Eleanor Alice Burford

Eleanor Alice Burford (September 1, 1906 - January 8, 1993), Mrs. George Percival Hibbert, was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Philippa Carr and Victoria Holt . Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.

As Philippa Carr

Less well known than her other pen-names, the name of Philippa Carr nevertheless had its own faithful following.

The novels written as Philippa Carr are family sagas.

As Victoria Holt

Her work as Holt differed significantly from the more numerous novels written under the better-known name of Jean Plaidy, but was equally popular with a different fan base.

Holt's novels, such as Mistress of Mellyn (1960), were not "straight" historical novels, despite having a historical setting, but were pseudo-gothic romances with an element of suspense.