The young family struggled to survive on William’s income from the US Navy, and - before Virginia’s youngest brother came along - they lived in Lillian’s parents’ four-bedroom house, along with Lillian’s five siblings.Īndrews had an active imagination. Forty-dollar blankets were casually purchased when 40 dollars was a fortune.” “When rubber bathing suits were the rage, Virginia had one in every color. Her two parents spoiled little “Virginia,” always buying her “beautiful things,” her cousin Pat told Neiderman. Cleo “Virginia” Andrews (in beret) was born 1923 in Portsmouth, Va., the second of three children to World War I vet William and telephone operator Lillian Andrews (above).Ĭleo “Virginia” Andrews was born 1923 in Portsmouth, Va., the second of three children born to World War I vet William and telephone operator Lillian Andrews - and their only girl. Neiderman - who has continued pumping out VC Andrews novels since her death in 1986 - had access to Andrews’ letters and manuscripts and interviewed dozens of family members to get the inside scoop on the author. Andrews Story” (Gallery Books) by Andrew Neiderman may not be as salacious as “Flowers in the Attic,” it’s surely worth its own Lifetime Original Movie. While the new book “The Woman Beyond the Attic: The V.C. In her public appearances, Andrews herself seemed like a fairytale figure: a platinum blonde beauty bound to a wheelchair, her watchful mother permanently at her side.

It’s so outlandish, fans have long wondered if author “VC Andrews” based the novel - and its various sequels - on her own life. The gothic horror classic about four siblings who spend three years locked in the attic of their grandparents’ mansion while their mother tries to win back her inheritance, contains just about every kind of taboo: murder, religious fanaticism, child abuse, rape, incest. “ Flowers in the Attic” - the 1979 bestseller - continues to shock and thrill readers more than 40 years later. ‘All the Bright Places’ review: YA drama will make you eat your feelings away ‘Twilight’ author sets countdown timer, possibly for new book series

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Flowers in the attic book cover