Author:
Ethel Boileau [Lady Ethel Mary Boileau, née Young] (c.1881-1942), English novelist [Ayn Rand]
Publication details:
'Turnip-Tops' dated 1932; 'Clansmen' dated 'Strath-peffer Ross-shire | September 4th. 1934.' and at end 'Jan 11th. 1935. | Ketteringham | Wymondham Norfolk'. Both published by Hutchinson & Co., London: 'Turnip Tops', 1932; 'Clansmen', 1936.
Boileau was extremely popular throughout her career, her novels propounding her philosophy (as expounded in 'Turnip Tops') that 'Courage is the foundation of all character and achievement.' In 1936 'John o'London's' magazine described her as the author of books 'whose editions have run into tens of thousands'. Her novel 'Turnip Tops', published in 1932 (and in America by Dutton as 'A Gay Family'), had sold 28,000 copies by 1936 ('one of the merriest sellers of the last few years', according to Maboth Moseley), and 25,000 copies of 'Ballade in G Minor' (1938) were sold before publication.
