Carolyn Meyer (born June 8, 1935) is an American author of

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s for children and young adults. The typical genre for her work is

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 ...

, one of her more popular projects being the ''

Young Royals ''Young Royals'' is a Swedish teen drama romance streaming television series on Netflix. Set at the fictional elite boarding school Hillerska, the plot primarily follows the fictional Prince Wilhelm of Sweden (Edvin Ryding), his romance with ...

'' series, each novel of which tells the story of a different crown princess (duchess, in the case of Catherine de Medici, and

lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

, in the case of

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

) of her home country; either

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. For example, one of Carolyn Meyer's works is ''Duchessina'', which is the story of the troubled childhood and young adulthood of the Italian duchess

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...

up to her meeting with Crown Prince Henry of France. One recent novel in the ''Young Royals'' is ''Victoria Rebels'', which is about the teenage

Princess Victoria of Kent Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

and her budding relationship with Prince Albert of Germany.

Early life

Born June 8, 1935, as an only child in

Lewistown, Pennsylvania Lewistown is a borough in and the county seat of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the principal city of the '' Lewistown, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area'', which encompasses all of Mifflin County. It lies along the Juniata Ri ...

, Meyer began her first "novel," ''Humpy the Caterpillar and Gladys the Snail: A True Life Romance'' at age eight. However, she completed only three chapters.

Career

Meyer's latest work published is ''Beauty's Daughter: The Story of Hermione and Helen of Troy'', published October 2013. Her previous published work was ''The True Adventures of Charley Darwin'', focusing on the life of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

, quite a leap from her usual subjects, for she has gone from royalty, to European artists, and now to scientists. ''The True Adventures of Charley Darwin'' is unusual in that it breaks from Meyer's formula of always having a female narrator, as Charley narrates his own story. The

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

version of this book was published on January 26, 2009. Before ''Darwin'' came ''In Mozart's Shadow'', a historical novel about

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

and narrated by his older sister,

Maria Anna Mozart Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart (30 July 1751 – 29 October 1829), called "Marianne" and nicknamed Nannerl, was a musician, the older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) and daughter of Leopold (1719–1787) and Anna Maria Moz ...

, nicknamed Nannerl, released in 2008.Details for ''In Mozart's Shadow'' at Amazon booksellers
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Personal life

Mother to three grown sons, she resides in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. Her husband, E.A. "Tony" Mares, a New Mexico poet, essayist and historian, and professor at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

, died January 30, 2015.

Novels

References

External links

*
Interview
at publisher Harcourt * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Carolyn 1935 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American young adult novelists American historical novelists American women novelists Living people Writers from Albuquerque, New Mexico People from Lewistown, Pennsylvania Novelists from Pennsylvania Women writers of young adult literature Women historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period