Patricia Collins Wrede (; born March 27, 1953) is an American author of

fantasy literature Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fan ...

. She is known for her ''Enchanted Forest Chronicles'' series for young adults, which was voted number 84 in

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels list.

Career

Wrede graduated from

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

in 1974 with a BA in biology and obtained an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1977. She finished her first book in 1978 while working as an accountant and financial analyst. She was a founding member of

The Scribblies The Scribblies were a fantasy fiction group of writers formed in the United States, U.S. city of Minneapolis in January 1980. Members included Nate Bucklin, Emma Bull, Steven Brust, Kara Dalkey, Pamela Dean, Will Shetterly and Patricia Wrede.Nove ...

, along with

Pamela Dean Pamela Collins Dean Dyer-Bennet (born 1953), better known as Pamela Dean, is an American fantasy author whose best-known book is ''Tam Lin (novel), Tam Lin'', based on the Child Ballads, Child Ballad of the Tam Lin, same name, in which the Scott ...

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 ...

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 ...

Steven Brust Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He is best known for his series of novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos, one of a disdained minority group of humans livi ...

and Nate Bucklin, in January 1980, "to which hebelonged for five extremely productive years." She sold her first book to

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

in April 1980 and it was published in 1982. In the fall of 1980, Wrede met Lillian Stewart Carl, who introduced her to

Lois McMaster Bujold Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She has won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her novella '' The Mountains of ...

. In 1985, shortly before her fifth book was published, she became a full-time writer. She is a member 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-world anthology. In 2009, Wrede 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 ...

credits the support of Wrede and Lillian Stewart Carl for allowing Bujold to finish her first novel: "These friendships were lifelines in every sense".

Personal life

She was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 27, 1953, to David Merrill and Monica Marie Collins. She is the eldest of five siblings. As a child, Wrede was a voracious reader and recalls "I don't think I ever read anything only once." She loved to tell stories to her family and friends and began writing in the seventh grade with much support from her parents. Patricia and James Wrede were married in 1976; they divorced in 1991. She is a pescatarian and lives in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

with two cats.

Books

Lyra

These books are all stand alone stories that are loosely connected and share a common setting on a world named Lyra. They are listed here in order of publication. # ''

Shadow Magic ''Shadow Magic'' () is a 2000 historical fiction film about the introduction of motion pictures to China during the early 20th century. The film was directed and co-written by Ann Hu. It was a US-China co-production starring Xia Yu, Jared Harr ...

'' (1982) # ''Daughter of Witches'' (1983) # ''The Harp of Imach Thyssel'' (1985) # ''Caught in Crystal'' (1987) # ''The Raven Ring'' (1994) * ''Shadows over Lyra'' (omnibus edition containing ''Shadow Magic,'' ''Daughter of Witches,'' and ''The Harp of Imach Thyssel'' as well as two shorter pieces titled ''Perspectives on Early Lyran History: A Monograph'' and ''Timeline of Lyran History'') (1997) (Illustrated by

Anne Yvonne Gilbert Anne Yvonne Gilbert (born ) is a British artist and book illustrator. Her cover design of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 1983 single "Relax" has been described as "one of the most famous record sleeves of all time". While much of her career since ...

) The actual chronological order of the books is ''Caught in Crystal'', ''The Raven Ring'', ''Shadow Magic'', ''Daughter of Witches'', and ''The Harp of Imach Thyssel''. The last three are set in the same time period but different nations while the first two are spaced widely apart chronologically and happen well before the events of the last three. A timeline and short world history at the end of ''Shadows over Lyra'' ties everything together and answers a lot of questions. The omnibus edition of ''Shadow Magic'' is a revised one; the writing is significantly different from that in the original, and reflects her greater experience as a writer. It seems that Wrede rewrote the story for the omnibus, but this is not actually noted anywhere in the book itself.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

This series features Princess Cimorene, as she becomes a dragon's princess, rescues said dragon, falls in love, and ultimately saves the

enchanted forest In folklore and fantasy, an enchanted forest is a forest under, or containing, magic (fantasy), enchantments. Such forests are described in the oldest folklore from regions where forests are common and occur throughout the centuries to modern wor ...

