View source for Una-Mary Parker

{{Short description|English journalist and novelist (1930–2019)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Una-Mary Parker
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1930|3|30|df=y}}
| birth_place        =
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2019|4|11|1930|3|30|df=y}}
| spouse             = Archie Parker
| children           = 2
| mother             =
| father             =
| relatives          = [[Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall|Duchess of Cornwall]] (cousin)<br>
[[Colin Gubbins|Major-General Gubbins]] (uncle)
| occupation         = Author
}}
'''Una-Mary Parker''' (née McVean-Gubbins; 30 March 1930<ref name=encom>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/parker-una-mary-1930 Profile], encyclopedia.com; retrieved 17 May 2017.</ref> – 11 April 2019) was an English journalist and novelist.
==Family==
Parker was the daughter of Hugh Power McVean-Gubbins, a businessman, and his wife, Laura. She was a cousin of the [[Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall|Duchess of Cornwall]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/homes-gossip-29249.html|title=Homes gossip|date=2013-11-09|newspaper=Homes and Property|access-date=8 December 2016}}</ref> She married photographer Archie Parker on 6 October 1951 with whom she had two children.<ref name=encom/> She and her husband, a royal photographer, were a high society couple of the 1960s and 1970s, and regularly made headlines with their couture clothes.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/04/21/una-mary-parker-tatler-magazines-queen-bee-1970s-social-scene/|title=Una-Mary Parker, Tatler magazine's queen bee of the 1970s social scene and writer of bestselling 'bodice-rippers' – obituary|last=Obituaries|first=Telegraph|date=21 April 2019|work=The Telegraph|access-date=3 July 2020|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>
==Journalism and fiction==
In addition to working as a journalist for the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' and ''[[London Evening Standard|Evening Standard]]'', she also spent ten years as social editor of the British magazine, ''The [[Tatler]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.ie/style/obituary-una-mary-parker-38056956.html |title=Obituary: Una-Mary Parker |publisher=The Irish Independent |date=28 April 2019 |accessdate=31 May 2022}}</ref>
Parker's first novel, ''Riches'', appeared in October 1987 and has since been widely read internationally. Her novels include ''Scandals (1988)'', ''Temptations (1989)'', ''Veil of Secrets'' (1990), ''Enticements (1990)'',''The Palace Affair (1992)'', ''Forbidden Feelings (1993)'', ''Only the Best (1993)'', ''A Guilty Pleasure (1994)'', ''False Promises (1995)'', ''Taking Control (1996)'', ''A Dangerous Desire (1997)'', ''Dark Passions (1998)'', ''Secrets of the Night (1998)'', ''Broken Trust (1999)'', ''Sweet Vengeance (2000)'', ''Moment of Madness (2001)'', ''Alexia's Secret'' (2008) <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://unamaryparker.com|title=Una-Mary Parker|website=unamaryparker.com|access-date=20 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/p/una-mary-parker/|title=Una-Mary Parker|website=www.fantasticfiction.com|access-date=2019-05-08}}</ref>
==Later life==
In 2016, Parker revealed that she was suffering from [[glaucoma]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/635056/dog-sensed-owner-illness|title=Meet the dog that sniffed out her owner's illness|last=Parker|first=Una-Mary|date=16 January 2016|newspaper=Express.co.uk|access-date=8 December 2016}}</ref> She died on 11 April 2019, aged 89.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/04/21/una-mary-parker-tatler-magazines-queen-bee-1970s-social-scene/ Una-Mary Parker, Tatler magazine's queen bee of the 1970s social scene and writer of bestselling "bodice-rippers" – obituary]</ref>
==References==
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[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century English women writers]]
[[Category:English women journalists]]
[[Category:English women novelists]]
[[Category:English people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:English people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Daily Mail journalists]]
[[Category:London Evening Standard people]]