Virginia Coffman: Strange Secrets

Strange Secrets is the last Coffman book that I have illustrated by Allan Kass. If you find another, let me know since I'm not sure that I have them all. This book was published in March 1976 and is the story of Claudia, who marries Steve after a whirlwind courtship only to find that his house, Shower Tree, seems to be haunted!

Allan Kass illustrates our heroine up close in a low cut pink gown running away from the mansion behind her. She wears her hair long and has on the signature Kass bangle bracelets! I'm sure that there are more Signet gothic romances out there that I don't have, but the ones I've found are great!

Virginia Coffman: Of Love and Intrigue

Of Love and Intrigue is one of Allan Kass's first covers. It was published in April 1969 and Virginia Coffman writes a tale about a girl who is paid to accompany another to her wedding. Why was she falling for the other girl's fiance and who was the man on board that unnerved her? A mystery of Love and Intrigue!

Allan Kass shows our heroine in a pink raincoat. She is in a warm climate as shown by the palm tree and he also illustrates a car, which is funny since before he freelanced to illustrating book covers, he worked in Detroit drawing car ads! I really like finding Allan's gothic covers and seeing the differences in them!

Virginia Coffman: A Haunted Place

A Haunted Place was published in February 1978 by Signet for Virginia Coffman. It is the third gothic illustrated by Allan Kass that I have for her. Until I wrote Allan, I didn't realize that he had illustrated gothic romances. I thought he had only done regencies! So it was a treat to find many of these and see the resemblances between the illustrations!

This book is about an American actress who is stranded in a French village where the villagers believe she is a ghost come to put a curse on them!

Allan does a superb job at painting the heroine in a sinister place! She wears modern dress and jewelry, but stands near a scary dragon and we see a gloomy castle behind her. Allan used his daughters and local townspeople as his models! It must have been fun to see yourself reproduced on a book cover!

Virginia Coffman: The Evil at Queen's Priory

The Evil at Queen's Priory was published by Signet in December 1978 for Virginia Coffman. It is one of a few that I have illustrated by Allan Kass. This cover is exciting because I found it a month ago!

It's a gothic story about a widow, who hears a ghostly voice that sounds like her dead husband. She's also concerned about her young son and her attraction to her husband's brother, who may just be his killer!

Allan Kass illustrated quite a few gothics for Signet and I like this one because it has some interesting details on the cover: what or who is the ghostly statue? Why is the window open? Is the room on fire? I also like how Allan has the heroine in modern dress. Note her modern hairdo and jewelry. It's a great cover and was an exciting find!

Virginia Coffman: The Beach House

The Beach House is the first book I have by famous author Virginia Coffman, who wrote many gothic romances during the 1970's. This book was published by Signet in June 1970 and is the story of Livia Carter, who is haunted by the death of her boyfriend's late wife!

This is one of Allan Kass's earlier book illustrations and it has a gothic/tropical feel to the picture. You see the haunted beach house with a light on inside while the sky is dark and the waves crash against the shore. The heroine looks as if she's in a bathing suit with a wrap skirt around it. She wears a bracelet and hoop earrings, which is a signature Kass look. It's very different from his elegant regency covers, but a fun departure! Enjoy and click on the picture to enlarge!