Susan Moody (born 18 January 1940), is the principal

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 ...

of Susan Elizabeth Horwood, an English novelist best known for her

suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s. After marrying, as her third husband,

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

John Dalgleish Donaldson John Dalgleish Donaldson (born 5 September 1941), is a Scots-Australian professor and father of Queen Mary of Denmark, the wife of King Frederik X of Denmark. Family and marriages John Donaldson was born at Cockenzie and Port Seton in East Lot ...

, at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

on 5 September 2001, she became

stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a female non-biological parent married to one's preexisting parent. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Culture Ste ...

of his four children, including Mary, Queen of Denmark. She and her husband live in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Biography

The daughter of Professor Frederick Chesney Horwood (1904–1990) and Ursula ''née'' Wheeler-Robinson (1908–1989), daughter of the Revd Henry Wheeler-Robinson DD, she grew up in Oxford, attending

Headington School Headington School is an independent girls' school in Headington, Oxford, England, founded by a group of evangelical Christians in 1915. In 2024, it merged with Rye St Antony School to form Headington Rye Oxford. History Headington School was ...

. She then lived in France where she met her first husband, Professor Walter Frank Bertsch (died 1971), whom she married in 1961. They moved to

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

where she lived for 10 years and had two sons, before returning to Britain. She married secondly in 1972, Dr John Moody, having one son. She then studied with the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

( BA 1978). In 1983, Moody published her first novel, ''A Distant Shore'', and one other historical novel under the pen name Susannah James before she turned to the genre of crime and suspense literature. More recently, she has also used the pen name Susan Madison. Moody is a former Chairwoman of the

Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors' organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its "Dagger" awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. ...

and has served as World President of the International Association of Crime Writers.www.crimewritersna.org
/ref> She has been elected to the prestigious

Detection Club The Detection Club was formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery writers, including Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Arthur Morrison, Hugh Walpole, John Rhode, Jessie Louisa Rickard, Baroness Orczy, ...

and as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (FCIL). Having led numerous courses on writing crime fiction, she continues to tutor creative writing courses in England,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Australia, and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Bibliography

Amateur detective Penny is a beautiful 6-ft black photographer, daughter of a UN Ambassador. *''Penny Black'' (1984) (#56 among

The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time ''The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time'' is a list published in book form in 1990 by the British-based Crime Writers' Association. Five years later, the Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organizatio ...

) *''Penny Dreadful'' (1984) *''Penny Post'' (1985) *''Penny Royal'' (1986) *''Penny Wise'' (1988) *''Penny Pinching'' (1989) *''Penny Saving'' (1993).

Cassie Swann series

Cassie Swann is an expert

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

player in England. * ''Takeout Double'' (Also published as: ''Death Takes a Hand'') (1993) * ''Grand Slam'' (1994) * ''King of Hearts'' (1995) * ''Doubled in Spades'' (1996) * ''Sacrifice Bid'' (1997) * ''Dummy Hand'' (1998).

Stand Alones

*''Playing With Fire''; ''(

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

'', USA). *''Hush-a-bye'' *''House of Moons'' *'' Misselthwaite'' : a sequel to

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1886), ''A Little Princess'' (1905), a ...

's novel ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...

''; ''(

Return to the Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...

'', USA). *''Falling Angel'' *''The Italian Garden'' *''The Colour of Hope'' *''Touching The Sky'' *''Letters From Kirsten'' (Denmark) *''Losing Nicola'' *''Dancing in the Dark''.

Other

*''A Distant Shore'', an historical novel set in the royal harem of Istanbul. *''Lucia's Legacy'', an historical novel set in Spain in the 1800s. *''Love Over Gold'', the novelisation of the

Nescafé Nescafé is a brand of instant coffee sold by the multinational food and drink corporation Nestlé. It comes in many different forms. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé first introduced their flagship coffee br ...

Gold Blend couple The Gold Blend couple was a British television advertising campaign for Nescafé Gold Blend instant coffee, developed by McCann Erickson and which ran from 1987 to 1993. Background The original campaign ran for twelve 45-second instalments betwee ...

advertisements. *''Hatchards Crime Companion: The top 100 crime novels of all time selected by The Crime Writers Association'', edited by Susan Moody.

Short stories

Moody has written a number of well-received

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

which have appeared in many anthologies.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moody, Susan 1940 births Living people Writers from Oxford Writers from Tennessee People educated at Headington School Alumni of the Open University Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Linguists British women novelists British women mystery writers English crime fiction writers English mystery writers English emigrants to Australia