Gallery Books via Amazon We don’t have any hard data on exactly how many tweens discovered too-old-for-them romance novels by stumbling upon the intriguing cutout cover of Flowers in the Attic, but surely it’s somewhere close to 100 percent. V.C. Andrews’s debut novel, published in 1979, was a Gothic gateway for many a young romance reader, while the numerous reviews that deemed the incestuous plot "scandalous" and "shocking" only enticed readers more. Flowers in the Attic hasn’t lost any steam in the more than 40 years since its debut; it has sold more than 40 million copies and been translated into 25 languages. No matter how many times you’ve indulged in this guilty pleasure, here are a few facts you may not have known.