Margaret Anne Doody (born September 21, 1939) is a Canadian author of

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

and feminist literary critic. She is professor of literature at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, helped found the PhD in Literature Program at Notre Dame, and served as its director from 2001 to 2007.

Academic career

Doody completed her doctorate at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1968. She then taught at the

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

from 1969 to 1976, after which she taught at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. According to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', Doody, along with Valerie Smith,

Emory Elliott Emory Bernard Elliott (October 30, 1942 – March 31, 2009) was an American professor of American literature at UC Riverside. Elliott was known in particular for advocating the expansion of the literary canon to include a more diverse range o ...

, and

Sandra Gilbert Sandra M. Gilbert (born December 27, 1936) is an American literary critic and poet who has published in the fields of feminist literary criticism, feminist theory, and psychoanalytic criticism. She is best known for her collaborative critical work ...

, resigned from Princeton in 1989. The reports suggest that the four were unhappy with the leniency shown to

Thomas McFarland Professor Thomas A. McFarland (1926-2011) was a literary critic who specialised in the literature of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was Murray Professor of Romantic English Literature at Princeton University. McFarland established his reputation w ...

after he was accused of sexual misconduct. McFarland was initially put on a one-year suspension, but eventually took early retirement after these resignations and threats of student boycotts. Subsequently, she taught at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

and the

Fiction writing

Although historical detective stories are now a flourishing genre, with

Steven Saylor Steven Saylor (born March 23, 1956) is an American author of historical novels. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and classics. Saylor's best-known work is his ''Roma Sub Rosa'' historical mystery ...

and

Lindsey Davis Lindsey Davis (born 1949) is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award. Life and career ...

being particularly prominent in the field of detective stories set in classical antiquity, back in 1978, when ''

Aristotle Detective Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

'' was first published, Doody was something of a pioneer in the genre. Recently she has added four more to the series featuring

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

as a 4th-century B.C. detective. There is also a novella, ''Anello di bronzo'' (Ring of Bronze), currently available only in Italian. Doody's Aristotle books are published in Italy by Sellerio editore, which also produced a translation of ''The Alchemists''. In France the mystery novels are published by 10/18. They are also available in Spanish, Portuguese and Greek; individual novels have recently appeared in Polish and Russian. The first Aristotle novel has also been published in German.

Bibliography

The ''Aristotle'' series

*''Aristotle Detective'' (1978) *''Aristotle and Poetic Justice'' (2000) *''Aristotle and the Mystery of Life'' (also published as ''Aristotle and the Secrets of Life'') (2002) *''Aristotle and the Ring of Bronze'' (2003) *''Poison in Athens'' (2004) *''Mysteries of Eleusis'' (2005) *''Aristotle and the Egyptian Murders'' (2010) *''A cloudy day in Babylon'' (2013)

Short story of the ''Aristotle'' series

*''Aristotle and the Fatal Javelin'' (1980)

Other novels

*''The Alchemists'' (1980)

Academic books

*''A Natural Passion: A Study of the Novels of Samuel Richardson'' (1974) *''The Daring Muse: Augustan Poetry Reconsidered'' (1985) *''Frances Burney: The Life in the Works '' (1996) *''The True Story of the Novel'' (1996) *''Tropic of Venice'' (2007) *''Jane Austen's Names: Riddles, Persons, Places'' (2015)

References

* Jacques Baudou et Jean-Jacques Schleret, ''Le Vrai visage du masque'', Paris, Futuropolis, 1984, p. 166. * Claude Mesplède, ''Dictionnaire des littératures policières'', volume 1, Nantes, Éditions Joseph K, coll. Temps noir, 2007, p. 608-609.

Notes

External links

Interview with Margaret Doody
copy archived March 7, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Doody, Margaret 1939 births Canadian historical novelists Canadian mystery writers Living people University of Notre Dame faculty Women mystery writers Writers from Saint John, New Brunswick Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity Writers of historical mysteries Canadian women novelists Women historical novelists