[5] Although best known for her romantic novels, she also wrote non-fiction titles including biographies, plays, music, verse, drama, operettas, and several health and cook books.

She was a London society figure, often dressed in a pink chiffon gown, a plumed hat, blonde wig, and heavy make-up.

She became a successful society reporter after 1922, and a writer of romantic fiction; she stated she was inspired in her early work by the novels of the Edwardian author Elinor Glyn, whom she idolised and eventually befriended.

According to an obituary published in The Daily Telegraph,[6] Cartland broke off her first engagement, to a Guards officer, when she learned about sexual intercourse.

She claimed to have declined 49 marriage proposals[11] before marrying Captain Alexander "Sachie" George McCorquodale, on 23 April 1927, a British Army officer from Scotland and heir to a printing fortune.

Mountbatten supported Cartland in her charitable works, particularly for United World Colleges, and even helped her write her book Love at the Helm, providing background naval and historical information.

"[citation needed] After a year as a gossip columnist for the Daily Express, Cartland published her first novel, Jigsaw (1923), a risqué society thriller that became a bestseller.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Cartland was a prominent young hostess in London society, noted for her beauty, energetic charm and daring parties.

[citation needed] In the mid-1990s, by which time she had sold over a billion books, Vogue called Cartland "the true Queen of Romance".

She became a mainstay of the popular media in her trademark pink dresses and plumed hats, discoursing on matters of love, marriage, politics, religion, health, and fashion.

She was publicly opposed to the removal of prayer from state schools, and spoke against infidelity and divorce, although she admitted to being acquainted with both of these subjects.

[citation needed] Privately, Cartland took an interest in the early gliding movement and in 1931, with two RAF officers "designed the first aircraft-towed airmail delivery glider"; she also arranged the first long-distance (200-mile [360 km]) tow.

Her biography of Klemens von Metternich focused on his many love affairs and contained passages such as: "He was a virile, experienced and satisfying lover....

During this time she campaigned successfully for nursing home reform, improvement in the salaries of midwives and the legalisation of education for the children of Romani.

[24] The album featured Cartland performing covers of a series of popular standards including "I'll Follow My Secret Heart" and "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square".

In 1991, Cartland was invested by Queen Elizabeth II as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in honour of the author's almost 70 years of literary, political, and social contributions.

[citation needed] As of 1996, Cartland holds the record for the most entries in the wider format of the biographic reference book Who's Who, with an allocated 223 lines, surpassing that of former British PM Winston Churchill.

This collection, released beginning in November 2013, includes some novels published at the time Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in 1952.

BBC Four aired a biopic drama film, titled In Love with Barbara (26 October 2008), starring Anne Reid as Cartland and David Warner as Lord Mountbatten.