Elizabeth Eileen Chater (

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 ...

, Lee Chaytor; August 22, 1910 – November 10, 2004) was a Canadian writer of novels and poetry, and a professor at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

Early life and education

Chater was born August 22, 1910, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. Her father was a successful attorney who provided a home with a library filled with books. At a time when women were not encouraged to seek higher education, she attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

at sixteen. While there, she was the President of the Debating Society, Vice President of the senior class, and graduated with honors with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree.

Career

She married Melville Thomas Chater in 1932. They moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

while he attended

George Williams College George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorgi ...

. Returning to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, where he worked for the YMCA, they started their family of three children: Elizabeth Patricia, Eve Lynn, an
Kerry Michael
They moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1952. It was during this time that she started writing and teaching at Palos Verdes College. Under the pseudonym Lee Chaytor, she published several stories in the popular science fiction magazine ''

Fantastic Universe ''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishi ...

''. In 1961, she became a professor at

San Diego State College San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

(now San Diego State University), and was awarded a master's degree with honors. It was there that she began a pioneering effort by teaching a course in Science Fiction Creative Writing with

Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American science fiction writer. His work covered themes of Interstellar_war, galactic conflict (''The Forge of God, Forge of God'' books), parallel universes (''The Way (Greg Bear ...

as her teacher's assistant. Among the faculty at the time were authors

Vernor Vinge Vernor Steffen Vinge (; October 2, 1944 – March 20, 2024) was an American science fiction author and professor. He taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. He was the first wide-scale popularizer of the technolo ...

and Joan D. Vinge. Patricia Elgin was a student of hers, as was

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski, known as J. Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is known as the creator of the science fiction televi ...

. Her classes were enormously popular. In 1968, she won the Distinguished Teacher Award and in 1977 she won the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. In 1973, she became the inaugural faculty advisor for the S.T.A.R. San Diego on-campus Science Fiction club. Elizabeth taught for seventeen years, attaining full tenure, and retired as a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. Her professorial legacy survives in the Special Collections Department of SDSU where the Chater Collection is not only archived, but still used by college professors as a teaching tool. The Chater collection includes a one of a kind original manuscript written by her, and original manuscripts both typed and handwritten by author Joan D. Vinge. There is also her science fiction collection of over 2,500 books and periodicals that she generously donated to the school, a collection that continues to grow through donations from students and faculty. There are now more than 4,000 books in the collection. After the death of her husband in 1978, and with the help of her former student and great friend

, she formed a partnership with the New York literary agent Richard Curtis. She went on to publish 23 novels in eight years. During this time, she was also on the lecture circuit giving inspirational talks on history and religion, topics of great interest for her.

Death

Elizabeth Chater died on November 10, 2004, at the age of 94.

Personal life

She was the mother of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap bassist

Kerry Chater Kerry Michael Chater (August 7, 1945 – February 4, 2022) was a Canadian musician and songwriter who was best known as a member of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap. He was also a successful Nashville songwriter for many years. Career Chater was b ...

, and the grandmother of autho
Christopher John Chater
In 2011, Elizabeth's heirs had her literary rights reverted to the family, and her extensive catalog of books was then published by the family run company, Chater Publishing, headed by Christopher John Chater.

Partial book list

* ''The Elsingham Portrait'' (1980) * ''The Gamester'' (1980) * ''Milady Hot-At-Hand'' (1981) * ''Lord Randal's Tiger'' (1981) * ''Gallant Lady'' (1981) * ''The Random Gentleman'' (1981) * ''A Season for the Heart'' (1981) * ''Angela'' (1982) * ''Milord's Liegewoman'' (1982) * ''A Delicate Situation'' (1982) * ''The Marriage Mart'' (1983) * ''Emerald Love'' (1983) * ''The Reformed Rake'' (1984) * ''The King's Doll'' (1984) * ''The Earl and the Emigree'' (1985) * ''The Runaway Debutante'' (1985) * ''Lady Dearborn's Debut'' (1986) * ''The Duke's Dilemma'' (1986) * ''A Place for Alfreda'' (1987) * ''A Time to Love'' (1987) * ''Miss Cayley's Unicorn'' (1988) * ''The Big Sling'' (2011, posthumously)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chater, Elizabeth 1910 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian women writers San Diego State University faculty University of British Columbia alumni Women historical novelists Canadian women romantic fiction writers Canadian women science fiction and fantasy writers Writers of historical romances Canadian women novelists Canadian historical novelists Canadian romantic fiction writers Canadian science fiction writers Novelists from Vancouver Canadian expatriate writers in the United States Canadian expatriate academics in the United States