Ethel Mannin began publishing stories at the age of ten but was twenty-three, with a grounding in journalism and editing, before she began to publish longer works. She then continued to do so with gusto: by the late 1970s she had produced nearly one hundred books, fifty-one of them novels, and the remainder either travel writing, autobiography, biography, social commentary, volumes on child rearing, collections of short stories, or writings for children. She also wrote book reviews and advertising copy.