History Trivia / VCAndrews

!! V. C. Andrews herself

* MissingEpisode: Andrews wrote several books in her lifetime that were never published. These included the 800-page long ''The Obsessed'' (mistakenly believed to be the original transcript for ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' for years before it was cleared up by Andrews' editor), a 900-hundred page medieval romance called ''Castles of the Damned'', and a story titled ''All the Gallant Snowflakes''. Allegedly, the manuscripts were shelved because they deviated from the 'Children in Distress' type stories that made Andrews famous. Of the stuff that ''was'' published in her lifetime, the short story "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin I Slept With My Uncle On My Wedding Night]]" was only published in a pulp magazine, and Andrews never revealed the magazine's name for fear that her family might read it.

** ''Gods of Green Mountain'', which was actually Andrews' first novel, was planned to be published in the 1980s as a trilogy. Andrews' death put an end to those plans and the book was published in its full form in eBook format in 2003, when Andrews had been dead for almost 20 years.

!! The Ghostwriter
* CashCowFranchise: Despite the original V. C. Andrews having died in 1986, romance novels written under her name have continued to be published on roughly a yearly basis since then.
* ExecutiveMeddling: The reason why recent books are either short series of two-three books, or simply stand-alone novels; the ghost writer said that the publishers didn't want them because later books in the traditional family saga format didn't sell well (particularly prequels).
* FollowTheLeader: The ''Kindred'' series (consisting of ''Daughter of Darkness'' and ''Daughter of Light'') and the one-off ''Into the Darkness'' were seen as pretty blatant attempts to ride the post-''{{Literature/Twilight}}'' paranormal romance wave by readers.
* FranchiseZombie: She only wrote 8 books during her life, but a ghostwriter has written over 60 since under her name. To some, the quality of the books declines sharply after the Casteel series, which was the last to be written by Andrews herself.
* InspiredBy: Two of Andrews' paintings served as inspiration for two ghostwritten short stories, ''Cage of Love'' and ''The Little Psychic''.
* IntimidatingRevenueService: A rare ''posthumous'' example. One of the mysteries surrounding Andrews' death was exactly when the ghostwriter took over, as Andrews' publisher gave out varying stories. At first they stated that the ghostwriter had "completed" the contracted novels left incomplete at the time of her death. Then the official word was that the ghostwriter was writing works based on Andrews' notes. With the ghostwriter under a complicated non-disclosure agreement, it seemed that his true contribution to the franchise would never be known...until eight years later, when the IRS stepped in to claim that the now-trademarked name "V.C. Andrews™" was a taxable asset. The ghostwriter's contributions became a matter of public record. In the end it was revealed that the Andrews estate had never given the publisher or ghostwriter access to any manuscripts left incomplete at the time of Andrews' death, nor was he given any notes. Furthermore, the estate had forbidden the ghostwriter to create new works from existing characters after the final contracted series (Literature/TheCasteelSeries) was completed.[[note]]Twenty-five years later, after the death of Andrews' last living relative, rights reverted to the publishers and works based on ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' and ''Literature/MySweetAudrina'' began to appear[[/note]]. The IRS won its back taxes, and the publisher quietly dropped the pretense that any later books were the product of V.C. Andrews.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The two short ebook stories, ''Cage of Love'' and ''The Little Psychic'', were only available for a short time before the publisher took them out circulation. Unlike the ''[[Literature/HudsonSeries Hudson]]'' prequel novella ''Gathering Clouds'' they're pretty easy to find.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen
** ''Cage of Love'' and ''The Little Psychic'' were to be the start of a new series of short stories published as eBooks. For some reason, those plans were scrapped.
** The ''Secrets'' series: ''Nest of Orphans'' became ''Secrets in the Attic''. Its sequel, ''Attic Whispers'', became ''Secrets in the Shadow''.
** ''Sage's Eyes'' had its title changed to avoid controversy of its original title's use of the slur 'Gypsy'.

* PosthumousCredit: ''Film/FlowersInTheAttic1987'' was released about a year after Andrews' death (she helped out in pre-production, but died during production).

* OlderThanTheyLook: Throughout her life, Andrews amazed people by appearing significantly younger than her true age, to the point that, somewhere in her thirties, she began knocking ten years off her age, a deception that went unquestioned for decades until ''People'' magazine published her real age (which they obtained via public records) rather than the age she gave them. Andrews was so incensed that she avoided interviews thereafter. Curiously, Andrews complained in a letter to a relative that the magazine had gotten her age wrong even though the relative knew her real birth year, implying that Andrews herself might have come to believe her own story. Her real birth year is carved on her tombstone, posthumously vindicating ''People.''

* HeAlsoDid: Andrews worked as a commercial artist and painter before going into writing, as seen [[http://www.completevca.com/bio_art.shtml here]].

