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Virginia Henley

Virginia Syddall was born on December 5, 1935 in England, where her father, Thomas Syddall, taught her to love history. She obtained a degree in History in the University. In 1956, Virginia married Arthur Henley. They moved to America, and now they live most of the year in St. Petersburg, Florida, and they spend the hot summers in Ontario, Canada, where they have their two adult children and three grandsons.

Virginia Henley is a New York Times bestselling writer of historical novels. Her work has been translated into fourteen languages. She is the recipient of more than a dozen writing awards, including a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award, a Waldenbooks' Bestselling Award, and a Maggie Award for Excellence from the Georgia Romance Writers.


“...to be Irish is to know the world will break your heart before you are thirty.”
Virginia Henley
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“Darling, we're all whores under the skin, whether we give ourselves by calculation or by desire. It's just that some of us demand a higher price than others.”
Virginia Henley
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“... love pales into insignificance when pitted against ambition.”
Virginia Henley
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“So this was love then—wanting to give only pleasure to the beloved; constantly searching your mind for love tokens that would bring a smile to her lips or a sparkle to her eyes. He deeply regretted it had come so late in life, but since his heart’s desire was Eleanor who was so much younger than he, it could have been no other way. He was grateful it had come at all.”
Virginia Henley
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“Love is a journey from the first blush of physical attraction to a marriage of souls.”
Virginia Henley
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“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
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