Jessica Steele

{{Short description|British romance novelist (1933–2020)}} {{notability|Biographies|date=February 2018}} {{Infobox writer  | name = Jessica Steele | image = | imagesize = | alt = | caption = | pseudonym = Jessica Steele | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|05|09|df=y}} | birth_place = Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|11|23|1933|05|09|df=y}} | death_place = | occupation = Novelist | nationality = British | ethnicity = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = | period = 1979–2009 | genre = Romantic novel | subject = | movement = | notableworks = The Icicle Heart | spouse = Peter | partner = | children = | relatives = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | signature = | website = | portaldisp = }}

'''Jessica Steele''' (9 May 1933 – 23 November 2020) was a British author of 88 romance novels that spanned a career over four decades, Her novels have been published by Mills & Boon since 1979 starting with The Icicle Heart. Her last novel was The Girl From Honeysuckle Farm and it was published in 2009.

==Biography== Steele was born in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. She worked initially as a clerk and she married in 1967. She travelled to Hong Kong, China, Mexico, Japan, Peru, Russia, Egypt, Chile and Greece in order to establish a background for her novels. Steele died on 23 November 2020, at the age of 87.<ref name=obit>{{Cite web|title=Remembering Jessica Steele|website=Mills & Boon Blog|url=http://blog.millsandboon.co.uk/remembering-jessica-steele/|access-date=2021-06-05|language=en-GB}}</ref> ==Bibliography==

===Single novels=== {{div col|colwidth=15em}} * ''The Icicle Heart'' (1979)<ref name=obit/> * ''Hostage to Dishonour'' (1979) * ''Hostile Engagement'' (1979) * ''Spring Girl'' (1979) * ''Pride's Master'' (1979) * ''Intimate Friends'' (1979) * ''The Other Woman'' (1980) * ''Turbulent Covenant'' (1980) * ''Magic of His Kiss'' (1980) * ''Price to be Met'' (1980) * ''Devil in Disguise'' (1980) * ''Innocent Abroad'' (1981) * ''Bachelor's Wife'' (1981) * ''Gallant Antagonist'' (1981) * ''Other Brother'' (1981) * ''But Know Not Why'' (1982) * ''Dishonest Woman'' (1982) * ''Distrust Her Shadow'' (1982) * ''No Quiet Refuge'' (1983) * ''Reluctant Relative'' (1983) * ''Tethered Liberty'' (1983) * ''Intimate Enemies'' (1983) * ''Tomorrow - Come Soon'' (1983) * ''Bond of Vengeance'' (1984) * ''Ruthless in all'' (1984) * ''Imprudent Challenge'' (1984) * ''Facade'' (1984) * ''No Holds Barred'' (1984) * ''No Honourable Compromise'' (1985) * ''Promise to Dishonour'' (1985) * ''So Near, So Far'' (1986) * ''Misleading Encounter'' (1986) * ''Beyond Her Control'' (1986) * ''Relative Strangers'' (1987) * ''Unfriendly Alliance'' (1987) * ''Fortunes of Love'' (1988) * ''Without Love'' (1988) * ''When the Loving Stopped'' (1988) * ''To Stay Forever'' (1989) * ''Farewell to Love'' (1989) * ''Frozen Enchantment'' (1989) * ''Unfriendly Proposition'' (1989) * ''Passport to Happiness'' (1990) * ''Hidden Heart'' (1990) * ''A First Time for Everything'' (1990) * ''Bad Neighbours'' (1991) * ''Without Knowing Why'' (1991) * ''Flight of Discovery'' (1991) * ''Runaway from Love'' (1991) * ''His Woman'' (1991) * ''Destined to Meet'' (1992) * ''Hungarian Rhapsody'' (1992) * ''Italian Invader'' (1993) * ''Relative Values'' (1993) * ''West of Bohemia'' (1993) * ''Heartless Pursuit'' (1995) * ''With His Ring'' (1996) * ''A Business Engagement'' (1997) * ''The Trouble with Trent!'' (1997) * ''Temporary Girlfriend'' (1997) * ''A Most Eligible Bachelor'' (1998) * ''Nine-to-five Affair'' (1999) * ''After Hours'' (1999) * ''The Bachelor's Bargain'' (1999) * ''A Suitable Husband'' (2001) * ''His Pretend Mistress'' (2002) * ''An Accidental Engagement'' (2003) * ''A Pretend Engagement'' (2004) * ''A Most Suitable Wife'' (2005) * ''Promise Of A Family'' (2006) * ''The Boss and His Secretary'' (2007) * ''Engaged to Be Married?'' (2008) * ''Her Hand In Marriage'' (2008) * ''Falling for Her Convenient Husband'' (2009) * ''The Girl from Honeysuckle Farm'' (2009)<ref name=obit/> {{div col end}}