* InspirationallyDisabled: ''Andrews herself.'' As a teenager, Andrews suffered a fall down a flight of school stairs. The subsequent surgeries left her with crippling arthritis and a permanently fused spine. Gradually she was rendered unable to bend at the waist, forcing her to either stand or lie down for the rest of her life while using crutches or a specialized standing wheelchair for mobility. All of her novels were written with Andrews standing at a typewriter while strapped to a rolling handcart similar to what one might use to move a refrigerator. No matter what one might think of the quality of her writing, you can't say the woman didn't suffer for her art. In addition to this, Andrews took correspondence courses in commercial art after her injuries forced her to leave high school. Her painting supported her entire family after the death of her father.

* MiddleNameBasis: Andrews's first name was Cleo, but throughout her life (personally as well as professionally), she preferred her middle name of Virginia. Even when she was OnlyKnownByInitials, the initials were reversed to imply Virginia was really her first name.

* NamesTheSame: In a particularly {{JustForFun/egregious}} example, we have Jordan March of the ''Early Spring'' series, and Jordan March of the ''March Family'' series. No, they are not the same character.

* ReclusiveArtist: Andrews shied away from interviews after ''People'' magazine published an interview in the early 1980s, which she hated for being both dishonest and unflattering.

** According to a family member, Andrews got the inspiration for ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' from a doctor of hers that she had a crush on, who supposedly (along with his siblings) was locked up in an attic for several years.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Throughout her life, Andrews amazed people by appearing significantly younger than her true age, to the point that, somewhere in her thirties, she began knocking ten years off her age, a deception that went unquestioned for decades until a magazine published her real age (which they obtained public records) rather than the age she gave them. Andrews was so incensed that she avoided interviews thereafter. Curiously, Andrews complained in a letter to a relative that the magazine had gotten her age wrong even though the relative knew her real birth year, implying that Andrews herself might have come to believe her own story.

* ReclusiveArtist: Andrews shied away from interviews after People Magazine published an interview in the early 1980s, which she hated for being both dishonest and unflattering.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: According to a family member, Andrews got the inspiration for ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' from a doctor of her's that she had a crush on, who supposedly (along with his siblings) was locked up in an attic for several years.

* MiddleNameBasis: Andrews's first name was Cleo, but throughout her life (personally as well as professionally), she preferred her middle name of Virginia. Even when she was KnownOnlyByInitials, the initials were reversed to imply Virginia was really her first name.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: ''Gods of Green Mountain'', which was actually Andrews' first novel, was planned to be published in the 1980s as a trilogy. Andrews' death put an end to those plans and the book was published in its full form in eBook format in 2003, when Andrews had been dead for almost 20 years.

* IntimidatingRevenueService: A rare ''posthumous'' example. One of the mysteries surrounding Andrews' death was exactly when the ghostwriter took over, as Andrews' publisher gave out varying stories. At first they stated that the ghostwriter had "completed" the contracted novels left incomplete at the time of her death. Then the official word was that the ghostwriter was writing works based on Andrews' notes. With the ghostwriter under a complicated non-disclosure agreement, it seemed that his true contribution to the franchise would never be known...until eight years later, when the IRS stepped in to claim that the now-trademarked name "V.C. Andrews™" was a taxable asset. The ghostwriter's contributions became a matter of public record. In the end it was revealed that the Andrews estate had never given the publisher or ghostwriter access to any manuscripts left incomplete at the time of Andrews' death, nor was he given any notes. Furthermore, the estate had forbidden the ghostwriter to create new works from existing characters after the final contracted series (Literature/TheCasteelSeries) was completed.[[note]]Twenty-five years later, after the death of Andrews' last living relative, rights reverted to the publishers and works based on ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' and ''Literature/MySweetAudrina'' began to appear[[/note]]. The IRS won its back taxes, and the publisher quietly dropped the pretense that any later books were "inspired by" V.C. Andrews.

** The ''Secrets'' series: ''Nest of Orphans'' became ''Secrets in the Attic''. It's sequel, ''Attic Whispers'', became ''Secrets in the Shadow''.

* CashCowFranchise: Despite the original V. C. Andrews having died in 1986, romance novels written under her name have continued to be published on roughly a yearly basis since then.
* ExecutiveMeddling: The reason why recent books are either short series of two-three books, or simply stand-alone novels; the ghost writer said that the publishers didn't want them because later books in the traditional family saga format didn't sell well (particularly prequels).
* FollowTheLeader: The ''Kindred'' series (consisting of ''Daughter of Darkness'' and ''Daughter of Light'') and the one-off ''Into the Darkness'' were seen as pretty blatant attempts to ride the post-''{{Literature/Twilight}}'' paranormal romance wave by readers.
* FranchiseZombie: She only wrote 8 books during her life, but a ghostwriter has written over 60 since under her name. To some, the quality of the books declines sharply after the Casteel series, which was the last to be written by Andrews herself.

