Charlotte MacLeod

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charlotte Matilde MacLeod (born November 12, 1922 in Bath , New Brunswick , Canada, † January 14, 2005 in Lewiston , Maine ) was an American writer of Canadian origin.

life and work

In 1923 Charlotte MacLeod emigrated with her parents to the USA and grew up in Massachusetts. She attended the Boston Art Institute and after graduating worked as a librarian and copywriter. She has been writing novels since the mid-1960s, initially books for young people. It wasn't until the end of the 70s that she began to prefer to publish crime stories with wacky and funny acts - without brutality or sex.

Her first crime novel from the balaclava series Schlaf in heavenly peace (original: Rest you merry) was published in 1978 and was a great success. The balaclava thrillers are set at the agricultural institute Balaclava Agricultural College in Massachusetts , their hero is the beet-growing professor Peter Shandy . The Kelling series, written in parallel since 1979, deals with the upper class of Boston and its peculiarities. Her heroes are Sarah Kelling and her husband Max Bittersohn , who specializes in tracking down stolen works of art.

Under the stage name Alisa Craig , she published two other crime series that are set in Canada and only one novel is available in a translated version. Once with the protagonist Madoc Rhys as a police officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in New Brunswick. Second with Osbert Monk , author of western novels. His wife Dittany is a member of the Grub-and-Stake Gardening and Archery Club in Ontario (hence the "Grub-and-Stakers" in every title in the series).

Charlotte MacLeod was a founding member of the Sisters in Crime . In old age she developed Alzheimer's disease and had to give up writing.

Awards

Works

Balaclava series

  • 1978 Rest You Merry (German sleep in heavenly peace . DuMont, Cologne 1986)
  • 1981 The Luck Runs Out (Eng. Joy of Life . DuMont, Cologne 1987)
  • 1982 Wrack and Rune (Ger. About Stock and Runenstein . DuMont, Cologne 1989, new edition 2005)
  • 1983 Something the Cat Dragged In (dt. The cat can not change its spots . DuMont, Cologne 1991)
  • 1985 The Curse of the Giant Hogweed
  • 1987 The Corpse in Oozak's Pond (German. Silent ponds found deep . DuMont, Cologne 1994)
  • 1989 Vane Pursuit (Ger. When the weathercock crows . DuMont, Cologne 1996)
  • 1991 An Owl Too Many (Eng. An owl rarely comes alone . DuMont, Cologne 1997)
  • 1994 Something in the Water (German Miss Rondels Lupinen . DuMont, Cologne 1999)
  • 1996 Exit the Milkman (German for the milkman . DuMont, Cologne 2000)

Kelling series

  • 1980 The Family Vault (Eng. The family vault . DuMont, Cologne 1988)
  • 1981 The Withdrawing Room (Ger. Der Rauchsalon . DuMont, Cologne 1990)
  • 1982 The Palace Guard (German Madame Wilkins' Palazzo . DuMont, Cologne 1992)
  • 1983 The Bilbao Looking Glass (Ger. Der Spiegel aus Bilbao . DuMont, Cologne 1992)
  • 1984 The Convivial Codfish (German cod and caviar . DuMont, Cologne 1993)
  • 1985 The Plain Old Man (Eng. A simple old man . DuMont, Cologne 1995)
  • 1988 The Recycled Citizen (German tea leaves and pickpockets . DuMont, Cologne 1998)
  • 1988 The Silver Ghost (German Rolls Royce and bee stings . DuMont, Cologne 1999)
  • 1989 The Gladstone Bag (German yodelling and jewels . DuMont, Cologne 2000)
  • 1992 The Resurrection Man (German Arbalest's Atelier . DuMont, Cologne 2001)
  • 1995 The Odd Job (German Mona Lisa's hat pins . DuMont, Cologne 2001)
  • 1998 The Balloon Man (dt. The man in the balloon . DuMont Cologne 2002)

Madoc Rhys series (as Alisa Craig)

  • 1980 A Pint of Murder (Eng. A glass full of murder . DuMont, Cologne 2004)
  • 1981 Murder Goes Mumming
  • 1986 A Dismal Thing to Do
  • 1989 Trouble in the Brasses
  • 1992 The Wrong Rite

Osbert Monk series (as Alisa Craig)

  • 1981 The Grub and Stakers Move a Mountain
  • 1985 The Grub and Stakers Quilt a Bee
  • 1988 The Grub and Stakers Pinch a Poke
  • 1990 The Grub and Stakers Spin a Yarn
  • 1993 The Grub and Stakers House a Haunt

Anthologies

  • 1987 Grab Bag
  • 2002 It Was an Awful Shame and Other Stories

Story collections as editor

  • 1989 Mistletoe Mysteries (German Murder under the Christmas Tree . Droemer Knaur, Munich 1991)
  • 1992 Christmas Stalkings. Tales of Yuletide Murder (German murder under the mistletoe . Droemer Knaur, Munich 1993)

Others

  • 1968 The Fat Lady's Ghost
  • 1971 Ask Me No Questions
  • 1982 Cirak's Daughter
  • 1983 The Terrible Tide (as Alisa Craig)
  • 1984 Maid of Honor
  • 1994 Had She But Known , biography of crime writer Mary Roberts Rinehart

Remarks

  1. ↑ in Germany under the name Charlotte MacLeod published
  2. ↑ contains two stories with Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn and one story with Professor Peter Shandy
  3. ↑ New edition of Grab Bag with three additional stories, one of them with Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn

Web links

personal data
SURNAME MacLeod, Charlotte
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Craig, Alisa (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian-American crime novelist
DATE OF BIRTH November 12, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Bath , New Brunswick
DATE OF DEATH January 14, 2005
Place of death Lewiston , Maine