Heather Benedict Terrell (born November 24, 1968) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

who writes some of her novels under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Marie Benedict.

Life and education

Terrell attended and graduated from

Upper St. Clair High School Upper St. Clair High School (USCHS) is a public secondary school in Upper St. Clair Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania and the sole high school within Upper St. Clair School District, the township's namesake ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. She then studied History and Art History at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, where she graduated magna cum laude. She then attended and graduated cum laude from

Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an eli ...

. Terrell lives in Pittsburgh with her husband Jim Terrell and their two children.

Career

After graduating from

, Terrell worked as a litigator for ten years, practicing in New York City at

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1948, the firm consistently ranks among the top U.S. law firms by revenue. The company is known for its wor ...

, and

Morrison & Foerster Morrison & Foerster LLP (also known as MoFo) is an American multinational law firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 17 offices located throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. The firm has over 1,000 lawyers who advise cli ...

. Terrell published her first novel, ''The Chrysalis'', in 2007, after which she left her work as a litigator and began writing full time. Terrell's "mission is to excavate from the past the most important, complex and fascinating women of history and bring them into the light of present-day where we can finally perceive the breadth of their contributions as well as the insights they bring to modern day issues." Later in her career, Terrell began writing about women who were often overshadowed by the men in their lives, including

Mileva Marić Mileva Marić ( sr-cyr, Милева Марић; 19 December 1875 – 4 August 1948), sometimes called Mileva Marić-Einstein ( sr-cyr, Милева Марић-Ајнштајн, Mileva Marić-Ajnštajn), was a Serbian physicist and mathematicia ...

(''The Other Einstein,'' 2016),

Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actresse ...

(''The Only Woman in the Room'', 2019),

Clementine Churchill Clementine Ogilvy Spencer Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill, (; 1 April 1885 – 12 December 1977) was the wife of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a life peer in her own right. While legally the daughter ...

(''Lady Clementine'', 2020),

Belle da Costa Greene Belle da Costa Greene (November 26, 1879 – May 10, 1950) was an American librarian best known for managing and developing the personal library of J. P. Morgan. After Morgan's death in 1913, Greene continued as librarian for his son, Jack ...

(''

The Personal Librarian ''The Personal Librarian'' is fictionalized telling of the lifework of Belle da Costa Greene, the personal librarian to J. P. Morgan, as well as the first director of the Morgan Library & Museum. The book, co-written by Marie Benedict and Victo ...

'', 2021), and

Rosalind Franklin Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 192016 April 1958) was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), RNA (ribonucleic acid), viruses, co ...

(''Her Hidden Genius'', 2022). Terrell's novels have been translated into twenty-nine languages.

Selected texts

''The Only Woman in the Room'' (2019)

''The Only Woman in the Room'', published in 2019 by Sourcebooks Landmark, is a fictionalized biography of

. The book is a ''New York Times'' and USA Today bestseller and

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...

Book Club Pick. In 2019, it received a space in Library Reads's Hall of Fame.

''Lady Clementine'' (2020)

''Lady Clementine,'' published January 7, 2020, by Sourcebooks Landmark, is a fictionalized biography of

, the wife of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. The book received a starred review from ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' and received a space in Library Reads's Hall of Fame.

''The Mystery of Mrs. Christie'' (2020)

''The Mystery of Mrs. Christie'', published in 2020 by Sourcebooks Landmark, follows the disappearance of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

in December 1926. The book was a ''

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 ...

'' and ''USA Today'' bestseller. In December 2020, Library Reads named Terrell a Hall of Fame author for the book.

''The Personal Librarian'' (2021)

''The Personal Librarian,'' co-authored by

Victoria Christopher Murray Victoria Christopher Murray is an American editor and author of over 30 books, with "more than one million books in print." Personal life and education Murray was born in Queens, New York. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Disord ...

and published in 2021 by

Berkley Books Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berk ...

, is a fictionalized biography of

's life as the personal librarian to

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

and the first director of the

Morgan Library & Museum The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th S ...

. ''The Personal Librarian'' received starred reviews from ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' and ''

,'' as well as positive reviews from news outlets. ''Booklist'' named ''The Personal Librarian'' one of the top ten

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 ...

novels of 2021. It was also nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction the same year.

Publications

As Marie Benedict

*''The Other Einstein'' (2016) *''Carnegie's Maid'' (2018) *''The Only Woman in the Room'' (2019) *''Agent 355'' (2020) *''Lady Clementine''*''Agent 355'' *''The Personal Librarian'' *''Smoke Signal'' (2020) *''The Mystery of Mrs. Christie'' (2020) *''

'', co-authored by

(2021) *''Smoke Signal'', co-authored by

Kate Quinn Kate Quinn is an American writer, known for her works of historical fiction. Biography Quinn is a native of Southern California. She is based in San Diego. She graduated from Boston University with a master's degree in classical voice. Quin ...

(2021) *''Her Hidden Genius'' (2022)

As Heather Terrell

* * * * * * *

Sources

* ''Contemporary Authors Online''. The Gale Group, 2008. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000177917. * Bob Hoover (2003)
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'': Profile of Heather Terrell
Retrieved November 29, 2008.

References

External links

Heather Terrell Website

Marie Benedict website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terrell, Heather 1968 births Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American mystery writers American thriller writers American women novelists Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni Boston University School of Law alumni Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom people Women mystery writers Women thriller writers Writers from Pittsburgh Novelists from Pennsylvania 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from New York City 20th-century American women People associated with Morrison & Foerster