Goodwin, Suzanne 1916-2008 (Suzanne Ebel, Cecily Shelbourne)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born September 27, 1916, in Sutton, Surrey (some sources cite London), England; died February 28, 2008. Public relations director, fiction writer, and romance novelist. Goodwin is best known for several dozen romance novels featuring spunky, good-natured heroines and happy endings. Most were set in places familiar to the author. Goodwin used her maiden name, Suzanne Ebel, for short stories and for novels published between 1964 and 1978; most of these were published only in England. After her marriage to stage director and theatrical publicist John Goodwin, most of her novels appeared under her married name, and several had settings and themes related to the world of the theater. Goodwin worked for many years as a public relations director for the London office of the Young and Rubicam agency. After publishing at least one novel per year for several years, she left the agency in 1972 and devoted herself to writing fiction. Freedom from her "day job" enabled Goodwin and her husband to spend extended periods of time in the south of France, and several of her novels are set in that region. Goodwin retained her love for London as well. Her 1976 book London's Riverside (published under the name Ebel) won an award for best travel guide. Her first novel as Ebel, Journey from Yesterday (1964) was named romantic novel of the year by the Romantic Novelists Association. Her other novels, more than forty in all, most of which were published in both England and the United States, include The Rising Storm (1993), Sheer Chance (1997), and French Leave (2001). Goodwin also published at least one novel under the pseudonym Cecily Sherbourne.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Twentieth Century Romance and Historical Writers, 3rd edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1994.

PERIODICALS

Times (London, England), March 17, 2008, p. 62.