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Born on June 6, 1924 in Portsmouth, Va., Virginia Cleo ("V. C.") Andrews was one of three children of William Henry and Lillian Lilnora. Andrews worked as a commercial fashion and portrait artist for a time. However, after her father's death in the late 1960s and the family's subsequent move to Manchester, Mo, she began what she described as "closet" writing. It was her publisher's decision to use the initials V. C. rather than her full name. This was done for the purpose of neutralizing her gender so as to sell to adult male audiences; the common belief was that men did not like to read books by women writers. Andrews eventually became a full-time writer. Her first novel was a science fiction fantasy entitled The Gods of the Green Mountains, published in 1972. In 1980, she published the bestseller Flowers in the Attic, followed by Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows; all of which comprise the Dollanganger Series. Andrews died of breast cancer on December 19, 1986, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. After her death, her family hired a ghost writer, Andrew Neiderman, to finish the manuscripts she had started. He would complete the next two novels, Garden of Shadows and Fallen Hearts, and they were published soon after. These two novels are considered the last to bear the "V. C. Andrews" name and to be almost completely written by Andrews herself. She left a legacy of books that have been sold worldwide and translated into 13 foreign languages. (Bowker Author Biography) V.C. Andrews' novels have sold more than eighty-five million copies and have been translated into sixteen foreign languages. All 38 of V.C. Andrews' novels have hit the New York Times bestseller list. (Publisher Provided) — biography from Flowers In The Attic… (more)
Flowers In The Attic 5,902 copies, 177 reviews
Petals On The Wind 2,903 copies, 44 reviews
If There Be Thorns 2,531 copies, 34 reviews
Seeds Of Yesterday 2,141 copies, 26 reviews
Garden Of Shadows 2,015 copies, 26 reviews
My Sweet Audrina 1,805 copies, 37 reviews
Heaven 1,617 copies, 25 reviews
Dark Angel 1,367 copies, 19 reviews
Fallen Hearts 1,224 copies, 15 reviews
Web of Dreams (Casteel Saga) 1,150 copies, 12 reviews
Gates of Paradise 1,148 copies, 16 reviews
Dawn 1,122 copies, 12 reviews
Ruby (Landry Saga) 1,020 copies, 12 reviews
Twilight's Child (Cutler) 889 copies, 2 reviews
Pearl in the Mist 865 copies, 4 reviews
Midnight Whispers 859 copies, 5 reviews
All That Glitters 807 copies, 6 reviews
Melody 802 copies, 4 reviews
Darkest Hour 789 copies, 5 reviews
Hidden Jewel 778 copies, 5 reviews
Tarnished Gold 712 copies, 5 reviews
Unfinished Symphony 709 copies, 1 review
Heart Song 693 copies, 2 reviews
Music in the Night (Logan) 658 copies, 4 reviews
Rain 628 copies, 3 reviews
Olivia 624 copies, 1 review
Runaways 597 copies, 3 reviews
Lightning Strikes 557 copies, 2 reviews
Into the Garden (Wildflowers) 494 copies, 1 review
Willow 485 copies, 3 reviews
Butterfly 479 copies, 5 reviews
The End of the Rainbow 477 copies, 2 reviews
Celeste 449 copies, 9 reviews
Crystal 439 copies, 3 reviews
Brooke 430 copies, 3 reviews
Twisted Roots 410 copies
Raven 406 copies, 3 reviews
Wicked Forest 402 copies, 1 review
Secrets In The Attic 392 copies, 5 reviews
Black Cat 385 copies, 4 reviews
Broken Wings 382 copies, 1 review
Into The Woods 367 copies
Falling Stars 353 copies
Orphans 344 copies, 1 review
Star 344 copies
Jade 338 copies
Child Of Darkness 334 copies, 3 reviews
Cat 333 copies
Midnight Flight 332 copies, 3 reviews
Hidden Leaves 327 copies
Cinnamon 324 copies, 1 review
Broken Flower 319 copies, 4 reviews
April Shadows 310 copies, 2 reviews
Scattered Leaves 291 copies, 3 reviews
Rose 273 copies
Honey 272 copies, 2 reviews
