Essie Summers: New Zealand’s Queen of Romance
Essie Summers (24 July 1912 – 27 August 1998) was a New Zealand writer whose romance novels sold more than 19 million copies in 105 countries. She was known as New Zealand’s “Queen of Romance.”
Early Life and Education
Born Ethel Snelson Summers on 24 July 1912 in Christchurch, she was the daughter of Ethel Snelson and Edwin Summers, who had recently emigrated to New Zealand. Both parents were storytellers, and her early exposure to Anne of Green Gables stories sparked a lifelong passion for writing. She left school at 14 when her father’s butcher shop faced financial difficulties and worked in draper’s shops instead of pursuing her dream to become a teacher.
Career and Achievements
Summers began her writing career in earnest during her teenage years, publishing her first poem, “Gypsy Heart,” in the Australian Woman’s Mirror in 1931 at age eighteen, earning eight and sixpence for the work. Over the following decades, she submitted poems, articles, and short stories to magazines and newspapers, eventually becoming a weekly columnist for the Timaru Herald under the pen-name “Tamsin” for six years. Despite her responsibilities as a minister’s wife and mother of two children, she continued developing her craft.
Her first novel, New Zealand Inheritance, was accepted by Mills & Boon in 1956 and published in 1957. The novel launched a prolific career that would eventually produce dozens of romance titles. Her heroines were notably strong-charactered women who worked for a living, often continuing their work after marriage and children—a progressive portrayal that aligned with Mills & Boon’s ethos during an era when married women working was ideologically contested. None of her heroes were violent, and all her heroines were depicted as “brave, caring, intelligent and loved for [their] uniqueness.”
Summers was the first of many exceptionally successful New Zealand women writers of romance novels, including Daphne de Jong and Robyn Donald. Literary historian Jay Dixon has suggested that her plot devices, such as using characters from earlier books as onlookers in later couples’ love stories—a practice Summers employed frequently—may have influenced subsequent New Zealand authors.
Notable Events and Milestones
Summers met her future husband, William Flett, at age 13, but did not consent to marry him until 13 years later. William was a Baptist minister who later retrained as a Presbyterian minister and served parishes throughout New Zealand. Together they had two children, William and Elizabeth. Her book covers were featured in a heritage romance cover display at Auckland Central Library in 2013, and a Ryman Healthcare retirement village in Christchurch was renamed Essie Summers Retirement Village in her honour.
Additional Resources
Readers seeking more detailed information about Essie Summers’ life and literary career can consult her Wikipedia biography and other biographical archives. Her legacy as a pioneering New Zealand romance novelist and her contributions to the genre remain documented in literary histories and collections focusing on Commonwealth women writers.
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