Susan Wittig Albert, also known by 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 ...
s Robin Paige and Carolyn Keene,
is an
American mystery
Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
*Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange''
*Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...
writer from
Vermilion County, Illinois
Vermilion County is a county in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois, between the Indiana border and Champaign County. It was established in 1826 and was the 45th of Illinois' 102 counties. According to the 2020 United States censu ...
, United States. Albert was an academic and the first female vice president of
Southwest Texas State University
Texas State University (TXST) is a public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to be one of the largest univer ...
before retiring to become a fulltime writer.
Early life and education
Albert grew up in downstate Illinois, attending
Danville High School before moving to the nearby community of
Bismarck, where she graduated. She earned a degree from the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...
and a
Ph.D. in English from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
.
Educational career
She became a professor of English at the
University of Texas, Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 20 ...
and was a university administrator at
Sophie Newcomb College
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University, located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter.
Newcomb was the fir ...
in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
and vice president for academic affairs at Southwest Texas State University.
[ She also writes a column for ''Country Living Gardener'' magazine.
]
Writing career
Albert began writing young adult books in 1983, publishing as Susan Blake. In 1985, she was hired to write Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is a fictional character appearing in several mystery book series, movies, video games, and TV shows as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudo ...
books as Carolyn Keene
Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the authors of the Nancy Drew mystery stories and ''The Dana Girls'' mystery stories, both produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. In addition, the Keene pen name is credited with the Nancy Drew spin-off, ''Riv ...
. She also published two Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in a series of mystery novels for young readers. The series revolves around teenage amateur sleuths, solving cases that often stumped their adult counterparts. ...
books.herb
Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...
s and include herbal themes that invoke the title. Albert is a guest speaker at both herbal clubs and women's groups around the country. She describes her books as "cozy mysteries" because they do not contain much violence or gratuitous behavior.
Albert and her husband, Bill, have also co-written ''The Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries'', a series of a dozen mysteries set in the late Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
. Albert is also the author of ''The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter'', a series of mysteries featuring author Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...
.
Personal life
Albert has three children.Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ame ...
.
Bibliography
Fiction
* ''A Wilder Rose'' (2013) - The story of Rose Wilder Lane
Rose Wilder Lane (December 5, 1886 – October 30, 1968) was an American writer and daughter of American writer Laura Ingalls Wilder. Along with two other female writers, Ayn Rand and Isabel Paterson, Lane is one of the more influential advoca ...
, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, teacher, and journalist. She is best known as the author of the children's book series ''Little House on the Prairie'', published between 1932 and 1 ...
* ''Loving Eleanor'' (2016)
* ''The General's Women'' (2017)
The China Bayles mysteries
The China Bayles herbal mystery series centers around the title character's deductive reasoning and knowledge as an herbalist and ex-lawyer, who solves murders with her best friend, Ruby Wilcox, owner of a New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
shop.
*''Thyme of Death'' (1992)
*''Witches' Bane'' (1993)
*''Hangman's Root'' (1994)
*''Rosemary Remembered'' (1995)
*''Rueful Death'' (1996)
*''Love Lies Bleeding'' (1997)
*''Chile Death'' (1998)
*''Lavender Lies'' (1999)
*''Mistletoe Man'' (2000)
*''Bloodroot'' (2001)
The Pecan Springs ''Enterprise'' trilogy
The trilogy of novellas features characters from the China Bayles mysteries, focused on reporter Jessica Nelson and the ''Enterprise'' newspaper.
*''Deadlines'' (ebook July 7, 2020; omnibus print edition August 18, 2020)
*''Fault Lines'' (ebook July 21, 2020; omnibus print edition August 18, 2020)
*''Fire Lines'' (ebook August 4, 2020; omnibus print edition August 18, 2020)
The Crystal Cave trilogy
The trilogy of novellas features Ruby Wilcox.
*''NoBODY'' (2019)
*''SomeBODY Else'' (2019)
*''Out of BODY'' (2020)
The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter
*''The Tale of Hill Top Farm'' (2004)
*''The Tale of Holly How'' (2005)
*''The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood'' (2006)
*''The Tale of Hawthorn House'' (2007)
*''The Tale of Briar Bank'' (2008)
*''The Tale of Applebeck Orchard'' (2009)
*''The Tale of Oat Cake Crag'' (2010)
*''The Tale of Castle Cottage'' (2011)
The Robin Paige Victorian-Edwardian mysteries
These were co-written with her husband, Bill Albert under the name Robin Paige.
*''Death at Bishop's Keep'' (1994)
*''Death at Gallows Green'' (1995)
*''Death at Daisy's Folly'' (1997)
*''Death at Devil's Bridge'' (1998)
*''Death at Rottingdean'' (1999)
*''Death at Whitechapel'' (2000)
*''Death at Epsom Downs'' (2001)
*''Death at Dartmoor'' (2002)
*''Death at Glamis Castle'' (2003)
*''Death in Hyde Park'' (2004)
*''Death at Blenheim Palace'' (2005)
*''Death on the Lizard'' (2006)
The Darling Dahlias mysteries
Takes place in a fictitious town called Darling, Alabama during the 1930s. Centers on a group of amateur, mystery solving women in a garden club called the Darling Dahlias.
*''The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree'' (2010)
*''The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies'' (2011)
*''The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose'' (2012)
*''The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star'' (2013)
*''The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush'' (2014)
*''The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady'' (2015)
*''The Darling Dahlias and the Unlucky Clover'' (2018)
*''The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle'' (2018)
*''The Darling Dahlias and the Voodoo Lily'' (2020)
*''The Darling Dahlias and the Red Hot Poker'' (2022)
Nonfiction
*''Work of Her Own: A Woman's Guide to Success off the Career Track'' (1992)
*''Writing From Life: Telling Your Soul's Story'' (1997)
*''Together, Alone: A Memoir of Marriage and Place'' (2007)
*''An Extraordinary Year of Ordinary Days'' (2009)
References
External links
*
''Persevero Press: The Home of Susan Wittig Albert's Author-Published Books''
*
Robin Paige
at LC Authorities, with 11 records, an
at WorldCat
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert, Susan Wittig
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American mystery writers
Writers from Illinois
Stratemeyer Syndicate
Novelists from Texas
People from Vermilion County, Illinois
UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni
University of Texas at Austin faculty
Tulane University faculty
Texas State University faculty
People from Burnet County, Texas
American women novelists
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American novelists
American women mystery writers
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women writers
Novelists from Illinois
Novelists from Louisiana
American women academics
University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni