Tributes paid to author Eileen Ramsay after death at 82

Eileen Ramsay, author of 20 novels, including The G.I. Bride, A Schoolmistress at War and A Pinch of Salt (Zaffre), has passed away aged 82.

Ramsay was born in 1940 and grew up in Dumfriesshire. After graduation, she went to Washington DC where she taught in private schools for some years, before moving to California with her Scottish husband. There, she raised two sons, finished her Masters’s Degree, fell in love with Mexico and published her first short stories and a Regency novel.

Her family returned to Scotland where she continued to teach and write and to serve – at different times – on the committees of The Society of Authors in Scotland, The Scottish Association of Writers and The Romantic Novelists Association, where Eileen was the chair from 2015-2017. In 2004, her novel Someday, Somewhere (Coronet) was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year award.

Ramsay’s agent, Teresa Chris of Teresa Chris Literary Agency, said: “Eileen Ramsay was one of the most fascinating women I have known and worked with. A warm-hearted storyteller, her books gave great pleasure and provided escapism to an enormous number of people. I miss her so much.”

Sarah Bauer, editorial director at Bonnier Books UK, said: “I was lucky to have worked with Eileen. She was a brilliant writer and a wonderful woman. I am pleased that so many got to know her through her writing and will continue to do so.”