Elizabeth Carfrae (March 21, 1879 – 1968)

Elizabeth Carfrae was born in Dover on March 21, 1879, and then the family moved to Edmonton, Middlesex, a suburb of London. In the British Census of 1881, the family is listed as residing at 21 Chauncey Street, The Hyde, Edmonton, Middlesex. John Mowll Wrightson (Elizabeth’s father)'s occupation was listed as "Clerk, Emigration Office."

No doubt inspired by the success of Louise Gerard and Joan Sutherland, Mills & Boon promoted grandly two other authors of romantic fiction in the 1920s: Elizabeth Carfrae and Denise Robins. Both were prolific writers, and their sales would serve to consolidate the Mills & Boon romantic fiction list begun by Sutherland and Gerard.

Carfrae, who was matron of one of the houses at Rugby School, was brought to Mills & Boon by an agent. Her first contract, in 1924, was for three novels, for which she received a £30 advance, and the usual 10 per cent terms. The first novel, Barbed Wire, featured what would become a Carfrae trademark: a high-spirited, independent, and somewhat daring heroine. Joy Beresford, just 16, is the daughter of a university professor.

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First Book - Barbed Wire (1925)

Last Book - Brief Enchantment (1962)

Source: Passion's Fortune: The Story of Mills & Boon

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