by Lucy’s agent, Caroline Montgomery
I am incredibly sad to be announcing the death of Christine Fiorotto (née Sparks), known to her legion of fans as award-winning romance writer Lucy Gordon.
Born and raised in England, she was an only child and spent her teenage years in North London, where she attended Orange Hill Girls’ Grammar School in Edgware. Her school friend and fellow author, Linda O’Byrne, recalls she was very involved in the school drama group, taking lead roles in The Alchemist and Twelfth Night. But these early dramatic forays were not really where her heart lay, because Christine loved to write. This passion led to a career in journalism where she wrote (I believe) for Woman’s Own magazine, contributing features on travel and celebrity interviews with some of the leading male performers of the time – Warren Beatty, Richard Chamberlain, Sir Roger Moore, Charlton Heston, Sir Alec Guinness, and even the Rolling Stones! It is perhaps not surprising that her thoughts were to turn to romantic fiction.
Christine adored travel and found her single life so enjoyable that she put any idea of romance on hold as she explored the world. Her journalistic assignments took her to many places, including a celebrity interview in Africa which involved staying under canvas in a very basic safari camp. Told to keep the tent tightly shut at night, Christine obeyed but inevitably a call of nature saw her going against instructions and in the pitch dark she came face to face with a Lion. She always said she never knew which of them was the more scared.
It was while on a tour of the Murano glass factory that she met a handsome Venetian who changed all her ideas about love in a moment. He proposed on the second day, and three months later, they were married. He remained the love of her life until his death in 2016. Christine and Robert (she never called him Roberto) lived for a while in Italy and, when he was under contract as a shoe designer, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Undoubtedly an extraordinary experience but life under Apartheid was something they both hated and they returned to England after about 18 months, making their home in Northampton.
Christine must have joined the agency around 1983 when she contacted her agent to be, Shirley Russell, to say she felt she could write a romance novel for Silhouette Special Edition, which became part of Mills & Boon the following year. I believe she was the first British writer to contribute to the imprint, and Legacy of Fire made its appearance in 1984. She went on to publish 103 titles with Mills & Boon, across Desire, Cherish, Historical, True Love, Modern, as well as short stories for anthology programmes. She won a number of awards during her career but her prized possessions were the Romance Writers of America RITA awards, which she won twice: once for Song Of The Lorelei (1992) and then for His Brother’s Child (1998).
Her last title was a Mills & Boon True Love: A Proposal from the Italian Count, published in October 2017.
I became Christine’s agent following Shirley’s death in 1993. Time and again, Christine created memorable characters and dynamic, often Italian, heroes with storylines which gripped her readers from start to finish. I remember devouring her early novels when I worked at the agency between school and university and was excited to become part of her working life.
Alongside Roberto, she shared her home with a variety of rescued cats and dogs. She adored ballet, opera and was an excellent ballroom dancer. She is remembered by those close to her as a good and loyal friend who was marvellous company. A generous, warm spirit who will be sorely missed.
Lucy Gordon: 20th September 1942 – 10th May 2026