Teresa Edgerton (born 1949) is an author of fantasy novels and short stories set in worlds that parallel the Middle Ages and the 18th century.

Literary biography

Born Teresa Ann Waller in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

, in 1949, she lived in the Los Angeles area until the age of 14, when her family moved to northern California. In high school, she spent her lunch hours in the school library, devouring one historical novel after another. At about that same time she discovered fantasy writers T. H. White,

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

and

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

, and science fiction writer

Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name ...

, whose combined influence would inspire her to begin creating imaginary worlds of her own. She met her husband, John Edgerton, in 1971, when she was working as a Tarot reader at a local

Renaissance faire A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent the ...

, and he was part of a

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

troupe putting on demonstrations of medieval tourney combat. They have four children. She and her husband live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her interest in

medieval society In the history of Europe The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the moder ...

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

, and Celtic mythology led her to begin writing the Green Lion Trilogy. The first book of the series, ''Child of Saturn'', was a finalist for the Compton Crook Award. It is set in Celydonn, a fictional Celtic realm. After completing this trilogy, her interest turned from epic fantasy to the pseudo-sciences of the 18th century, which resulted in the steampunkish

fantasy of manners The fantasy of manners is a literary genre, subgenre of fantasy literature that also partakes of the nature of a comedy of manners (though it is not necessarily humorous). Such works generally take place in an urban setting and within the confines ...

''Goblin Moon''. Other books and short stories followed. However, publication of ''The Queen's Necklace'' didn't produce enough sales to satisfy her publishers, and for a time she was unable to renew her publishing contract. In 2004 she was offered the chance to relaunch under the pseudonym Madeline Howard, and has since started a new trilogy, ''Rune of the Unmaking'', with the first novel, ''The Hidden Stars''.

Published works

Novels

''The Queen's Necklace'' (2001)

Celydonn

=The Green Lion trilogy (the first Celydonn trilogy)

= #''Child of Saturn'' (1989) #''The Moon in Hiding'' (1989) #''The Work of the Sun'' (1990)

=Second Celydonn trilogy

= #''The Castle of the Silver Wheel'' (1993) #''The Grail and the Ring'' (1994) #''The Moon and the Thorn'' (1995)

Mask and Dagger duology

#''Goblin Moon'' (1991) #''The Gnome's Engine'' (1991)

The Rune of Unmaking series (writing as Madeline Howard)

#''The Hidden Stars'' (2004) #''A Dark Sacrifice'' (2007)

Short stories

*"The Ghost in the Chimney" (1991) *"Titania, or The Celestial Bed" (1994) *"My Soul into the Boughs" (1995) *"A Wreath of Pale Flowers for Vitri" (1996) *"Tower of Brass" (1997) *"Rogue's Moon" (1997) *"Dying by Inches" (2001) *"Captured in Silver" (2004)

External links

Official Teresa Edgerton forum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edgerton, Teresa 1949 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American fantasy writers American women short story writers American women novelists People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles Women science fiction and fantasy writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers