Anne Hampson

Anne Hampson (1928-2014) was a British romance novelist who wrote well over 125 novels for Mills & Boon, Harlequin and Silhouette between 1969 and 1998. She was born in England on 28 November 1928 and died on 25 September 2014.

She left school at 14 to sew blouses for Marks & Spencer, and after her marriage ended she went back to garment work before winning a place on a Manchester University scheme for older women and becoming a teacher. Her first novel, Eternal Summer, was accepted by Mills & Boon in 1969. She was a launch author for the Harlequin Presents line in 1973, and, according to the Romance Wiki and Open Library, came up with its name with Alan Boon. Her novel Payment in Full was the first title in Silhouette Romance, launched in May 1980. The Romance Wiki credits her with 44 Harlequin Presents titles, 30 Harlequin Romances and 28 Silhouette Romances. As Jane Wilby she wrote the historical romance Eleanor and the Marquis. After retiring in 1998 she published two romance and crime novels with Severn House in 2005.

For collectors

Landmark titles for a collection are Eternal Summer (1969), her first novel, her first Harlequin Presents titles of 1973, and Payment in Full (1980), the first Silhouette Romance.