Nancy Affleck McKenzie (February 19, 1948) is an American author of

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 ...

. Her primary focus is

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

Publishing career

McKenzie published ''The Child Queen'' in 1994, and its sequel, ''The High Queen'', a year later. ''The Child Queen'' won "Discovery of the Year" from

Del Rey Books Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn, by Penguin Random House. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It ...

in 1993, and the Washington Irving Medal from Westchester Library Association, NY the following year. The two novels were combined into ''

Queen of Camelot ''Queen of Camelot'' is an Arthurian-legend based novel shown through the viewpoint of Queen Guinevere. It is a combination of two of Nancy McKenzie's previous books ''The Child Queen'' and ''The High Queen''. She states in the foreword that she o ...

'' in 2002. McKenzie wanted to rediscover Guinevere in her true fifth century environment. "I decided to write about Guinevere because I never understood her. I wanted to make her into someone a 20th-century person could understand," McKenzie said in an interview. Two sequels followed, ''

Grail Prince Grail Prince, a 2003 novel by American author Nancy McKenzie written in the tradition of Arthurian legends, recounts a version of Galahad's quest for the Holy Grail. The novel is a sequel to McKenzie's ''Queen of Camelot'' (2002). Plot summary Be ...

'' and ''Prince of Dreams'', following by two

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 ...

novels, ''Guinevere's Gift'' and ''Guinevere's Gamble''. ''Prince of Dreams'' tells the story of

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illic ...

, and takes place after King Arthur's death. One reviewer wrote of the novel, McKenzie "explores the vulnerability of women in a violent and patriarchal society". McKenzie recently stated "Thus far, my published books are all Arthurian adventures/ romances, but I am deeply interested in ancient Egyptian culture and hope to write an archaeologically up-to-date life of

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...

in the near future".

List of works

* ''The Child Queen'' (1994) * ''The High Queen'' (1995), combined with ''The Child Queen'' and republished as ''

'' in 2002. * ''

'' (2003) * ''Prince of Dreams'' (2004) *''The Chrysalis Queen Quartet'' series: :*''Guinevere's Gift'' (2008) :*''Guinevere's Gamble'' (2009)

Personal life

McKenzie was born in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

to James G. and Callie K Affleck. She graduated from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

in 1970, and achieved her

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

in 1973. She married Bruce Gordon McKenzie in 1972, and they have three daughters. McKenzie resides in

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. In between her novels, McKenzie ran a freelance desktop publishing business from 1989 to 2000. She has listed Mary Stewart as one of her favorite authors, along with

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wro ...

and .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Nancy 1948 births Living people People from Danbury, Connecticut People from Princeton, New Jersey Novelists from Connecticut Novelists from New Jersey Writers of modern Arthurian fiction American historical novelists American women novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Mount Holyoke College alumni Tufts University alumni Women historical novelists