recent
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Sensation
7 editions - first published in 1979 -
The Threat of Love
6 editions - first published in 1990 -
The sex war
6 editions - first published in 1983 -
Echo of passion
6 editions - first published in 1987 -
Duel of desire
6 editions - first published in 1978 -
A Violation
6 editions - first published in 1983 -
Twist of Fate
6 editions - first published in 1979 Borrow -
Master of Comus
5 editions - first published in 1978 -
Darkness of the heart
5 editions - first published in 1983 -
Frustration
5 editions - first published in 1979 -
Retribution
5 editions - first published in 1981 -
Desert barbarian
5 editions - first published in 1978 -
Treasons of the Heart
5 editions - first published in 2000 -
Storm centre
5 editions - first published in 1980 -
Heat of the Night
5 editions - first published in 1986 -
Spellbinding
5 editions - first published in 1990 Borrow -
Sleeping desire
5 editions - first published in 1985 Borrow -
Besieged
5 editions - first published in 1991 Borrow -
Love games
5 editions - first published in 1984 Borrow -
In the still of the night
4 editions - first published in 1995 -
Dark pursuit
4 editions - first published in 1990 -
Dark Dominion
4 editions - first published in 1979 -
Disturbing stranger
4 editions - first published in 1978 -
Battle for Possession (Barbary Wharf)
4 editions - first published in 1992 -
Love in the dark
4 editions - first published in 1987 -
The silken trap
4 editions - first published in 1979 -
Out of control
4 editions - first published in 1987 -
Deep and Silent Waters
4 editions - first published in 1998 -
Desperation
4 editions - first published in 1989 -
The girl from nowhere
4 editions - first published in 1981 -
Midnight Lover
4 editions - first published in 1982 -
Seductive stranger
4 editions - first published in 1989 -
Hawk in a blue sky
4 editions - first published in 1977 -
For adults only
4 editions - first published in 1984 -
A secret intimacy
4 editions - first published in 1983 -
Haunted
4 editions - first published in 1983 -
Vampire Lover
4 editions - first published in 1994 -
Shotgun wedding
4 editions - first published in 1991 -
Forbidden fire
4 editions - first published in 1979 -
Besieged (Barbary Wharf)
4 editions - first published in 1992 -
Kiss of fire
4 editions - first published in 1987 -
Walking in Darkness
4 editions - first published in 1996 -
Dark music
4 editions - first published in 1990 Borrow -
Guilty Love
4 editions - first published in 1994 Borrow -
Fever
4 editions - first published in 1979 Borrow -
Stranger in the night
4 editions - first published in 1980 Checked out -
No More Lonely Nights
4 editions - first published in 1988 Borrow -
Heartbreaker
4 editions - first published in 1981 Borrow -
Betrayal
4 editions - first published in 1983 Borrow -
Explosive meeting
4 editions - first published in 1985 Borrow -
You can love a stranger
4 editions - first published in 1988 Checked out -
Body and Soul
4 editions - first published in 1994 Borrow -
Sleeping partners: Shotgun wedding ; Heart on fire.
4 editions - first published in 1991 Checked out -
Runaway Wife
4 editions - first published in 1989 Checked out -
Circle of fate
3 editions - first published in 1987 -
A Family Affair
3 editions - first published in 1974 -
Wounds of Passion
3 editions - first published in 1993 -
Dreaming
3 editions - first published in 1993 -
Illusion
3 editions - first published in 1981 -
Night music
3 editions - first published in 1980 -
The bride said no
3 editions - first published in 1985 -
A wild affair
3 editions - first published in 1982 -
Hot Surrender
3 editions - first published in 1999 -
Hot Blood
3 editions - first published in 1996 -
Whirlwind
3 editions - first published in 1987 -
Dark fate
3 editions - first published in 1994 -
Abduction
3 editions - first published in 1981 -
Dangerous
3 editions - first published in 1981 -
Crescendo
3 editions - first published in 1980 -
Runaway Wife
3 editions - first published in 1990 -
A Naked Flame
3 editions - first published in 1984 -
Yuletide Child (Expecting!)
3 editions - first published in 1999 -
Dark Master
3 editions - first published in 1979 -
Dying for You
3 editions - first published in 1994 -
Whirlwind
3 editions - first published in 1993 -
Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed?
3 editions - first published in 1985 Borrow -
Kingfisher morning
3 editions - first published in 1977 Borrow -
Dark fever
3 editions - first published in 1995 Borrow -
Fire In The Blood
3 editions - first published in 1993 Checked out -
Desire
3 editions - first published in 1981 Borrow -
Rites of possession
3 editions - first published in 1990 Borrow -
Infatuation
3 editions - first published in 1984 Checked out -
Pagan encounter
3 editions - first published in 1978 Checked out -
Haunted Dreams
2 editions - first published in 1995 -
Heron Quest
2 editions - first published in 1986 -
Man's world
2 editions - first published in 1980 -
Too Close for Comfort (Barbary Wharf)
2 editions - first published in 1992 -
Call back yesterday
2 editions - first published in 1978 -
Deadly rivals
2 editions - first published in 1995 -
The cruel flame
2 editions - first published in 1978 -
Lovestruck
2 editions - first published in 1998 -
Compulsion
2 editions - first published in 1980 -
Playing hard to get
2 editions - first published in 1992 -
Star-crossed
2 editions - first published in 1976 -
Sweet Addiction (Barbary Wharf)
2 editions - first published in 1992 -
Florentine Spring
2 editions - first published in 1977 -
Surrender
2 editions - first published in 1992 -
Forbidden Fruit
2 editions - first published in 1992 -
Battle for possession
2 editions - first published in 1992 -
Secret Obsession
2 editions - first published in 1995
Subjects
Places
Links (outside Open Library)
Alternative names
- Sheila Coates
- Sheila Holland
- Victoria Woolf
- Sheila Lancaster
- Laura Hardy
- Charlotte LAMB
- Charlotte. Lamb
History Created September 15, 2008 · 5 revisions
| August 17, 2010 | Edited by E-Romance | merge authors |
| August 4, 2010 | Edited by Edward Betts | Date of death |
| April 12, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Added photos to author pages. |
| December 27, 2008 | Edited by E-Romance | Edited without comment. |
| September 15, 2008 | Created by ImportBot | Initial record created, from Talis MARC record. |