History Creator / VCAndrews

* ReclusiveArtist: She shunned the spotlight, and there's a lot that's still not certain about her life. There are only a handful of surviving photos of her as an adult. She only gave a small number of interviews, and many news outlets had to guess at what her age was when she died, reporting her to be in her 40s or 50s rather than the actual 63. Some of this was due to her physical condition: she spent most of her adult life in a wheelchair, due to a combination of a painful bone spur and chronic rheumatoid arthritis.

* ReclusiveArtist: She shunned the spotlight, and there's a lot that's still not certain about her life. There are only a handful of surviving photos of her as an adult. She only gave two known interviews, and many news outlets had to guess at what her age was when she died, reporting her to be in her 40s or 50s rather than the actual 63. Some of this was due to her physical condition: she had chronic rheumatoid arthritis and spent most of her adult life in a wheelchair.

* ReclusiveArtist: She shunned the spotlight, and there's a lot that's still not certain about her life, including only a handful of surviving photos of her. She only gave two known interviews, and many news outlets had to guess at what her age was when she died, reporting her to be in her 40s or 50s rather than the actual 63. Some of this was due to her physical condition: she had chronic rheumatoid arthritis and spent most of her adult life in a wheelchair.

* DysfunctionJunction

* ReclusiveArtist: She shunned the spotlight, and there's a lot that's still not certain about her life, including only a handful of surviving photos of her. She only gave two known interviews, and many news outlets had to guess at what her age was when she died, reporting her to be in her 40s or 50s rather than actual 63. Some of this was due to her physical condition: she had chronic debilitating arthritis and reportedly spent most of her adult life in a wheelchair.

* ReclusiveArtist: She shunned the spotlight, and there's a lot that's still not known about her. She only gave two known interviews in her lifetime, and many news outlets weren't even certain of her age when she died, reporting her to be in her 40s or 50s rather than actual 63. Some of this was due to her physical condition: she had chronic debilitating arthritis and reportedly spent most of her adult life in a wheelchair.

* GenreBusting: Andrews' work is hard to classify because it skirts the edges of a bunch of genres but doesn't fit into them. In [[https://culture.org/dark-family-2/ this piece]], writer Sara Gran argues that Andrews was a genre unto herself.

* IncestIsRelative: In the Dollanganger and Casteel series, although not in ''My Sweet Audrina''.

She has since become perhaps equally notorious for the manner in which her work has OutlivedItsCreator. The real Virginia Andrews published only seven books in her lifetime. After her death, however, a ghostwriter (Andrew Neiderman) quietly took over at her publishers' behest, and has continued to churn out novels under the Andrews pen-name for decades ever since. Quite where the lines are drawn between any genuine unfinished manuscripts he may have completed, works "inspired by" her ideas but otherwise his own, and works entirely plucked from his imagination, remains officially unacknowledged. More than ''seventy'' books by him have appeared under the brand, though -- over ten times more than the original author ever managed, and unabating even as the centenary of her birth approaches. It is widely agreed by V.C. Andrews fans that OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight, and there is a particular disdain for Neiderman.

The original books she ''actually wrote'' are something of a CultClassic.

* DysfunctionJunction:

* ReadingIsCoolAesop: It's not merely that Cathy and Heaven both ''love'' reading, but more specifically, that they both use the escapism of stories as a way to cope. Virginia was a [[MostWritersAreWriters writer and book lover]], after all.

* ThemeNaming: The book collections have names with a noticeable theme: The Literature/DollangangerSeries has floral names ("Flowers", "Petals", "Thorns," "Seeds," "Garden") while Literature/TheCasteelSeries uses angelic themes ("Heaven", "Angel," "Fallen," "Paradise"). The ghostwritten works continue this naming convention (the Literature/LandrySeries, for example, is jewel-themed: "Ruby", "Pearl", "Gold", etc).

* IncestIsRelative: She is most famous for her works featuring incest.

* MoustacheDePlume: The reason she was OnlyKnownByInitials. She said in a 1985 interview:
-->'''Virginia:''' The publisher sent me a copy of the galley ''of Flowers in the Attic'', and it read "Virginia Andrews." Then, when they sent me the cover, it said, "V.C. Andrews." So I immediately called up and complained. And they said, "It was a big mistake by the printers, and we can't change it--we've already printed a million copies of the cover and it's too expensive to throw them away." Then later, I learned the truth. It was an editorial decision. Men don't like to read women writers, and they wanted men to read the book. They wanted to prove to men that women could write differently--that we don't write only about ribbons and frills and kisses and hugs, that we can really write something strong.

* DomesticAbuse: Another thing she is famous for. While her plots may be soap-opera like, her depictions of abuse--and even more, people's ''reactions'' to said abuse--are chilling realistic.
** TroubledAbuser: There is often a cycle of abuse in place, and many of the abusers are victims themselves.

* MissingEpisode: She had one short story published in her lifetime: "I Slept With My Uncle on My Wedding Night." It was in a pulp confessions magazine, but she neglected to tell people ''what'' magazine, and nobody's been able to find it.

* ''Literature/MySweetAudrina'' squeal ''Literature/{{Whitefern}}'' (2016)

[[folder: Ghostwritter tropes]]

* ShockParty: There's a party, everyone is gathered to celebrate, and then disaster strikes. Maybe the person who's birthday it is never arrives to the party. Maybe the guests don't arrive. Maybe someone makes a scene. But almost every party in her books goes awry in one way or another.

** Outside of the US, V.C. Andrews was originally published as "Virginia Andrews." Ironically, since her cult status has risen after her death, some of these foreign editions have changed the name to her more familiar (in the US) initials.

* DysfunctionJunction
* EarnYourHappyEnding

* ThemeNaming: The book collections have names with a noticeable theme--[[Literature/DollangangerSeries "Flowers", "Petals", "Garden"]] (floral), [[Literature/TheCasteelSeries "Heaven", "Angel"]] (religious).

-->-- V. C. Andrews' editor '''Ann Patty'''

Cleo Virginia Andrews, better known as V. C. Andrews (June 6, 1923 – December 19, 1986), was an American author best known for ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic,'' a novel infamous for its portrayal of BrotherSisterIncest. She wrote several sequels and produced other novels up until her death in 1986.

[[OutlivedItsCreator After her death,]] ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman continued to turn out novels under the same pen-name, and is still doing so at the rate of roughly one a year. It is widely agreed by V. C. Andrews fans that OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight, and there is a particular disdain for Neiderman.

** Outside of the US, V.C. Andrews was originally published as "Virginia Andrews." Ironically, since her cult status has risen after her death, some of these foreign editions have changes the name to her more familiar initials.

* EarnYourHappyEnding

* GothicHorror

** TheChainOfHarm: There is often a cycle of abuse in place, and many of the abusers are victims themselves.

* MoustacheDePlume: She reason she was OnlyKnownByInitials. She said in a 1985 interview:

* ABirthdayNotABreak: There is a VCA-specific trope that's a combination of this with an {{Inver|tedTrope}}sion of IronicBirthday: It's someone's birthday, and everyone is gathered to celebrate, but then disaster strikes and the person who's birthday it is never arrives to the party.