* InspiredBy: Two of Andrews' paintings served as inspiration for two ghostwritten short stories, ''Cage of Love'' and ''The Little Psychic''.
* IntimidatingRevenueService: A rare ''posthumous'' example. One of the mysteries surrounding Andrews' death was exactly when the ghostwriter took over, as Andrews' publisher gave out varying stories. At first they stated that the ghostwriter had "completed" the contracted novels left incomplete at the time of her death. Then the official word was that the ghostwriter was writing works based on Andrews' notes. With the ghostwriter under a complicated non-disclosure agreement, it seemed that his true contribution to the franchise would never be known...until eight years later, when the IRS stepped in to claim that the now-trademarked name "V.C. Andrews™" was a taxable asset. The ghostwriter's contributions became a matter of public record. In the end it was revealed that the Andrews estate had never given the publisher or ghostwriter access to any manuscripts left incomplete at the time of Andrews' death, nor was he given any notes. Furthermore, the estate had forbidden the ghostwriter to create new works from existing characters after the final contracted series (Literature/TheCasteelSeries) was completed.[[note]]Twenty-five years later, after the death of Andrews' last living relative, rights reverted to the publishers and works based on ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' and ''Literature/MySweetAudrina'' began to appear[[/note]]. The IRS won its back taxes, and the publisher quietly dropped the pretense that any later books were "inspired by" V.C. Andrews.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The two short ebook stories, ''Cage of Love'' and ''The Little Psychic'', were only available for a short time before the publisher took them out circulation. Unlike the ''[[Literature/HudsonSeries Hudson]]'' prequel novella ''Gathering Clouds'' they're pretty easy to find.

* NamesTheSame: In a particularly {{JustForFun/egregious}} example, we have Jordan March of the ''Early Spring'' series, and Jordan March of the ''March Family'' series. No, they are not the same character.

* IntimidatingRevenueService: A rare ''posthumous'' example. One of the mysteries surrounding Andrews' death was exactly when the ghostwriter took over, as Andrews' publisher gave out varying stories. At first they stated that the ghostwriter had "completed" the contracted novels left incomplete at the time of her death. Then the official word was that the ghostwriter was writing works based on Andrews' notes. With the ghostwriter under a complicated non-disclosure agreement, it seemed that his true contribution to the franchise would never be known...until eight years later, when the IRS stepped in to claim that the now-trademarked name "V.C. Andrews™" was a taxable asset. The ghostwriter's contributions became a matter of public record. In the end it was revealed that the Andrews estate had never given the publisher or ghostwriter access to any manuscripts left incomplete at the time of Andrews' death, nor was he given any notes. Furthermore, the estate had forbidden the ghostwriter to create new works from existing characters after the final contracted series (Literature/TheCasteelSeries) was completed.[[Note: Twenty-five years later, after the death of Andrews' last living relative, rights reverted to the publishers and works based on ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' and ''Literature/MySweetAudrina'' began to appear[[/note]]. The IRS won its back taxes, and the publisher quietly dropped the pretense that any later books were "inspired by" V.C. Andrews.

* IntimidatingRevenueService: A rare ''posthumous'' example. One of the mysteries surrounding Andrews' death was exactly when the ghostwriter took over, as Andrews' publisher gave out varying stories. At first they stated that the ghostwriter had "completed" the contracted novels left incomplete at the time of her death. Then the official word was that the ghostwriter was writing works based on Andrews' notes. With the ghostwriter under a complicated non-disclosure agreement, it seemed that his true contribution to the franchise would never be known...until eight years later, when the IRS stepped in to claim that the now-trademarked name "V.C. Andrews™" was a taxable asset. The ghostwriter's contributions became a matter of public record. In the end it was revealed that the Andrews estate had never given the publisher or ghostwriter access to any manuscripts left incomplete at the time of Andrews' death, nor was he given any notes. Furthermore, the estate had forbidden the ghostwriter to create new works from existing characters after the final contracted series (Literature/TheCasteelSeries) was completed (twenty-five years later, the estate relented and allowed works based on ''Literature/FlowersInTheAttic'' and ''Literature/MySweetAudrina'' to be published). The IRS won its back taxes, and the publisher quietly dropped the pretense that any later books were "inspired by" V.C. Andrews.

* [[HeAlsoDid She Also Did]]: Andrews worked as a commercial artist and painter before going into writing, as seen [[http://www.completevca.com/bio_art.shtml here]].
* InspirationallyDisabled: ''Andrews herself.'' As a teenager, Andrews suffered a fall down a flight of school stairs. The subsequent surgeries left her with crippling arthritis and a permanently fused spine. Gradually she was rendered unable to bend at the waist, forcing her to either stand or lie down for the rest of her life while using crutches or a specialized standing wheelchair for mobility. All of her novels were written with Andrews standing at a typewriter while strapped to a rolling handcart similar to what one might use to move a refrigerator. No matter what one might think of the quality of her writing, you can't say the woman didn't suffer for her art.
** In addition to this, Andrews took correspondence courses in commercial art after her injuries forced her to leave high school. Her painting supported her entire family after the death of her father.

* FranchiseZombie: She only wrote 8 books during her life, but a ghostwriter has written over 60 since under her name. To some, the quality of the books declines sharply after the Casteel series, which was the last to be written by Andrews herself. Other readers believe that the books didn't really JumpTheShark (as the Landry series came after the Casteel series but is still one of the most popular series) until after the Logan series.

** The ''Secrets'' series: ''Nest of Orphans'' became ''Secrets in the Attic''. It's sequel, ''Attic Whispers'', became ''Secrets in the Shadow''.