Anne Weale was the principal pen name of Jay Blakeney (20 June 1929 – 24 October 2007), a prolific British romance novelist and journalist. She also wrote four novels under the pseudonym Andrea Blake.
Before becoming a full-time novelist, Blakeney worked as a newspaper reporter for several British newspapers. Her journalism helped shape her clear, fast-paced writing style. An avid traveler, she set many of her romances in Mediterranean and exotic international locations, giving her books a distinctive sense of place. She spent winters in Spain and summers on Guernsey.
Her writing career spanned nearly 50 years (1955–2002), during which she published more than 88 romance novels, primarily for Mills & Boon and Harlequin. In addition to category romances, she wrote several longer historical and family saga novels, particularly the acclaimed Longwarden Saga.
Late in life she wrote a book review column, Bookworm on the Net, for The Bookseller magazine and maintained a literary blog. At the time of her death she was working on an autobiography entitled 88 Heroes…1 Mr. Right
Books as Anne Weale:
Stand-alone novels
Winter Is Past (1955)
The Lonely Shore (1956)
The House of Seven Fountains (1957)
Never to Love (1958)
Sweet to Remember (1958)
Castle in Corsica (1959)
Hope for Tomorrow (1959)
A Call for Nurse Templar (1960)
Until We Met (1961)
The Doctor’s Daughters (1962)
The House on Flamingo Cay (1962)
If This Is Love (1963)
The Silver Dolphin (1963)
All I Ask (1964)
Islands of Summer (1964)
Three Weeks in Eden (Doctor in Malaya) (1964)
Girl About Town (1965)
The Feast of Sara (1965)
Terrace in the Sun (1966)
The Sea Waif (1967)
South from Sounion (1968)
The Man in Command (1968)
Sullivan’s Reef (1970)
Summer Lightning (1971)
A Treasure for Life (1972)
The Fields of Heaven (1973)
Lord of the Sierras (1974)
The Sun in Splendour (1975)
Bid Time Return (1977)
Stowaway (1978)
Now or Never (1978)
The River Room (1978)
Separate Bedrooms (1979)
The Girl from the Sea (1979)
The First Officer (1980)
A Touch of the Devil (1980)
The Last Night at Paradise (1980)
Bed of Roses (1981)
Rain of Diamonds (1981)
Blue Days at Sea (1981)
Passage to Paxos (1981)
Antigua Kiss (1982)
Wedding of the Year (1982)
All That Heaven Allows (1983)
Yesterday’s Island (1983)
Ecstasy (1983)
Summer’s Awakening (1984)
Frangipani (1985)
Night Train (1987)
Lost Lagoon (1987)
Neptune’s Daughter (1987)
Catalan Christmas (1988)
Do You Remember Babylon? (1989)
Sea Fever (1990)
Pink Champagne (1991)
The Singing Tree (1992)
Footprints in the Sand (1992)
The Fabergé Cat (1993)
Turkish Delights (1993)
Seascape (1995)
Never Go Back (1995)
A Night to Remember (1996)
Sophie’s Secret (1996)
A Marriage Has Been Arranged (1997)
The Youngest Sister (1997)
The Impatient Virgin (1998)
The Bartered Bride (1998)
Sleepless Nights (1999)
Desert Honeymoon (1999)
Worthy of Marriage (2000)
Sea Change (2002)
Castle Series
Portrait of Bethany (1982)
Girl in a Golden Bed (1986)
Longwarden Saga
Flora (1983)
All My Worldly Goods (1987)
Time and Chance (1989)
Valdecarrasca Series
A Spanish Honeymoon (2002)
The Man from Madrid (2002)
Multi-author Series
Thai Silk (1990)
Tequila Sunrise (1994)
Collections
3 Great Novels (1976)
The Best of Anne Weale (1984/1985)
The Anne Weale Collection (1987)
As Andrea Blake
September in Paris (1961)
Whisper of Doubt (1962)
Now and Always (1964)
The Night of the Hurricane (1965)
Collectible Books Values
Common Mills & Boon paperbacks – $2–10
Excellent unread copies – $10–20
First editions of popular titles – $15–35
Signed copies – $40–100+
Library editions in fine condition – $20–50
Most Collectible Titles
Flora (1983)
All My Worldly Goods (1987)
Time and Chance (1989)
Frangipani (1985)
The Singing Tree (1992)
Sea Change (2002)
UK first editions from Century or Mills & Boon are more desirable than later reprints.
Hardcover editions are significantly scarcer than paperbacks.
Complete sets of the “Longwarden Saga” are increasingly collected.