Mary, Lady Stewart (born Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow; 17 September 1916 – 9 May 2014) was a British novelist who developed the romantic mystery genre, featuring smart, adventurous heroines who could hold their own in dangerous situations. She also wrote children's books and poetry, but may be best known for her Merlin series, which straddles the boundary between the historical novel and fantasy.

Early life and education

Mary Florence Elinor Rainbow was born on 17 September 1916 in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, County Durham, England, UK, daughter of Mary Edith Matthews, a primary school teacher from New Zealand, and Frederick Albert Rainbow, a vicar. She was a bright child and attended Eden Hall boarding school in Penrith, Cumbria, age eight. She was bullied there and stated that this had a lasting effect on her. At ten, she won a scholarship to Skellfield School, Ripon, Yorkshire, where she excelled at sport. Offered places by Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham universities, she chose Durham as it offered the largest bursary and least travel. She graduated from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

in 1938 with first-class honours in English, was awarded a first-class Teaching Diploma in English with Art the following year and in 1941 gained her master's degree.

Academic teaching

The scarcity of jobs during World War II meant that she held a variety of posts during this period, including primary school teaching, teaching at secondary level at a girls' boarding school, and working part-time at the Sixth Form of Durham School. Between 1941 and 1956, she was an assistant lecturer (1941–5) and part-time lecturer (1948–56) in English literature, mostly

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

, at Durham University. She received an honorary D.Litt. in 2009. It was in Durham that she met and married her husband, Frederick Stewart, a young Scot who lectured in Geology. She became known as Mary Stewart. In 1956, the couple moved to Edinburgh. Mary, in her own words, was a "born storyteller" and had been writing stories since the age of three. Following the move to Scotland, she submitted a novel to the publishers Hodder & Stoughton. ''Madam, Will You Talk?'' was an immediate success, followed by many other successful works over the years.

Writing career

Stewart was the best-selling author of many romantic suspense and historical fiction novels. They were well received by critics, due especially to her skillful story-telling and elegant prose. Her novels are also known for their well-crafted settings, many in England but also in such locations as

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and the

Greek islands Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by a ...

, as well as Spain, France, Austria, etc. She was at the height of her popularity from the late 1950s to the 1980s, when many of her novels were translated into other languages. '' The Moon-Spinners'', one of her most popular novels, was also made into a Disney movie. Stewart was one of the most prominent writers of the romantic suspense subgenre, blending romance novels and mystery. Critically, her works are considered superior to those of other acclaimed romantic suspense novelists, such as

Victoria Holt Eleanor Alice Hibbert (née Burford; 1 September 1906 – 18 January 1993) was an English writer of historical romances. She was a prolific writer who published several books a year in different literary genres, each genre under a different pen ...

and

Phyllis Whitney Phyllis Ayame Whitney (September 9, 1903 – February 8, 2008Leimbach, Dulci ''The New York Times''. 9 February 2008.) was an American mystery writer of more than 70 novels. Born in Japan to American parents in 1903, she spent her early years in ...

. She seamlessly combined the two genres, maintaining a full mystery while focusing on the courtship between two people, so that the process of solving the mystery "helps to illuminate" the hero's personality—thereby helping the heroine to fall in love with him. In the late 1960s a new generation of young readers revived a readership in

T. H. White Terence Hanbury "Tim" White (29 May 1906 – 17 January 1964) was an English writer best known for his Arthurian novels, published together in 1958 as ''The Once and Future King''. One of his most memorable is the first of the series, '' The Sw ...

's '' The Once and Future King'' (published in full 1958) and '' The Lord of the Rings'' (published in full 1956), and as a consequence Arthurian and heroic legends regained popularity among a critical mass of readers. Mary Stewart added to this climate by publishing ''

The Crystal Cave ''The Crystal Cave'' is a 1970 fantasy novel by Mary Stewart. The first in a quintet of novels covering the Arthurian legend, it is followed by '' The Hollow Hills''. Plot introduction The protagonist of this story is a boy named Myrddin Emrys ...

'' (1970), the first in what was to become The Merlin Trilogy, later extended by two further novels. The books placed Stewart on the best-seller list many times throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Personal life

Mary Rainbow met and married her husband, Frederick Stewart, a young Scot lecturer in Geology, whilst they were both working at Durham University. They were married by her father in September 1945 after having met at a VE Day dance; their engagement was announced in '' The Times'' only one month after they met. At 30, she suffered an

ectopic pregnancy Ectopic pregnancy is a complication of pregnancy in which the embryo attaches outside the uterus. Signs and symptoms classically include abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding, but fewer than 50 percent of affected women have both of these symptoms. ...

