Vera Chapman (8 May 1898 – 14 May 1996), also known as Vera Ivy May Fogerty, and within

the Tolkien Society The Tolkien Society is an educational charity and literary society devoted to the study and promotion of the life and works of the author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien. It began informally in 1969, and held its inaugural meeting in 1970. It ho ...

as Belladonna Took, was a British author and founder of

in the United Kingdom, and also wrote a number of pseudo-historical and

Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...

books. Mike Ashley
"Chapman, Vera"
in

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part ...

and John Grant, ''

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work covering fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant (author), John Grant. As of November 2012, the full text of ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is available online, as a compani ...

'', 1997. Retrieved 16 May 2019. She held the title of Pendragon of The

Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids or OBOD is a Neo-Druidic order based in England, but based in part on the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards. It has grown to become a dynamic druid organisation, with members in all parts of the world. The concept of ...

from 1964 to 1991.

Life

Chapman was born in

Bournemouth, England Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

on 8 May 1898 and lived in South Africa until she went to

Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The ...

where she was one of the first women to

matriculate Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

as a full member of

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. In 1969, she founded

in Britain of which she was the first secretary. She persuaded

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

to become the Society's honorary president in June 1972. In 1975, Chapman, then aged 77, saw her first novel published, and she continued writing until her death in 1996. She wrote three fantasy novels based on

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

: ''The Green Knight'' (1975), ''King Arthur's Daughter'' (1976), and ''

The King's Damosel ''The King's Damosel'' (also known as ''The King's Damsel'') is a fantasy novel based on Arthurian legend by Vera Chapman first published in 1976. It served as the inspiration for the 1998 Warner Bros. film ''Quest for Camelot''. It is part of ...

'' (1976) These were later gathered together in an omnibus edition under the title '' The Three Damosels'' (1978).

Works

Novels

* ''The Green Knight'' (1975) (UK edition) * ''King Arthur's Daughter'' (1976) (UK ed.) * ''

'' (1976) (UK ed.) – basis for the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

animated movie ''

Quest for Camelot ''Quest for Camelot'' (released internationally as ''The Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot'') is a 1998 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation, directed by Frederik Du Chau, and very loosely based on the ...

'' * ''Judy and Julia'' (1977) (UK ed.) * ''Blaedud the Birdman'' (1978) (UK ed.) * ''The Three Damosels'' (1978) (UK ed.) * ''The Wife of Bath'' (1978) (UK ed.) – an adaptation of Chaucer's "

The Wife of Bath's Tale "The Wife of Bath's Tale" () is among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''. It provides insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages and was probably of interest to Chaucer, himself, for the character is one of hi ...

" * ''Miranty and the Alchemist'' (1983) (UK ed.) * ''The Enchantresses'' (1998), by Chapman and Mike Ashley (UK ed.)

Omnibus

* ''The Three Damosels'' (1978) (UK ed.)

Collections

* ''The Notorious Abbess'' (1993) (US ed.)

Short stories

* "Crusader Damosel" (1978); in the 1978 anthology ''

The Fantastic Imagination II ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

'', edited by Robert H. Boyer & Kenneth J. Zahorski * "The Thread" (1980); in the 1980 anthology '' The Phoenix Tree'', edited by Robert H. Boyer & Kenneth J. Zahorski * "A Sword for Arthur" (1995); in the 1995 anthology ''

The Merlin Chronicles ''The Merlin Chronicles'' is a short story collection edited by Mike Ashley published by Robinson Publishing in 1995. Plot summary ''The Merlin Chronicles'' features twenty-two short stories about Merlin. Reception Steve Faragher reviewed ''The ...

'' * “Belladonna by Belladonna” parts 1-4 (1985-87); in ‘’

Weathertop Magazine 3-5 The geography of Middle-earth encompasses the physical, political, and moral geography of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional continent Middle-earth on the planet Arda, but widely taken to mean all of creation (''Eä'') as well as all of his writings a ...

’’, edited by Denis Bridoux

References

External links

Vera Chapman
at The Tolkien Society
Vera Chapman
at Fantastic Fiction
Vera Chapman
at Druidry * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Vera 1898 births 1996 deaths Writers from Bournemouth Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford 20th-century British writers The Tolkien Society members Mythopoeic writers English fantasy writers Writers of modern Arthurian fiction 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers