Virginia Henley Quotes

#1. I love to have real people of history interact with my fictional characters. History gives me the plot. I research the period meticulously, and then I blend in a romantic and sensual love story to give it balance. The heavier the history, the more romantic the couple must be.

Virginia Henley

#2. With horror he saw that her hair was already afire as the tarred stake burned about her head. He held her agonized gaze with his fierce black eyes. "I'll love you forever, and beyond," he vowed as he raised both arms and plunged his sword into her heart.

~Marcus Magnus

Virginia Henley

#3. Probably every book I read influenced me in some small way. Authors like Jan Westcott, Kathleen Winsor, Catherine Cookson, Georgette Heyer, and even Barbara Cartland taught me to write character-driven stories.

Virginia Henley

#4. I have always been drawn to the Restoration period of Charles II. I have a soft spot for Charles Stuart, who was always loving and kind to the opposite sex. The members of his court were fascinating, and Barbara Castlemaine was one of the greatest courtesans in history.

Virginia Henley

#5. I devour history books. I love anything by Thomas B. Costain or George MacDonald Fraser. He writes magnificent history, and he also wrote the Flashman stories, which are irresistible.

Virginia Henley

#6. I love to read history books, which is where I get my ideas. I also read historical romance for pleasure.

Virginia Henley

#7. 'The Irish Duke' is a sequel to 'The Decadent Duke' about Lady Georgina Gordon who married the Duke of Bedford. 'The Irish Duke' tells the story of their daughter, Lady Louisa, who married James Hamilton, the powerful and wealthy Duke of Abercorn.

Virginia Henley

#8. I first started writing historical fiction in the late '70s and kept pictures of Kathleen Woodiwiss and Rosemary Rogers on my refrigerator until my first book was published by Avon in 1982. The biggest advantage of this genre for me is that it allows me to blend fact and fiction.

Virginia Henley

#9. In 1976, I read a book by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss and knew immediately that I, too, could write a historical romance. It took me a year to complete the manuscript. I was a forty-year-old Scarborough housewife who knew no one in publishing.

Virginia Henley

#10. To be Irish is to know the world will break your heart before you are thirty.

Virginia Henley

#11. To have a successful writing career, you must be willing to sacrifice a great deal. The book, the deadline come first before anything else. Writing is not a job; it is a lifestyle, and it is a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows. You need self-confidence and an iron carapace.

Virginia Henley

#12. Love is a journey from the first blush of physical attraction to a marriage of souls.

Virginia Henley