, undiagnosed for several weeks, and as a consequence could not have children. In 1956, they moved to Edinburgh, where he became professor of geology and mineralogy, and later chairman of the Geology Department at University of Edinburgh. In 1974, Mary's husband Frederick Stewart was knighted and she became Lady Stewart, although she never used the title. Her husband died in 2001. In semi-retirement Stewart resided in Edinburgh as well as near

Loch Awe Loch Awe (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Obha'') is a large body of freshwater in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such ...

. An avid gardener, Mary and her husband shared a keen love of nature. She was also fond of her cat Tory, a black and white female, who lived to be eighteen. Mary Stewart died on 9 May 2014. Her entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography was added in 2022.

Awards

Fantasy genre

Mystery genre

Bibliography

Romantic suspense novels

*'' Madam, Will You Talk?'' (1955) *''

Wildfire at Midnight ''Wildfire at Midnight'' is a novel by Mary Stewart which was first published in 1956. Stewart herself described the book as "an attempt at something different, the classic closed-room detective story with restricted action, a biggish cast, and ...

'' (1956) *''Thunder on the Right'' (1957) *''

Nine Coaches Waiting ''Nine Coaches Waiting'' is a then-contemporary romantic suspense novel by Mary Stewart who became known as "The Queen of Suspense". The novel was copyrighted by the author in 1958 and published on January 1, 1959. The setting is the late 195 ...

'' (1958) *'' My Brother Michael'' (1959) *''

The Ivy Tree ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1961) *'' The Moon-Spinners'' (1962) *''

This Rough Magic ''This Rough Magic'' is a romantic suspense novel by Mary Stewart, first published in 1964. The title is a quote from William Shakespeare's '' The Tempest''. Like several other novels by Stewart, it is set in Greece and has an element of susp ...

'' (1964) *''

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'' (1965) *''The Gabriel Hounds'' (1967) *''

The Wind Off the Small Isles ''The Wind Off the Small Isles'' is a novella by Mary Stewart, first published in 1968. Unlike her other works, it is brief, at only 96 pages in hardcover. It was never published in the United States. Stewart's British publisher, Hodder & Stough ...

'' (1968) *''

Touch Not the Cat ''Touch Not the Cat'' is a novel by Mary Stewart. Background ''Touch Not the Cat'' was first published in 1976 and is one of Mary Stewart's best-known works. In the United States, ''Touch Not the Cat'' was the 9th highest selling book of 1976. ...

'' (1976) *'' Thornyhold'' (1988) *''Stormy Petrel'' (1991) *''Rose Cottage'' (1997)

The Merlin Chronicles

#''

'' (1970) #''

The Hollow Hills ''The Hollow Hills'' is a novel by Mary Stewart. It is the second in a trilogy of novels covering the Arthurian Legends. This book is preceded by ''The Crystal Cave'' and succeeded by ''The Last Enchantment''. ''The Hollow Hills'' was publ ...

'' (1973) #'' The Last Enchantment'' (1979) #'' The Wicked Day'' (1983) #'' The Prince and the Pilgrim'' (1995)

Children's novels

*''The Little Broomstick'' (1971) (adapted as the 2017 animated feature film ''

Mary and the Witch's Flower is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura, animated by Studio Ponoc, and distributed by Toho in Japan. Based on the 1971 book ''The Little Bro ...

'') *''Ludo and the Star Horse'' (1974) *'' A Walk in Wolf Wood'' (1980) *''The Castle of Danger'' (1981) - children's version of ''

'' (1958)

Poetry

*''Frost on the Window: And other Poems'' (1990) (poetry collection)

References

Sources

* * *Stewart, Mary (1973), ''About Mary Stewart'', Ontario, Canada: Musson Book Company, 14 page booklet with no ISBN

External links

"Off the Page-Mary Stewart"
2010. Culture and literature series featuring a Scottish writer each week. In this episode, romance and historical novelist Mary Stewart discusses her natural passion for reading and writing, and the creation of her Merlin novels.
"Mary Stewart: A Teller of Tales"
2011. Article by Katherine Hall Page from ''Mystery Scene''.

* ttp://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20066853,00.html "Novelist Mary Stewart's a Lady Like Antonia Fraser—by Title; and That Ends the Similarity"1976. Early ''People'' magazine article by Fred Hauptfuhrer. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Mary 1916 births 2014 deaths Writers of modern Arthurian fiction English fantasy writers English mystery writers English historical novelists English romantic fiction writers Agatha Award winners Alumni of St Hild's College, Durham 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers People from Sunderland Writers from Tyne and Wear British women short story writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers Women romantic fiction writers Women mystery writers English women novelists English short story writers Women historical novelists 20th-century British short story writers