Literary Losses
Marion Chesney Gibbons, who wrote the Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin cozy mystery series under the name M. C. Beaton and historical romances and mysteries as Marion Chesney, died on Dec. 30, 2019, at the age of 83.
Chesney was born in Glasgow in 1936. She married Harry Scott Gibbons, a Middle East correspondent, and had one son. Her first novels, all historical romances, began appearing 1979 under the names Anne Fairfax and Jenny Tremaine, pseudonyms she continued to use for several years. She also wrote as Helen Crampton and Charlotte Ward. Her first novel as Marion Chesney was published in 1980. As M. C. Beaton, Chesney published the first Hamish MacBeth mystery in 1985, and the first Agatha Raisin mystery in 1992; both series were adapted as TV series.
Obituaries: BBC News; The Guardian; Biographies and bibliographies: Goodreads (as M. C. Beaton); Goodreads (as Marion Chesney); Wikipedia. Author website: M. C. Beaton
Bookish News
- The romance world is in an uproar over RWA’s inappropriate and secretive handling of ethics complaints against Courtney Milan, brought by several author/editors whom Milan had called out for racism. The resulting uproar has highlighted not only serious problems with RWA’s procedures and leadership, but also a history of systemic bigotry. I posted about it on Monday and updated Thursday, with links to several excellent articles (which in turn link to much of the documentation.)
Worth Reading/Viewing
- What I Accomplished in the Last Decade: Classic Literary Edition (Fiona Taylor, McSweeney’s)
- In Library Renovations, When Do Discussions of Accessiblity Arise? (Emily Stochl, Book Riot) This well-written article is worth reading not only in terms of making libraries accessible to people with disabilities, but other buildings as well.
Awesome Lists
- The 10 Best Literary Film Adaptations of the Decade. Plus more than 10 runners-up. (Literary Hub)
- The 20 Best Novels of the Decade. Mostly literary fiction rather than genre fiction, but it does include N. K. Jemison’s Hugo Award-winning SFF blockbuster, The Fifth Season.
- Read Harder 2020: A Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novella. 10 novellas under 120 pages, from H.G. Wells to Nnedi Okorafor.
Bookish Quote
Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out
I need a novella for one of the challenges I’m taking part in so thanks for sharing that Read Harder link.
Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out recently posted…Nonfiction Reader Challenge: January Links
Cleo @ Mysteries and Memoirs
Wow! Just (tried to) read all about the RWA’s issues. My take, correct me if I’m wrong, is that Milan landed in hot water and was removed because she complained about racism in the romance industry. So… the whistleblower gets the can. Has happened, will happen, in other venues. Ugh, what does it show our younger females if we try to silence their complaints about unfairness in the work market. Ok, I’m done venting 🙂
Lark
I always hate when favorite authors pass away! At least we’ll always have her books.
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