13 Things You Didn’t Know About VC Andrews, The Author Of ‘Flowers In The Attic’

6. She May Have Used Tragic Elements From Her Life As Inspiration For Her Novels

Imprisonment. Sickness. A desire to dance. Some themes running throughout Flowers in the Attic and her later novels may reflect the restrictions Andrews faced in her own life. Andrews’s mother, Lillian, never read any of her daughter’s work, despite having a dedication in Flowers in the Attic.

Ann Patty believes the evil grandmother in Flowers in the Attic is based on Lillian, though not necessarily because she was evil or abusive herself. She explained, “You could say that Virginia is locked in the attic and her mother is the grandmother. But she seemed normal. I would take Virginia out for a walk around the neighborhood. And I would pretend I was a kid and get on top of her wheelchair and we would zoom down hills. She would say, ‘Don’t tell Mom.'”

Andrews related to her characters so much that when she killed one off, she mourned the loss as if he or she was a real person.