Johanna Helen Lindsey (née Howard, March 10, 1952 – October 27, 2019) was an American writer of historical romance novels. All of her books reached the New York Times bestseller list, many reaching No. 1.

Personal life

Johanna Helen Howard was born on March 10, 1952, in Frankfurt, West Germany. Her mother was Wanda Donaldson Howard, a personnel management specialist. Her father was Edwin Dennis Howard, a soldier in the U.S. Army, stationed in West Germany, where she was born. The Howard family moved about a great deal when she was young due to her father's military career. Her father always dreamed of retiring to Hawaii, but he died in 1964. That year, her family moved to Hawaii, likely to honor his wish. In 1970, when she was still in school, she married Ralph Bruce Lindsey, becoming a young housewife. The marriage continued, the couple residing in Hawaii and producing three children; Alfred, Joseph and Garret, who have made her a grandmother. After her husband's death, Lindsey moved to Maine and did not remarry.

Writing career

Lindsey wrote her first book, Captive Bride, in 1977 "on a whim". The book was a success, as have been the forty-nine novels that followed. As of 2006 more than fifty-eight million copies of her books had been sold worldwide, and her work has been translated into twelve languages.

Style

Owing to their diversity of settings Lindsey's work covers a number of romance subgenres, including historical fiction (medieval, Regency, American frontier, and Viking eras) and science fiction. Her most popular books are a series of Regency sagas about the fictional Malory family (see Family Tree). Richard Sandomir of The New York Times explained,"Lindsey set her passionate tales in many locales, including the Caribbean; the Barbary Coast; England as early as the year 873; Norway, when the Vikings ruled; 19th-century Texas, Wyoming and Montana; and the planet Kystran, in a series of science-fiction bodice-rippers."

By Reading Order

Viking Haardrad Family Saga Series

Southern Series

Deep space/ Ly-san-ter Family Saga

Wyoming westerns series

Malory-Anderson Family Saga Series

Straton Family Saga Series

Medieval (Shefford's Knights) Series

Cardinia's Royal Family

Sherring Cross Series

Locke Family Series

Montana Series

Single novels

By Setting

Middle Ages

Medieval Vikings

Medieval England

Early Modern Times

Arabian Dunes Caribbean

Modern Times

Regency England

Regency England & Scotland

Eastern Europe

America in 19th century

Paranormal Fantasy

Deep space/ Ly-san-ter Family Saga Time Travel

Legacy

The covers of Lindsey's novels have been parodied, fitting in as they do with a trend in romance publishing to use gaudy painted designs that feature a muscular male model with his chest exposed, towering above or otherwise dominating floridly dressed women. In December 2019, her son Alfred announced that Lindsey died on October 27, 2019, at the age of 67. The cause of death was Stage 4 lung cancer. Italian model Fabio was often featured on the cover of Lindsey's work. In 1987, Fabio first appeared on Lindsey's novel Hearts Aflame, painted by Elaine Duillo. This has been credited with launching Fabio's career as a male model. By 1992, over 55,000,000 romance novels featuring Fabio were sold. Fabio expressed his condolences in 2019 upon hearing of Lindsey's death:"I loved being featured on her covers. To this day, Man of My Dreams is still one of my all time favorites. Rest in peace, Johanna. Thank you for sharing your gift. You will be missed."