Charlotte MacLeod (November 12, 1922 – January 14, 2005) was a

Canadian-American Canadian Americans () are Citizenship of the United States, American citizens or in some uses residents whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadians, Canadian, or citizens of either country who hold dual citizenship. Today, many Canadian American ...

mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...

writer.

Biography

Charlotte Matilda MacLeod was born in 1922 in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada, but

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to the United States in 1923 and became a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

US citizen in 1951. She attended the

Art Institute of Boston Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1909 to educate teachers. Originally founded as a women's college, male students were admitted beginning in 2005. History 1909–1998 The ...

. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, she worked as a

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...

for Stop & Shop Supermarkets in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. She eventually moved on to join the staff of N. H. Miller & Company, an

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

, where she rose to the level of

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

; she retired in 1982. While continuing to work at the advertising company during the day, MacLeod began writing mystery fiction, eventually publishing over 30 novels. Many of her books are set in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, including a series featuring university professor Peter Shandy, and another about Beacon Hill couple Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. Other mysteries, set in Canada, were published under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Alisa Craig. MacLeod tailored her books to fit into the

cozy mystery Cozy mysteries (also referred to as cozies) are a sub-genre of crime fiction in which sex and violence occur offstage, the detective is an amateur sleuth, and the crime and detection take place in a small socially-intimate community. Cozies thus s ...

genre, i.e. avoiding too much violence, gore, or sex while featuring a humorous and literate-yet-light style, likable

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

s, and eccentric casts of secondary characters. Her work sold over one million copies in the United States as well as Canada and Japan. MacLeod was co-founder of the American Crime Writers League and served as president. She received a

Nero Award The Nero Award is a literary award for excellence in the mystery genre presented by The Wolfe Pack, a society founded in 1978 to explore and celebrate the Nero Wolfe stories of Rex Stout. The Nero Award is presented annually at the Black Orch ...

for ''The Corpse in Oozak's Pond'' in 1987, which was also nominated for an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

. MacLeod began writing at 6 a.m. each day, continued through the morning, then used the afternoon for rewrites. She only started new books on Sundays. Although described as a "true lady" and often seen with hat and white gloves, while writing she would stay dressed in a bathrobe to avoid the temptation of leaving the house for an errand. MacLeod spent her final years in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. Toward the end of her years she suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. She died on January 14, 2005, at a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ) is the List of municipalities in Maine, second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the sta ...

Awards

In 1998, MacLeod received the

Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no expli ...

Bibliography

As Charlotte MacLeod

;Mysteries starring Prof. Peter Shandy of (fictional) Balaclava Agricultural College & Helen Marsh Shandy, D.L.S. *''Rest You Merry'' (1979) evised and expanded from a short story, which became the opening chapter*''The Luck Runs Out'' (1981) *''Wrack and Rune'' (1982) *''Something the Cat Dragged In'' (1984) *''The Curse of the Giant Hogweed'' (1985) *''The Corpse in Oozak's Pond'' (1987) *''Vane Pursuit'' (1989) *''An Owl Too Many'' (1991) *''Something in the Water'' (1994) *''Exit the Milkman'' (1996) ;Mysteries starring Sarah Kelling (Bittersohn) and/or art investigator Max Bittersohn, set among Boston's upper crust *''The Family Vault'' (1980) *''The Withdrawing Room'' (1981) *''The Palace Guard'' (1982) *''The Bilbao Looking Glass'' (1983) *''The Convivial Codfish'' (1984) *''The Plain Old Man'' (1985) *''The Recycled Citizen'' (1988) *''The Silver Ghost'' (1988) *''The Gladstone Bag'' (1989) *''The Resurrection Man'' (1992) *''The Odd Job'' (1995) *''The Balloon Man'' (1998) ;Stand-alone books *''Mystery of the White Knight'' (1964) *''Next Door to Danger'' (1965) *''The Fat Lady's Ghost'' (1968) *''Mouse's Vineyard'' (1968) *''Ask Me No Questions'' (1971) *''Brass Pounder'' (1971) *''King Devil'' (1978) *''We Dare Not Go A Hunting'' (1980) *''Cirak's Daughter ''(1982) *''Maid of Honor'' (1984) *''Grab Bag'' (1987) (short stories; including two featuring Bittersohn & Kelling, and one with Peter Shandy) *''It Was an Awful Shame and Other Stories'' (2002) (short stories; a

reprint A reprint is a re-publication of material that has already been previously published. The term ''reprint'' is used with slightly different meanings in several fields. Academic publishing In academic publishing, offprints, sometimes also known ...

of ''Grab Bag'' including three additional stories, one featuring Bittersohn & Kelling) ;Correspondence *''Charlotte MacLeod Remembered: Letters from Charlotte'' (collection) ;As editor (

anthologies In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...

) *''Christmas Stalkings'' *''Mistletoe Mysteries'' ;Non-fiction *''Astrology for Skeptics'' (1973) *''Had She But Known: A Biography of

Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Companion to Crime''. New York: Mysterious Press, 1989, p. 170. Rinehart published her fi ...

'' (1994)

As Alisa Craig

;Mysteries starring Madoc Rhys of the

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

& Janet Wadman Rhys *''A Pint of Murder'' (1980) *''Murder Goes Mumming'' (1981) *''A Dismal Thing to Do'' (1986) *''Trouble in the Brasses'' (1989) *''The Wrong Rite'' (1992) ;Mysteries starring Dittany Henbit Monk, of the Lobelia Falls Grub-and-Stakers Gardening & Roving Club *''The Grub-and-Stakers Move a Mountain'' (1981) *''The Grub-and-Stakers Quilt a Bee'' (1985) *''The Grub-and-Stakers Pinch a Poke'' (1988) *''The Grub-and-Stakers Spin a Yarn '' (1990) *''The Grub-and-Stakers House a Haunt'' (1993) ;Stand-alone books *''The Terrible Tide'' (1985) *''Poems of Faith'' (1989)

Awards and nominations

(1 win) *

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor ...

(2 nominations) * American Mystery Awards (5 wins) * Bouchercon XXIII Lifetime Achievement Award **

1986 Anthony award Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the conve ...

nomination for Best Novel, ''The Plain Old Man'' ** 1992 Anthony award nomination for Best Short Story Collection, ''Christmas Stalkings: Tales of Yuletide Murder'' *

Malice Domestic The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no expli ...

Lifetime Achievement Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Charlotte 1922 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century Canadian novelists American mystery writers American women novelists Canadian mystery writers Canadian women novelists Cozy mystery writers Nero Award winners Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Maine Deaths from dementia in Maine Novelists from Maine Agatha Award winners People from Carleton County, New Brunswick Women mystery writers Novelists from Boston 20th-century Canadian women writers Lesley University alumni Anthony Award winners 20th-century American women writers Canadian emigrants to the United States 21st-century American women Novelists from New Brunswick