Summary
New York Times bestselling author and literary phenomenon V.C. Andrews ( Flowers in the Attic , My Sweet Audrina ) presents the second book in the gothic saga of romance, class divisions, and the family secrets that began with House of Secrets .
Fern and her mother have lived as servants in Wyndemere House, the old gothic mansion of the Davenport family, for as long as she can remember. And her friendship with Dr. Davenport's son Ryder was never a problem...until they came of age.
As cruel forces try to come between Fern and Ryder, what really holds the biggest threat to their happiness is the past, and the truths it threatens them with.
For family intrigue and psychological chills, there is no author quite like V.C. Andrews.
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)