Jan Tempest

Irene Maude Mossop was born December 6, 1904 in Woking, Surrey, England, UK, she was the elder child of Maude Binford Eyre and Robert Mossop, a solicitor, later they had one son. She was educated privately, and - the early death of her father making it necessary to earn a living - turned to writing at a young age. She published girls' school stories, and other children's novels as Irene Mossop.

In 1934, Irene married ex-RAF officer Charles John Swatridge (1896-1964), and moved with him to Middlecombe Farm, near Kingsbridge, Devon, in 1942. After her marriage, she started to wrote gothic and romance novels, first as Jan Tempest and later as Fay Chandos. In collaboration with her husband, she published as Theresa Charles, years later, her husband published some novels as Leslie Lance, and after his death she continued using the pseudonym. In 1950s, Irene had serious discussions with Alan Boon of Mills & Boon about her novel Without A Honeymoon when she introduced the idea of a illegitimate child, that he felt she would encounter difficulties with the Irish audience. She passed away on October 26, 1988.