M. C. Beaton (1936–2019)
Forfatter af Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death
Om forfatteren
M. C. Beaton's real name is Marion Chesney. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1936. She has written over a hundred books under her own name and other pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Helen Crampton, Jennie Tremaine, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester. She started her writing career while working as a vis mere fiction buyer for a bookstore in Glasgow. Working at one time or another as a theater critic, newspaper reporter, and editor, she used her British background to write a series of regency romances set in England and Scotland. Some of her regency romances include The Folly, Colonel Sandhurst to the Rescue, and Regency Gold. In 1986, she was awarded the Romantic Times Award for Outstanding Regency Series Writer. She has also written two mystery series under the pseudonym M. C. Beaton: The Hamish Macbeth Series, which became the inspiration for a television show in England, and The Agatha Raisin Series, about a retired advertising executive. Her title His and Hers made The New York Times Best Seller List for 2012. Marion Chesney passed away on December 31, 2019 at the age of 83. (Bowker Author Biography) vis mindre
Disambiguation Notice:
(eng) Marion Chesney also writes under the pseudonyms of Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, M. C. Beaton, and Sarah Chester. More of her books are being reedited as Marion Chesney or M. C. Beaton.
Image credit: M.C. Beaton by David Shankbone. 25 September 2006. New York City.
Serier
Værker af M. C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin: The Wizard of Evesham / The Murderous Marriage (BBC Dramatization) (2009) 20 eksemplarer
Agatha Raisin: The Terrible Tourist / The Fairies of Fryfam (BBC Dramatization) (2010) 18 eksemplarer
Death of a Gossip / Death of a Cad / Death of an Outsider / Death of a Perfect Wife (2012) 16 eksemplarer
Agatha Raisin: The Potted Gardener / The Walkers of Dembley (BBC Dramatization) (2007) 14 eksemplarer
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death / and the Vicious Vet / and the Potted Gardener (2004) 7 eksemplarer
Introducing Hamish Macbeth: Mysteries #1-3: Death of a Gossip, Death of a Cad, and Death of an Outsider Omnibus (2016) 5 eksemplarer
Agatha Raisin y el manantial de la muerte (Agatha Raisin 7) (Novela (Best Seller)) (2024) 4 eksemplarer
The Royal Ambition Series: The Dreadful Debutante, The Savage Marquess, Miss Fiona's Fancy, The Viscount's Revenge, The… (2018) 3 eksemplarer
Hamish Macbeth Ten Books (Death of a Gentle Lady / Death of a Poison Pen / Death of a Village / Death of a Celebrity /… (2010) 2 eksemplarer
Hamish Macbeth Books 1-10 (Death of a Gossip, Death of a Cad, Death of an Outsider, Death of a Perfect Wife, Death of a… (2018) 2 eksemplarer
M. C. Beaton 2 eksemplarer
Agatha Raisin La sorgente della Morte 1 eksemplar
Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death; the Potted Gardner; the Walkers of Dembley; the Murderous Marriage; the Wellspring… (2000) 1 eksemplar
Hamish Macbeth Murder Mystery Collection (Death of a Nag, Death of a Macho Man, Death of a Dentist, Death of a… (2011) 1 eksemplar
Hamish Macbeth verschlägt es die Sprache: Kriminalroman (Schottland-Krimis, Band 14) (2023) 1 eksemplar
Agatha Raisin I Camminatori di Dembley 1 eksemplar
Agatha Raisin La turista terribile 1 eksemplar
Agatha Raisin Il matrimonio assassino 1 eksemplar
Hamish Macbeth 22 - Coup de balai 1 eksemplar
Hamish Macbeth 21 - Les Règles de l'art 1 eksemplar
Dood van een hufter 1 eksemplar
Agatha Raisin La giardiniera invasata 1 eksemplar
Agatha Raisin Il veterinario crudele 1 eksemplar
Associated Works
Books to Die For: The World's Greatest Mystery Writers on the World's Greatest Mystery Novels (2012) 245 eksemplarer
The Mysterious Press Anniversary Anthology: Celebrating 25 Years (2001) — Bidragyder — 70 eksemplarer
Agatha Raisin and the quiche of death : a mystery/comedy in two acts (2004) — Original author — 2 eksemplarer
Agatha Raisin, Series 1-3 — Original Books — 1 eksemplar
Hamish Macbeth - Series 1 & 2 [Videorecording] — Original Books — 1 eksemplar
Hamish MacBeth: The Big Freeze, Wee Jock's Lament and a Bit of an Epic — Original Books — 1 eksemplar
Satte nøgleord på
Almen Viden
- Juridisk navn
- Chesney Gibbons, Marion
- Andre navne
- Fairfax, Ann (pseudonym)
Tremaine, Jennie (pseudonym)
Crampton, Helen (pseudonym)
Chesney, Marion (maiden name and pseudonym)
Ward, Charlotte (pseudonym)
Beaton, M. C. (pseudonym) (vis alle 7)
Chester, Sarah (pseudonym) - Fødselsdato
- 1936-06-10
- Dødsdag
- 2019-12-30
- Køn
- female
- Nationalitet
- UK
- Fødested
- Glasgow, Scotland, UK
- Dødssted
- Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, UK
- Bopæl
- Cotswolds, England, UK
Paris, France - Erhverv
- buyer (for bookshop)
theater critic
reporter (newspaper)
editor
novelist - Relationer
- Gibbons, Harry Scott (husband)
- Kort biografi
- Marion Chesney was a very prolific author, born in 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland. She started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any knowledge of shorthand or typing. She quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She later moved to the Scottish Daily Express, where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. She married Harry Scott Gibbons, the paper's Middle East Correspondent and had a son, Charles. The family later moved to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia, where Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York. Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion began to write historical romances in 1977. Marion wrote over 100 of these historical romances under her maiden name Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester. Finally becoming fed up with all eras from 1714 to 1910, she began to write contemporary detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. A trip to Sutherland on holiday and a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. The family later returned to Britain and bought a croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep and Charles went to school in London. When Charles finished school, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.
- Oplysning om flertydighed
- Marion Chesney also writes under the pseudonyms of Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, M. C. Beaton, and Sarah Chester. More of her books are being reedited as Marion Chesney or M. C. Beaton.
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Associated Authors
Statistikker
- Værker
- 261
- Also by
- 17
- Medlemmer
- 51,929
- Popularitet
- #293
- Vurdering
- 3.5
- Anmeldelser
- 1,728
- ISBN
- 4,456
- Sprog
- 15
- Udvalgt
- 76
The Potted Gardener
I enjoyed the TV series of these books with Ashley Jensen and I loved listening to Penelope Keith in the full cast BBC dramatisation of the first two books, so I decided to continue on in the same vein. Ms Keith is back in Carsely playing Agatha Raisin and this time Agatha can't resist taking shortcuts to win the gardening competition. You'd think she would have learned her lesson after the Quiche of Death but after all, as she points out, the judge is hardly going to eat her garden.
But this is Aggie and of course there is a murder; one of the gardeners is, quite literally, potted. So she and her neighbour James Lacey, following very strict orders from Detective Sergeant Bill Wong not to interfere, go ahead and investigate on their own.
Given that the whole audiobook (I think this and The Walkers of Dembley together) is around 2 hours long, I suspect that this dramatisation is an abridged version of the book and some details (like Chivers's - the marmalade cat - name; actually she seems to have two cats in the e-book) have been changed. I guessed who the murderer might be before they were revealed but I don't know if that would have been the case if I had read the book.
The mystery, as I heard it, wasn't the most mysterious but I love listening to Penelope Keith in this role and James is a good foil for Aggie. Her former employee, Roy, is back too. There are some hilarious moments and I'm looking forward to continuing on with The Walkers of Dembley.
(March 2024)
4-4.5 stars (****)
Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley
{fourth of 34+3 in Agatha Raisin series; detective, murder, mystery, crime, village life, Cotswolds, English countryside, comedy, audiobook, BBC adaptation}(2010)
Another instalment, listening to the lovely voice of Penelope Keith as Agatha. Having skimmed through the e-book of The Potted Gardener (looking for a quote after listening to the audiobook) I've concluded that these dramatisations are probably closer to the television adaptations than to the books themselves - not that I'm complaining.
This time Agatha - with James in tow - is asked to investigate by Sir Charles - for a fee, no less! - and clear his name after a rambler using the right of way over his fields is killed after a run-in with his estate manager. The rambler belonged to a group from a close by village called 'The Walkers of Dembley' so Agatha and James go under cover in a flat (supplied by Sir Charles) as a married couple (there are two beds) in the village and start asking questions.
I thought the mystery was solved rather quickly but I'm having such fun listening to Agatha and James!
(April 2024)
4 stars (****)
Averaging: 4 stars (I love listening to this audio adaptation)… (mere)