===Fereday Twins Series=== # ''The Sister Secret'' (1995) # ''A Wife in Waiting'' (1996)

===The Marriage Pledge Series=== # ''The Feisty Fiance'' (2000) # ''Bachelor in Need'' (2000) # ''Marriage in Mind'' (2000)

===Kids & Kisses Series Multi-Author=== * ''Bachelor's Family'' (1995)

===Today's Woman Series Multi-Author=== * ''The Marriage Business'' (1995)

===Family Ties Series Multi-Author=== * ''The Sister Secret'' (1995)

===Holding Out for a Hero Multi-Author=== * ''Unexpected Engagement'' (1996)

===Whirlwind Weddings Multi-Author=== * ''Married in a Moment'' (1998)

===Marrying The Boss Series Multi-Author=== * ''Agenda, Attraction!'' (1998)

===White Weddings Series Multi-Author=== * ''A Wedding Worth Waiting for'' (1999)

===To Have and To Hold Series Multi-Author=== * ''Part-Time Marriage'' (2001)

===Nine to Five Series Multi-Author=== * ''A Professional Marriage'' (2002) * ''Her Boss's Marriage Agenda'' (2004)

===High Society Brides Multi-Author=== * ''A Paper Marriage'' (2003)

===Contract Brides Series Multi-Author=== * ''Vacancy: Wife of Convenience'' (2005)

===Collections=== * ''9 to 5'' (1998) * ''Misleading Encounter / Fortunes of Love'' (2004) * ''Feisty Fiancee / Bachelor in Need'' (2005)

===Omnibus In Collaboration=== * ''The Jasmine Bride / Sweet Promise / Turbulent Covenant'' (1987) (with Daphne Clair and Janet Dailey) * ''Island of Escape / Stormy Affair / Hostile Engagement'' (1987) (with Dorothy Cork and Margaret Mayo) * ''Trodden Paths / Voyage of the Mistral / Innocent Abroad'' (1989) (with Jacqueline Gilbert and Madeleine Ker) * ''Contract Husbands'' (2003) (with Helen Brooks and Catherine George) * ''Marrying the Boss'' (2003) (with Helen Brooks and Alison Roberts) * ''White Wedding'' (2004) (with Judy Christenberry and Margaret Way) * ''A Christmas To Remember'' (2004) (with Debbie Macomber and Betty Neels) * ''All I Want for Christmas...'' (2005) (with Betty Neels and Margaret Way) * ''After Office Hours...'' (2006) (with Helen Brooks and Lee Wilkinson) * ''Bedded by Her Boss'' (2007) (with Amanda Browning and Sharon Kendrick) * ''Mistress by Persuasion'' (2008) (with Robyn Donald and Lee Wilkinson) * ''The Boss's Proposal'' (2008) (with Patricia Thayer and Margaret Way)

==References== {{reflist}}

===Further reading=== *https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/mar/21/mills-and-boon-art-portrait *https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=164512124&lang=ru&site=eds-live&scope=site

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100131023135/http://eharlequin.com/author.html?authorid=256 Jessica Steele's Webpage in Harlequin Enterprises Ltd] * [http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/jessica-steele/ Jessica Steele's Webpage in Fantastic Fiction's Website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Jessica}} Category:1933 births Category:2020 deaths Category:English romantic fiction writers Category:English women novelists Category:English women romantic fiction writers