Caroline Stevermer (born 1955) is an American writer of

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novels and shorter works. She is best known for

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic (fantasy), magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those c ...

novels.

Personal life

Caroline Stevermer was born in 1955, and grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota along with one sister and two brothers. She wanted to be a writer at age 8. She obtained her B.A. degree in the history of art from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Her first two books were published under the name C. J. Stevermer. Her first novel written as Caroline Stevermer was ''The Serpent's Egg''. She currently lives in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. In 2008, she donated her archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

Works

Series

Nicholas Coffin

These were her first professional sales and were published by Ace under the name C. J. Stevermer. These feature an English alchemist in Rome at the time of the

House of Borgia The House of Borgia ( ; ; Spanish language, Spanish and ; ) was a Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Xàtiva, Kingdom of Valencia, the surname being a Toponymic surname, toponymic from ...

. * ''The Alchemist: Death of a Borgia'' (1980) * ''The Duke and the Veil'' (1981)

Cecelia and Kate

With Patricia C. Wrede, Stevermer wrote three novels set in an alternate Regency England where magic exists. The authors tell these stories from the first-person perspectives of cousins Kate and Cecelia (and, in the third book, two additional characters), who recount their adventures in magic and polite society. The first book is an

epistolary novel An epistolary novel () is a novel written as a series of letters between the fictional characters of a narrative. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse other kinds of fictional document with the letters, most commonly di ...

. Unusually, it was written by the two authors exchanging letters with each other for the alternating sections, but never discussing the plot (the "Letter Game"). * ''Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country'' (1988, reprinted 2003) * ''The Grand Tour or The Purloined Coronation Regalia: Being a Revelation of Matters of High Confidentiality and Greatest Importance, Including Extracts from the Intimate Diary of a Noblewoman and the Sworn Testimony of a Lady of Quality'' (2004) * ''The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After: Being the Private Correspondence Between Two Prominent Families Regarding a Scandal Touching the Highest Levels of Government and the Security of the Realm'' (2006). * ''Magic Below Stairs'' (2010) was written by Caroline Stevermer alone, and is set in the same universe after ''The Grand Tour'' but before ''The Mislaid Magician.'' It follows the character Frederick Lincoln as a child in the house of the Schofields. - The first two books in this series (''Sorcery and Cecelia'' and ''The Grand Tour'') were published in an omnibus edition, ''Magicians of Quality'' in 2005.

A College of Magics

Her Galazon series comprise a

Ruritanian romance Ruritanian romance is a genre of literature, film and theatre comprising novels, stories, plays and films set in a fictional country, usually in Central or Eastern Europe, such as the " Ruritania" that gave the genre its name. Such stories are t ...

series with

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

. Caroline Stevermer attended

, and Greenlaw, the ''College '' in ''A College of Magics'', may be based on her experiences there.

Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958, in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram St ...

selected ''College'' as one of the best fantasy books of 1994, describing it as "charmingly distinctive . . . arked bythe sly wit and sparkling prose that have earned her a cult following"."Summation 1994: Fantasy," ''

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror ''The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'' was a reprint anthology published annually by St. Martin's Press from 1988 to 2007. In addition to the short stories, supplemented by a list of honorable mentions, each edition included a number of retrospect ...

: Eighth Annual Collection'', p.xviii * ''A College of Magics'' (1994), received a Minnesota Book Award * ''A Scholar of Magics'' (2004), a semi-

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

* ''When the King Comes Home'' (2000), a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

. - The first two books of this series (''A College of Magics'' and ''A Scholar of Magics'') were published as an omnibus edition, ''Scholarly Magics'' (2004, reprinted 2008). This was the Science Fiction Book Club's featured alternate selection for Spring 2004.

Stand-alone works

* ''River Rats'' (1992, reprinted 2005), a

Minnesota Book Award The Minnesota Book Awards are presented annually for books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans. The award, originally established in 1988, is organized by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. History ...

s finalist, is a

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

adventure novel on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

with echoes of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

. This book is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and received the Golden Duck Award and Golden Kite Award. * ''The Serpent's Egg'' (1998), is a fantasy. It was her first novel written as Caroline Stevermer. *''The Glass Magician'' (2020), is a historical fantasy whose ending implies further works.