Girl In The Shadows 272 copies, 1 review
Ice 270 copies
Daughter Of Darkness 265 copies, 7 reviews
Delia's Crossing 250 copies, 3 reviews
Shooting Stars Omnibus 232 copies, 1 review
Delia's Heart 220 copies, 1 review
The Heavenstone Secrets 215 copies, 1 review
Secret Whispers 197 copies, 1 review
Delia's Gift 195 copies, 1 review
The Unwelcomed Child 180 copies, 5 reviews
Secrets of Foxworth 171 copies, 5 reviews
Family Storms 171 copies, 2 reviews
Secret Brother (Dollanganger) 146 copies, 2 reviews
Cloudburst 141 copies, 2 reviews
Forbidden Sister 126 copies, 6 reviews
Into The Darkness 119 copies, 1 review
The Mirror Sisters 108 copies, 4 reviews
Whitefern (The Audrina Series) 100 copies, 6 reviews
Roxy's Story 99 copies, 2 reviews
Bittersweet Dreams 97 copies, 3 reviews
Beneath the Attic 96 copies, 3 reviews
Sage's Eyes 93 copies, 9 reviews
Casteel Series Books 1-5 83 copies, 4 reviews
Broken Glass 72 copies, 2 reviews
The Silhouette Girl 65 copies, 2 reviews
Gods of Green Mountain 53 copies, 2 reviews
Dark Seed 53 copies
Landry Saga 53 copies, 1 review
Capturing Angels 38 copies, 1 review
Out of the Rain 28 copies
The De Beers Family Series 18 copies, 1 review
Cage of Love 6 copies
Delia-serie 2 copies
Rain [2006 film] (Author) 2 copies
La hora más oscura 2 copies, 1 review
Aurora 1 copy
Omnibus 1 copy
Gypsy Eyes 1 copy
Simsek 1 copy
abuse (107) adult (87) Already read (80) Andrews (81) books-i-own (108) Casteel (111) child abuse (126) Cutler (70) Dollanganger (139) Dollanganger Series (83) drama (447) ebook (356) family (229) family saga (303) fiction (2,739) general fiction (122) gothic (358) gothic fiction (100) horror (1,507) horror fiction (75) incest (390) Kindle (85) Landry (78) library (99) mystery (341) novel (198) own (246) owned (78) paperback (193) read (674) Roman (96) romance (204) series (424) suspense (332) thriller (479) to-read (2,060) unread (177) V.C. Andrews (974) YA (74) young adult (336)
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Short biography
Cleo Virginia (she later reversed her names) Andrews was the youngest of three children. She grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia and excelled in school -- she skipped both the third and the sixth grades. As a teenager, she had a serious accident, falling down the stairs at school and suffering severe hip and back injuries, and later arthritis, that caused her to spend most of her life on crutches or in a wheelchair.
After graduation from high school, she completing a four-year correspondence art course while living at home. Following the death of her father, Andrews and her mother moved first to Missouri and then to Arizona to be near her brothers. Andrews helped to support her family through her successful career as a commercial artist, portrait painter, and fashion illustrator.

She originally kept her writing a secret. She sold three Gothic romances under a pseudonym and without an agent, and before that she wrote stories for pulp confession magazines. In 1975, she completed a manuscript for a novel she titled The Obsessed. The novel was returned to her with the suggestion that she "spice it up" and expand the story. In interviews, Andrews claims to have made the revisions in a single night, re-submitting the book as Flowers in the Attic. This novel, published in 1979, was an instant and hugely popular success, reaching the top of the bestseller lists in only two weeks. The publisher assigned her the pen name of V.C. Andrews to mask her gender from readers. Every year after that until her death from breast cancer, Andrews published a new novel, each one earning her larger advances and a wider audience -- making her one of the most popular authors of all time.
Disambiguation notice

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