Ellis Peters

Ellis Peters (pseudonym of Edith May Pargeter, 1913-1995) was born in Horsehay, Shropshire, England. In her twenties, she took a position as an assistant at a pharmacy in Dawley. Over the next seven years, she began to seriously pursue writing. Before the war, she published her first novel under her real name, "The City Lies Foursquare" (1939). During World War II, she served in the navy, and her experiences were documented in the book "She Goes to War" (1942). She wrote approximately 75 books, both under her real name and under the male and female pseudonyms Ellis Peters, John Redfern, Jolyon Carr, and Peter Benedict. Among them, the famous medieval mystery series featuring Brother Cadfael ("The Cadfael Chronicles," twenty titles between 1977-1994) stands out, which was adapted for radio and television, starring Derek Jacobi (the entire series was also published in Greek by Agrostis/Kanaki editions). Additionally, she translated works by Czech prose writers and poets into English. Her crime novel "Death and the Joyful Woman" was honored with the American Edgar Award in 1963. In 1993, she was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award by the British Crime Writers' Association for her lifetime achievements. The following year, she was appointed OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) by the Queen for her contributions to literature. She passed away in 1995, at the age of 82, in the medieval town of Shrewsbury where she lived, which became famous through the "Chronicles" of Brother Cadfael. In 1999, the British Crime Writers' Association established the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award in her honor, which is awarded to works of historical mystery literature.