Anthology appearances

* ''All Hallows' Eve: Tales of Love and the Supernatural'' (1992), edited by Mary Elizabeth Allen ("Waiting for Harry" * ''Snow White, Blood Red''(1993), edited by Ellen Datlow and

, containing retellings of fairy tales. ("The Springfield Swans" with Ryan Edmonds) * ''The Armless Maiden and Other Tales for Childhood's Survivors'' (1995), edited by Terri Windling. (O"Watching the Bobolinks") * ''The Essential Bordertown'' in the Borderland

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where one or more writers (or other artists) independently contribute works that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, charact ...

series (1998), edited by Terri Windling and Delia Sherman. ("Rag") * ''The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales'' (2007), edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling ("Uncle Bob Visits") * ''Willful Impropriety: 13 Tales of Society, Scandal and Romance'' (2012), edited by

Ekaterina Sedia Ekaterina Sedia (born July 9, 1970) is a Russian fantasy writer. She immigrated to the United States and attended college in New Jersey to obtain her Ph.D. Her most famous work is '' The Alchemy of Stone'', a steampunk novel that examines sexism ...

themed around historical romance. ("The Language of Flowers"_ * ''Queen Victoria's Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy'' (2013), editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, themed around 19th century gaslamp reomance. ("The Vital Importance of the Superficial" with Ellen Kushner) * ''The Mammoth Book of Gaslit Romances'' (Mammoth Romances) (2014), ediedd by Ekaterina Sedia. ("Waiting for Harry") * ''Liavek 6: Wizard's Row'' (2016), edited by

Will Shetterly Will Shetterly (born 1955) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction best known for his novel '' Dogland'' (1997). The novel is inspired by his childhood at the tourist attraction Dog Land owned by his parents. He won the Minnesota B ...

and

Emma Bull Emma Bull (born December 13, 1954) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her novels include the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo- and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula-nominated ''Bone Dance'' and the urban fantasy ''War for the Oa ...

and part of the

Liavek Liavek is a series of five fantasy anthologies edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly set in a shared world. Orson Scott Card found the initial volume to be "an example of what can be accomplished n a shared-world projectwhen almost everything ...

shared universe. ("Cenedwine Brocade")

List of short stories

* "Waiting for Harry" found in ''All Hallows' Eve: Tales of Love and the Supernatural'' (1992) and ''The Mammoth Book of Gaslit Romances'' (2014) * "The Springfield Swans" with Ryan Edmonds found in ''Snow White, Blood Red'' (1993) * "Rag" found in ''The Essential Bordertown'' (1998) * "Uncle Bob Visits" found in ''The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales'' (Mythic Fiction # 3) (2007) * "The Language of Flowers" found in ''Willful Impropriety: 13 Tales of Society, Scandal and Romance'' (2012) * "The Vital Importance of the Superficial" with Ellen Kushner found in ''Queen Victoria's Book of Spells: An Anthology of Gaslamp Fantasy'' (2013) * "Cenedwine Brocade" found in ''Liavek 6: Wizard's Row'' (2016)

Essays

* "Afterword" in ''Sorcery and Cecelia'' (1988) with Patrica C. Wrede * "Watching the Bobolinks" found in ''The Armless Maiden and Other Tales for Childhood's Survivors'' (1995)

Reviews

* "Review: A Scholar of Magics" in ''Amazing Stories, September 2004'', editor Dave Gross. With John C. Bunnell * "Reviews: Books" in ''Amazing Stories, September 2004'', editor Dave Gross. With Dorman T. Shindler, John Gregory Betancourt, Rob Lightner, Paul Hughes, John Pelan, Shelly Baur, Wolfgang Baur, Therese Littleton, and John C. Bunnell

Shared universes

She has participated in: *

Borderlands A borderland or borderlands are the geographical space or zone around a territorial border. Borderland or borderlands may refer to: Places * Borderland, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia * Borderland (elec ...

*The

References

External links

* * *
Bibliography
on SciFan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevermer, Caroline Living people 1955 births Bryn Mawr College alumni Novelists from Minnesota 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women science fiction and fantasy writers American fantasy writers American women novelists American children's writers American women children's writers American women writers of young adult literature American young adult novelists