Mary Burchell

Ida Cook
Born(1904-08-24)24 August 1904
Sunderland, England
Died22 December 1986(1986-12-22) (aged 82)
Pen nameMary Burchell
OccupationNovelist
NationalityBritish
Period1936–1985
GenreRomance
Notable worksThe Warrender Saga
RelativesLouise Cook (sister)
We Followed Our Stars by Ida Cook, known to millions as Mary Burchell, 1950
Righteous
Among the Nations
By country

Ida Cook (24 August 1904 – 22 December 1986) was a British campaigner for Jewish refugees and, as Mary Burchell, a romance novelist.

Ida Cook and her sister Louise Cook (1901–1991) rescued Jews from the Nazis during the 1930s.[1][2] The sisters helped 29 people escape, funded mainly by Ida's writing. In 1965, the Cook sisters were honoured as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem in Israel.[3] In 2010 she was recognised as a British Hero of the Holocaust with her sister.

Between 1936 and 1985, under the pen name Mary Burchell, Ida Cook wrote 112 romance novels for Mills & Boon — many of which were later republished by Harlequin. She helped to found the Romantic Novelists' Association, serving as its second president from 1966 to 1986.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC-38732779 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference newyorker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Mary Burchell at Yad Vashem site.