- The Observer,
- Sunday October 8 2006
Jacqueline Susann
Died in 1974, aged 54
Who: Tried and failed as a model, an actor, a singer and a playwright before finally writing one of the best-selling novels of all time.
Best known romp: Valley of the Dolls. A scandalous account of three women trying to make it in the world of show business while getting sidetracked by drugs and cads.
Success: Released in 1966 it was one of the first of its kind, selling more than 30 million copies, and obvious inspiration for Jackie Collins (see below).
Last word: 'Way back then they didn't think Shakespeare was a good writer. He was the soap opera king of his day.'
Danielle Steel
Age: 59
Who: The queen of gold-embossed front covers.
Best known romp: Jewels, a story of epic proportions spanning five decades, is full of passion and international intrigue.
Success: Steel has a staggering 70-plus novels under her belt, so it's not a huge surprise that more than 500 million of them have been sold worldwide. Steel banks around $25million every year.
Last word: Her stories are the kind that the Channel Five afternoon movie schedulers dream about.
Jilly Cooper
Age: 69
Who: Our home-grown alternative to Ms Steel, with less saccharine.
Best-known romp: Has to be her 1986 classic, Riders. Full of skulduggery, romance and sexual adventure.
Success: All six of the Rutshire Chronicles, of which Riders is the first, have sold well over a million copies each in the UK, earning our Jilly an OBE.
Last word: 'A lot of people read them with different jackets. I slightly mind.'
Harold Robbins
Died in 1997, aged 81
Who: American author who used the classic combo of sex, money and power to produce bestsellers.
Best known romp: The Carpetbaggers. Released in 1961 it was said to be not so loosely based on film producer Howard Hughes' life.
Success: Robbins' 20 books have been translated into 32 languages and sold over 50 million copies.
Last word: Not for the prudish: Robbins' books cover page-turning titillations ranging from nymphomania to sadomasochism.
Jackie Collins
Age: 65
Who: Baby sister of Joan.
Best known romp: Hollywood Husbands, if only for the fact that we all tried to work out who their real-life counterparts were.
Success: Giving Ms Steel a run for her money, Jackie's books have sold over 400 million copies.
Last word: 'I write about real people in disguise. If anything, my characters are toned down - the truth is more bizarre.'
