Dame Barbara Cartland - her many books and men

Born in Birmingham, Barbara Cartland (1901–2000) was the oldest child of British Army Major James Cartland (died 1918); her moth­er's family were Gloucestershire minor landed gentry. Barbara had two brothers: Major Ronald Cartland, Member of Parliament and James Cartland (both died in WW2). Though she was born into upper middle class comfort, the family finances fell over af­ter her birth.

Barbara Cartland later accredited this down turn to her paternal grandfather's suicide, financier James Cartland who apparently shot himself because of bankruptcy in 1902. But James, proprietor of a brass foundry, actually left a large estate. Her father's death followed in WWI. Fortun­ately Barbara's mother opened a London dress shop to make money, and to raise her child­ren. There must have been enough money since Barbara was educated at private girls’ schools. She became success­ful as a society rep­orter after 1922, and a writer of roman­t­ic fic­t­ion, apparently influenced by Elinor Glyn’s books.

The world Cartland created was directed at a generation for whom sex was never discussed, but ironically her work in the 1920s was contro­versial for its sexual material. Her first novel, Jigsaw (1923), was a risqué society thriller that sold well. She also be­gan writing and producing slightly racy plays, including Blood Money (1926) which was banned by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. In the 1920s, Cartland was a prom­inent young hostess in London society who was noted for her beauty, charm and daring parties. Her fashion sense led her to become was one of the first clients of up-and-coming designer Norman Hartnell.

Barbara Cartland in one of her iconic pink silk dresses and broad hats

Cartland claimed to have refused dozens of marriage offers before marrying Capt Alexander McCor­qu­od­ale in 1927, Scottish Army officer and heir to a printing fortune. Their daughter, Raine McCorquodale (1929–2016), who Cartland later alleged was the daughter of 5th Duke of Sutherland OR of Prince George Duke of Kent, was intro­duced into High Society. After the McCorqu­od­­ale 1933 divorce, which charges of infidelity on both sides, Cart­land next married her first husband's cousin, Hugh McCorquodale in 1936. Cartland and her second husband had two sons: publisher Ian (1937-) and stockbroker Glen McCorquodale (1939-).

After the death of her brother Ronald Cartland, a Con­serv­at­ive Member of Parliament, Barbara Cartland published a biography of him with a preface by the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. The war marked the beginning of a lifelong interest in civic welfare and politics for Cartland, who served the War Office in various charitable capacities as well as the St John Ambulance Brigade. At Buckingham Palace in 1953, she was awarded the Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem for her services.

During the 1950s she campaigned successfully for nursing home re­form, improvement in the salaries of midwives and legal­isation re education for Gypsy children. To me she unexpectedly became a champion of the Romanies' rights.

Cartland kept a long friendship with Lord Mountbatten of Burma. This significant royal man supported Cartland with her a number of her foundations and he helped with some of her novels, providing the back­ground naval and historical information that she needed.

Barbara Cartland with Lord Mountbatten of Burma

In 1950, Cartland was accused of plagiarism by author Georgette Heyer, after a reader drew attention to the apparent borrowing of Heyer's character names, dialogue, personalities and plot points in Cartland's early historical romances. In particular, A Hazard of Hearts (1949), which apparently replicated characters from two Heyer books. Heyer analysed the alleged plagiarisms for her sol­ic­itors in detail, but the court case stalled.

 
As well as novels, Cartland wrote a guide to married life in 1962. Called A Guide to Good Behaviour from the Boudoir to the Boardroom, this book was banned in Ireland! Her image as a self-proclaimed expert on romance drew crit­icism in her later years, when her social views were even more cons­ervative. Indeed, although her first novels were called sens­at­ion­al, Cartland's later titles were comparatively tame with virginal heroines. Almost all of Cartland's later books were historical in theme, so chastity seemed appropriate.

Despite her docile storylines, her later novels were very succ­ess­ful. In 1976 Cartland wrote 23 novels, winning the Guin­ness World Record for the most novels written in a year. By 1983 she was named the world’s top-selling author by the Guin­ness Book of Records.

This Queen of Romance became very successful in the 1970s and 1980s; she regularly appeared on television, looking distinctive in her iconic pink silk dresses and smiling. Her white hair was like puffy clouds, and her heavy, false eye lashes made her lids droop. She discuss­ed love, marr­iage, pol­it­ics, relig­ion, health and fashion. And she spoke against infidel­ity and divorce. 

A Guide to Good Behaviour from the Boudoir to the Boardroom, 

written by Barbara Cartland in 1962

But from 1960 on, when my Australian English teachers were encour­aging us in essays, journal articles, books and letters, Barbara Cart­land was NEVER offered up as a role model. Penelope Fitz­gerald, Bruce Chatwin, AS Byatt, George Orwell, Graham Greene, Alan Sill­it­oe, Kingsley Amis, Anthony Powell, PD James, Penelope Lively, Sylvia Plath, Muriel Spark and many others, yes! Cartland no! Her prose, dedicated to an unlikely celebration of the advent­ures of passionate virgins, had little appeal to us Baby Boomers.

My next post: Barbara Cartland’s daughter Countess Raine McCorquod­ale Spencer & her step granddaughter Diana Princess of Wales.