Maureen Stephenson (14 February 1927 - 5 July 2008) was an author of romantic, gothic and contemporary mysteries.

[1] Stephenson was born to father Joseph Duffy, a tailor, and mother Anne, née Byrom.

She married Louis John Stephenson, an engineer and later Warwickshire County councillor,[2] in 1954.

She was influenced by the Brontë sisters, stating that "They achieve a mystical otherworldliness that I admire.

[5] Unbeknownst to Stephenson – Wath Moor US publication rights were unlawfully "sold" to an American named Elliot as part of a tax evasion scheme in which expenses and purported losses associated with publication were to be used to reduce the buyer's liability for income tax.