Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, author of the bodice-ripper classic The Flame and the Flower (book #1 on our Worst So-Called "Fun" Books Ever list) died Friday, July 6, 2007. She was 68.

While Ms. Woodiwiss's novels frequently made our stomachs churn*, and we take issue with the "founding mother of the historical romance genre" description found in the bio below (uh, that would be Georgette Heyer), we can't deny that her books were compulsively readable. Ms. Woodiwiss's last novel, Everlasting, is due out this fall from HarperCollins.

For a full biography of Ms. Woodiwiss, click here.

*We'll never, ever forgive Eloisa James for not bothering to re-read The Flame and the Flower before writing an op-ed piece about it for The New York Times, thereby whitewashing the book's more revolting elements.