Caroline Stevermer (born 1955) is an American writer of

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

novels and shorter works. She is best known for

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthu ...

novels.

Personal life

Caroline Stevermer was born in 1955, and grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota along with one sister and two brothers. She wanted to be a writer at age 8. She obtained her B.A. degree in the history of art from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Her first two books were published under the name C. J. Stevermer. Her first novel written as Caroline Stevermer was ''The Serpent's Egg''. She currently lives in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. In 2008, she donated her archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

Works

Series

Nicholas Coffin

These were her first professional sales and were published by Ace under the name C. J. Stevermer. These feature an English alchemist in Rome at the time of the

House of Borgia The House of Borgia ( , ; Spanish and an, Borja ; ca-valencia, Borja ) was an Italian-Aragonese Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town ...

. * ''The Alchemist: Death of a Borgia'' (1980) * ''The Duke and the Veil'' (1981)

Cecelia and Kate

With Patricia C. Wrede, she wrote three novels set in an alternate

Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

England where magic and non-magic society exist side by side and cooperatively. The authors tell these stories from the first-person perspectives of cousins Kate and Cecelia (and, in the third book, two additional characters), who recount their adventures in magic and polite society. These works are

epistolary novel An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of letters. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse documents of other kinds with the letters, most commonly diary entries and newspaper clippings, and sometimes considered ...

s, written using the style of the letter game. * ''Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country'' (1988, reprinted 2003) * ''The Grand Tour or The Purloined Coronation Regalia: Being a Revelation of Matters of High Confidentiality and Greatest Importance, Including Extracts from the Intimate Diary of a Noblewoman and the Sworn Testimony of a Lady of Quality'' (2004) * ''The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After: Being the Private Correspondence Between Two Prominent Families Regarding a Scandal Touching the Highest Levels of Government and the Security of the Realm'' (2006). * ''Magic Below Stairs'' (2010) was written by Caroline Stevermer alone, and is set in the same universe after ''The Grand Tour'' but before ''The Mislaid Magician.'' It follows the character Frederick Lincoln as a child in the house of the Schofields. - The first two books in this series (''Sorcery and Cecelia'' and ''The Grand Tour'') were published in an omnibus edition, ''Magicians of Quality'' in 2005.

A College of Magics

Her Galazon series comprise a

Ruritanian romance Ruritanian romance is a genre of literature, film and theatre comprising novels, stories, plays and films set in a fictional country, usually in Central or Eastern Europe, such as the "Ruritania" that gave the genre its name. Such stories are typ ...

series with

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. Caroline Stevermer attended

, and Greenlaw, the ''College '' in ''A College of Magics'', may be based on her experiences there.

Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958 in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram S ...

selected ''College'' as one of the best fantasy books of 1994, describing it as "charmingly distinctive . . . arked bythe sly wit and sparkling prose that have earned her a cult following"."Summation 1994: Fantasy," ''

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror ''Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'' was a reprint anthology published annually by St. Martin's Press from 1987 to 2008. In addition to the short stories, supplemented by a list of honorable mentions, each edition included a number of retrospective ...

: Eighth Annual Collection'', p.xviii * ''A College of Magics'' (1994), received a Minnesota Book Award * ''A Scholar of Magics'' (2004), a semi-

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

* ''When the King Comes Home'' (2000), a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

prequel. - The first two books of this series (''A College of Magics'' and ''A Scholar of Magics'') were published as an omnibus edition, ''Scholarly Magics'' (2004, reprinted 2008). This was the Science Fiction Book Club's featured alternate selection for Spring 2004.

Stand alone works

* ''River Rats'' (1992, reprinted 2005), a

Minnesota Book Award The Minnesota Book Awards are presented annually for books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans. The award, originally established in 1988, is organized by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. History ...

s finalist, is a

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...

adventure novel on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

with echoes of Mark Twain. This book is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and received the Golden Duck Award and Golden Kite Award. * ''The Serpent's Egg'' (1998), is a fantasy novel and was her first novel written as Caroline Stevermer. *''The Glass Magician'' (2020)

Story collections to which she has contributed

* ''All Hallows' Eve: Tales of Love and the Supernatural'' (1992), editor Mary Elizabeth Allen to which she contributed "Waiting for Harry" * ''Snow White, Blood Red'' (The Snow White, Blood Red Anthology Series # 1) (1993), editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, a collection of dark retellings of fairy tales. Caroline Stevermer and Ryan Edmonds contributed a lighter story called "The Springfield Swans" * ''The Armless Maiden and Other Tales for Childhood's Survivors'' (1995), editor Terri Windling to which she contributed "Watching the Bobolinks" * ''The Essential Bordertown'' (Borderland # 4) (1998), editors Terri Windling and Delia Sherman, to which she contributed "Rag" * ''The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales'' (Mythic Fiction # 3) (2007), editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, a collection of mythic stories about trickster characters, to which she contributed "Uncle Bob Visits" * ''Willful Impropriety: 13 Tales of Society, Scandal and Romance'' (2012), editor Ekaterina Sedia, a collection of historical romances to which she contributed "The Language of Flowers" * ''Queen Victoria's Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy'' (2013), editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, a collection of historical fantasy set in a magical version of the nineteenth century to which she and Ellen Kushner contributed "The Vital Importance of the Superficial" * ''The Mammoth Book of Gaslit Romances'' (Mammoth Romances) (2014), editor Ekaterina Sedia to which she contributed a "Waiting for Harry" * ''Liavek 6: Wizard's Row'' (2016), editors Will Shetterly and Emma Bull, to which she contributed "Cenedwine Brocade"

List of short stories

* "Waiting for Harry" found in ''All Hallows' Eve: Tales of Love and the Supernatural'' (1992) and ''The Mammoth Book of Gaslit Romances'' (2014) * "The Springfield Swans" with Ryan Edmonds found in ''Snow White, Blood Red'' (1993) * "Rag" found in ''The Essential Bordertown'' (1998) * "Uncle Bob Visits" found in ''The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales'' (Mythic Fiction # 3) (2007) * "The Language of Flowers" found in ''Willful Impropriety: 13 Tales of Society, Scandal and Romance'' (2012) * "The Vital Importance of the Superficial" with Ellen Kushner found in ''Queen Victoria's Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy'' (2013) * "Cenedwine Brocade" found in ''Liavek 6: Wizard's Row'' (2016)

Essays

* "Afterword" in ''Sorcery and Cecelia'' (1988) with Patrica C. Wrede * "Watching the Bobolinks" found in ''The Armless Maiden and Other Tales for Childhood's Survivors'' (1995)

Reviews

* "Review: A Scholar of Magics" in ''Amazing Stories, September 2004'', editor Dave Gross. With John C. Bunnell * "Reviews: Books" in ''Amazing Stories, September 2004'', editor Dave Gross. With Dorman T. Shindler, John Gregory Betancourt, Rob Lightner, Paul Hughes, John Pelan, Shelly Baur, Wolfgang Baur, Therese Littleton, and John C. Bunnell

Shared universes

She has participated in: *

Borderlands A borderland or borderlands are the geographical space or zone around a territorial border. Borderland or borderlands may refer to: Places * Borderland, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia * Borderland (ele ...

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

*The

Liavek Liavek is a series of five fantasy anthologies edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly set in a shared world. Orson Scott Card found the initial volume to be "an example of what can be accomplished n a shared-world projectwhen almost everything g ...

References

External links

* * *
Bibliography
on SciFan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevermer, Caroline Living people 1955 births Bryn Mawr College alumni Novelists from Minnesota 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers American fantasy writers American women novelists American children's writers American women children's writers Women writers of young adult literature American young adult novelists