Paula Schwartz; Romance novelist
Hyfler/Rosner
December 25, 2003 Thursday
Final Edition
HEADLINE: Paula Schwartz, 78;
Romance Novelist
Paula Schwartz, 78, who wrote 36 novels in the Regency Romance series under
the pen name Elizabeth Mansfield, died of ovarian cancer Dec. 21 at her home
in Annandale. Her most recent book, "An Encounter with Venus," was published
this month.
Mrs. Schwartz was a former English teacher at Dunbarton College in
Washington. She began writing love stories set in Regency-era England in the
1970s, after the college closed.
The Regency began in 1811 when the prince of Wales became regent for his
father, King George III. The period continued until George III died in 1820
and the prince regent then became King George IV.
Mrs. Schwartz's books about the English nobility gained a wide following
among readers of the Regency romance sub-genre. Among her more popular
titles were "Love Lessons," "An Accidental Romance" and "The Frost Fair,"
produced by Berkley Publishing.
She also wrote plays, musicals and four books of historical fiction that
take place in America.
In an online interview two years ago, Mrs. Schwartz told readers that a
writer of period novels needs to include "enough background to enable the
reader to visualize the scene and to understand the characters' behavior,"
and that knowing the language of the time was most important.
"I try very hard to make the characters speak as they would have at the
time. I avoid all words that didn't exist in the early nineteenth century.
The Oxford English Dictionary is my most indispensable resource."
She said she liked the Regency because it was "a gracious time, if you were
financially sound. Civilized, literate, mannerly. No period is romantic for
those who are poor and struggling.
"It was Jane Austen who made me love it, and she never wrote about the
nobility. I write about the upper classes because the genre demands it. My
American history romances deal with ordinary people."
Mrs. Schwartz was a native of the Bronx, N.Y., and a graduate of Hunter
College.
She received a master's degree in English from City College of New York.
She taught English and drama in New York schools before moving to Washington
in 1965.
She was a member of the Northern Virginia Jewish Community Center and Temple
Beth-El in Alexandria, where she directed theater groups.
Survivors include her husband of 47 years, Ira Schwartz of Annandale; two
children, David Schwartz of Los Angeles and Wendy Sheridan of Rahway, N.J.;
a sister; and a granddaughter.