Ex Libris & Miss Barbara Cartland
As we say in the blurb on the back of the Ex Libris box - 'One hundred authors respresenting widely different writing styles are featured in the game - from Charles Dickens to Harold Robbins, from Jane Austin to Barbara Cartland.'
At the time of devising Ex Libris (1991), a large portion of the works we wanted to include in the game still fell within copyright and we needed to seek permission from either the author or the beneficiaries of the author's estate. Where authors were extant, we generally wrote to their agents for permission to quote the first and last lines from a work. In most cases, I recall, we received favourable replies; but one or two were especially memorable.
For example, Barbara Cartland, the queen of romantic fiction and Princess Diana's step-grandmother, told us that she was delighted for us to use her work in return for which she would be thrilled to recieve a copy of the game once it was published. We sent her a hand-written thank-you note and two copies of Ex Libris hot off the press and wrapped in bright pink tissue paper, fluffy pink things being Miss Cartland's trademark.