. # '' Dealing with Dragons'' (1990) # '' Searching for Dragons'' (1991) # '' Calling on Dragons'' (1993) # '' Talking to Dragons'' (1985, revised 1995) * ''Enchanted Forest Chronicles'' (1995) (omnibus edition containing all four novels)

Cecelia and Kate

''with

Caroline Stevermer Caroline Stevermer (born 1955) is an American writer of young adult fantasy novels and shorter works. She is best known for historical fantasy novels. Personal life Caroline Stevermer was born in 1955, and grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota a ...

'' 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). This installment was written by Caroline Stevermer alone and is set in the same universe. Although published in 2010, the events take place after ''The Grand Tour'' but before ''The Mislaid Magician''. It follows the character of Frederick Lincoln as a child in the house of the Schofields. * ''Magicians of Quality'' (2005) (omnibus edition containing ''Sorcery and Cecelia'' and ''The Grand Tour'').

Magic and Malice

"Mairelon" is a gentleman wizard with unusual talents, and Kim is his streetwise protégée. Together, they foil plots and generally get into trouble. From a reference to the date being thirty years since the Terror, the novels take place about 1823, during the

Regency era The Regency era of British history is commonly understood as the years between and 1837, although the official regency for which it is named only spanned the years 1811 to 1820. King George III first suffered debilitating illness in the lat ...

in its broader sense; however, the author has personally stated that the events of ''Magician's Ward'' take place in 1818. # ''Mairelon the Magician'' (1991) # ''Magician's Ward'' (1997) * ''Magic & Malice'' (1999) (hardcover omnibus edition containing both novels) * ''A Matter of Magic'' (2010) (trade paperback omnibus edition containing both novels).

Frontier Magic

A trilogy narrated by Eff Rothmer, the "thirteenth child" of the opening book title. Book One covers her childhood, from the age of five (when her parents move west to the edge of the expanding

American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the Geography of the United States, geography, History of the United States, history, Folklore of the United States, folklore, and Cultur ...

) to shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Books Two and Three deal with an adult Eff's work as an explorer, scientist, and magician beyond the edge of the frontier. # ''Thirteenth Child'' (2009) # ''Across the Great Barrier'' (2011) # ''The Far West'' (2012)

Others

* ''The Seven Towers'' (1984) * ''Snow White and Rose Red'' (1989) * ''

Book of Enchantments ''Book of Enchantments'' is a collection of short stories written by American fantasy author Patricia C. Wrede. It was first published in hardcover by Harcourt Brace in 1996, and was subsequently issued in paperback by Point Fantasy in 1998 and ...

'' (1996) * ''Star Wars, Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' (Junior Novelization) (1999) * ''Star Wars, Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' (Junior Novelization) (2002) * ''Star Wars, Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'' (Junior Novelization) (2005) * ''The Dark Lord's Daughter'' (2023) ''The Seven Towers'' is a stand-alone fantasy novel. ''Snow White and Rose Red'' is a

fairytale fantasy Fairytale fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy. It is distinguished from other subgenres of fantasy by the works' heavy use of motifs, and often plots, from fairy tales or folklore. History Literary fairy tales were not unknown in the Roman era ...

retelling of

the Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of folktales, popularizing stories such as " Cin ...

fairy tale " Snow White and Rose Red" (a different story than "

Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

") set in Elizabethan England, and including elements of the

Thomas the Rhymer Sir Thomas de Ercildoun, better remembered as Thomas the Rhymer (fl. c. 1220 – 1298), also known as Thomas Learmont or True Thomas, was a Scottish laird and reputed prophet from Earlston (then called "Erceldoune") in the Borders. Tho ...

ballad.

References

External links

Official web site
*
Bibliography
at SciFan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrede, Patricia C. 1953 births Living people American fantasy writers Writers from Chicago Carleton College alumni Carlson School of Management alumni Enchanted Forest Chronicles American women science fiction and fantasy writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Minnesota American women novelists Novelists from Illinois