Berta Ruck

Berta Ruck
Portrait of Berta Ruck by Walter Stoneman, circa 1916.
Born	Amy Roberta Ruck 2 August 1878 Murree, Punjab, British India (now Pakistan)
Died	11 August 1978 (aged 100) Aberdyfi, Wales, UK
Occupation	Novelist
Language	English
Nationality	British
Period	1905–1972
Genre	Romance
Spouse	(George) Oliver Onions
Children	2

Amy Roberta (Berta) Ruck, Mrs. Oliver Onions (2 August 1878 – 11 August 1978)^[1] was a British writer of several short stories and over 90 romance novels from 1905 to 1972. She also wrote an autobiography and two memoir-style works.

Personal life

Born Amy Roberta Ruck on 2 August 1878 in Murree, Punjab, British India, one of eight children by Eleanor D'Arcy and Colonel Arthur Ashley Ruck, a British army officer. The family moved to Wales where Ruck went to school in Bangor.

Bernard Darwin, the golf writer, was her cousin. Many of her letters and manuscripts are archived in the National Library of Wales.^[2]

On 1909, she married a fellow novelist (George) Oliver Onions (1873–1961), and they had two sons, Arthur (b. 1912) and William (b. 1913).^[3] Her husband legally changed his name to George Oliver in 1918, but continued to publish under the name Oliver Onions.

She was widowed in 1961, and died in Aberdyfi on 11 August 1978, just nine days after her 100th birthday.

Writing career

As Berta Ruck began to contribute short stories and serials to magazines from 1905. She published her first novel, His Official Fiancée in 1914,^[4] which was the subject of two films: His Official Fiancée (1919), silent film directed by Robert G. Vignola and Hans officiella fästmö (1944), Swedish movie directed by Nils Jerring.

Bibliography

Novels

1. His Official Fiancée (1914) – filmed twice: 1919 (silent) and 1944 (Swedish)
2. The Wooing of Rosamund Fayre (1914)

• Miss Million's Maid (copyright 1915, published 1917)
• The Boy with Wings (1915) – aka The Lad with Wings
• Khaki and Kisses (1915)
• In Another Girl's Shoes (1916)
• The Bridge of Kisses (1917)
• The Girls at his Billet (1917)
• The Three of Hearts (1917)
• The Girl who Proposed (1918)
• The Girl who Was Too Good Looking (1918?)^[5]
• The Years for Rachel (1918)
• The Dream Domesticated (1918)
• Rufus on the Rebound (1918)
• A Land-Girl's Love Story (1919)
• Sweethearts Unmet (1919) aka The Great Unmet
• The Disturbing Charm (1919)
• Spring Comes (1919) aka Spring Comes for Miss Lonelyheart
• American Snap-Shots (1920)
• Arabella the Awful (1920?)
• Sweet Stranger (1921)
• In Another Girl's Shoes (1922?)
• The Wrong Mr. Right (1922?)
• The Subconscious Courtship (1922)
• Sir or Madame? (1923)
• The Dancing Star (1923)
• Lucky in Love (1924)
• The Leap Year Girl (1924)
• Kneel to the Prettiest (1925)
• The Immortal Girl (1925)
• The Clouded Pearl (1925)
• The Pearl Thief (1926)
• Kneel to the Prettiest (1926))
• Her Pirate Partner (1927)
• The Mind of a Minx (1927)
• Money for One (1928)
• The Youngest Venus (1928)
• One of the Chorus (1929)
• The Unkissed Bride (1929)
• Joy-Ride! (1929)
• The Love-Hater (1930)
• To-Day's Daughter (1930)
• Missing Girl (1931)
• Forced Landing (1931)
• Dance-Partner (1931)
• Offer of Marriage (1932)
• This Year Next Year Sometime (1932)
• The Lap of Luxury (1932)
• Change Here for Happiness (1933)
• Sudden Sweetheart (1933)
• Understudy (1933)
• Eleventh Hour Lover (1933)
• The Best Time Ever (1934)
• Sunburst (1934)
• A Star in Love (1935)
• Sunshine Stealer (1935)
• Half-Past Kissing Time (1936)
• Sleeping Beauty (1936)
• Spring Comes (1936)
• Romance Royal (1937)
• Love on Second Thoughts (1937)
• Love Comes Again Later (1938)
• Wedding March (1938)
• Mock Honeymoon (1939)
• Arabella Arrives (1939)
• Handmaid to Fame (1939)
• Money Isn't Everything (1940)
• He Learned About Women (1940)
• It Was Left to Peter (1941)
• Fiancees are Relatives (1941)
• Waltz Contest (1941)
• Jade Earrings (1941)
• Footlight Fever (1942)
• Spinster's Progress (1942)
• Quarrel and Kiss (1942)
• Bread and Grease Paint (1943)
• Intruder Marriage (1944)
• Shining Chance (1944)
• You Are The One (1945)
• Throw Away Yesterday (1946)
• Surprise Engagement (1947)
• Tomboy in Lace (1947)
• She Danced in the Ballet (1948)
• Gentle Tyrant (1949)
• Joyful Journey (1950) aka Hopeful Journey
• The Rising of the Lark (1951)
• Spice of Life (1952)
• Fantastic Holiday (1953)
• Marriage is a Blind Date (1953) aka Blind Date
• The Men in her Life (1954)
• Romance in Two Keys (1955)
• We All Have Our Secrets (1955)
• A Wish a Day (1956)
• Romance of a Film Star (1956)
• Leap Year Love (1957)
• Admirer Unknown (1957) aka Mystery Boy-Friend
• Third Time Lucky (1958)
• A Smile from the Past (1959)
• Romantic Afterthought (1959)
• Love and a Rich Girl (1960)
• Sherry and Ghosts (1961)
• Diamond Engagement Ring (1962)
• Runaway Lovers (1963)
• Rendezvous at Zagarella (1964)
• Shopping for a Husband (1967)
• An Asset to Wales (1970)

Short Story

• "The Picturesque Young Packards (The Jabberwock, Jan 1906)

Non-Fiction

• A Story-Teller Tells the Truth (1935)
• A Trickle of Welsh Blood (an autobiography) (1967)
• Ancestral Voices (1972)

References

1. IMDb profile
2. The National Library of Wales. "Berta Ruck". Retrieved 9 April 2014.
3. Bloom, Clive (2008). Bestsellers: Popular Fiction Since 1900. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-230-53688-3.
4. Ruck at The Orlando Project
5. listed in a copy of Arabella the Awful

External links

• Works by Berta Ruck at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Berta Ruck at Internet Archive
• National Library of Wales, Berta Ruck MSS