Karen Harper (April 6, 1945 – April 13, 2020) was a

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

and contemporary fiction author. She was a '' New York Times'' and '' USA Today'' bestselling author.

Personal life

Harper was born in

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, Ohio, and graduated from DeVilbiss High School. She obtained her bachelor's degree from Ohio University in Athens, and her graduate degree from Ohio State University in Columbus. She met her husband Don in Columbus, and lived there for thirty-five years, though they spent some time in Naples, Florida (as she considered that state her "second home"). Harper previously taught English at The Ohio State University and

Westerville North High School Westerville North High School is a public high school in Westerville, Ohio in Delaware County, Ohio. It is one of three high schools in the Westerville City School District. The school's current principal is Kurt Yancey. Background The high sch ...

. Harper died on April 13, 2020, a week after her 75th birthday, after battling cancer.

Writing career

Harper published ''Sweet Passion's Pain'' in 1984, and it was later published as '' The First Princess of Wales'' in 2006 by Three Rivers Press. It tells the tale of Joan of Kent and her future husband Edward, the Black Prince. Harper remarked in an author's note that the novel reminded her of the love affair between Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles, as both shared a "less than enthusiastic endorsement" from senior royal figures. Harper has stated that the Tudor era is her favorite setting for her novels, and medieval England is a close second. Harper was praised for her historically accurate attention to detail. She stated this is because she built up a large Tudor library over the past thirty years, took frequent trips to the British Isles, had full access to the large Ohio State University library, and interviewed many people familiar with her chosen historical topics.

List of works

The Maplecreek series

# ''Dark Road Home'' (1996) # ''Dark Harvest'' (2004) # ''Dark Angel'' (2007)

The Home Valley series

# ''Fall From Pride'' (2011) # ''Return to Grace'' (2012) # ''Finding Mercy'' (November 2012) # ''Upon a Winter's Night'' (2013)

Cold Creek series

# ''Shattered Secrets'' (2014) # ''Forbidden Ground'' (2014) # ''Broken Bonds'' (2014)

The Queen Elisabeth I series

# ''The Poyson Garden'' (1999) # ''The Tidal Poole'' (2000) # ''The Twylight Tower'' (2001) # ''The Queene's Cure'' (2002) # ''The Thorne Maze'' (2003) # ''The Queen's Christmas'' (2003) # ''The Fyre Mirror'' (2005) # ''The Fatal Fashione'' (2005) # ''The Hooded Hawke'' (2007)

Standalone novels

* ''Down to the Bone'' (2000) * ''The Baby Farm'' (1999) * ''Shaker Run'' (2001) * ''The Stone Forest'' (2002) * ''The Falls'' (2003) * ''Inferno'' (2007) * ''Hurricane'' (2006) * ''Below The Surface'' (2008) * ''The Hiding Place'' (2008) * ''Deep Down'' (2009) * ''Down River'' (2010) * ''The Last Boleyn'' (2006) * '' The First Princess of Wales'' (originally published as ''Sweet Passion's Pain'' in 1984) (2006) * ''Mistress Shakespeare'' (2009) * ''The Queen's Governess'' (2009) * ''The Irish Princess'' (2011) * ''Mistress of Mourning'' (2012) * ''The Royal Nanny'' (2016) * ''The It Girls'' (2017) * ''Silent Scream'' (2018) * ''American Duchess'' (2019) * ''The Queen's Secret'' (2020) * ''Deep in the Alaskan Woods'' (2020)

References

Sources

External links

Karen Harper Papers
The Ohio State University's Rare Books & Manuscripts Library
Obituary
at ohioana.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Karen 1945 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American historical novelists American women novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Ohio University alumni Ohio State University alumni Ohio State University faculty Women historical novelists Novelists from Ohio 20th-century American women writers American women academics 21st-century American women writers