Marion Gibbons (née Chesney; 10 June 1936 – 30/31 December 2019) was a Scottish writer of romance and mystery novels, whose career as a published author began in 1979. She wrote numerous successful historical romance novels under a form of her maiden name, Marion Chesney, including the "Travelling Matchmaker" and "Daughters of Mannerling" series.
Marion Chesney
Chesney in 2006
Born
Marion McGowan Chesney (1936-06-10)10 June 1936 Glasgow, Scotland
Using the pseudonym M. C. Beaton, she also wrote many popular mystery novels, most notably the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth mystery series. Both of these book series have been adapted for TV. She also wrote romance novels under the pseudonyms Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester.
Writing as Marion Chesney, her final endeavour was an Edwardian mystery series featuring Lady Rose Summer, a charming debutante with an independent streak, and Captain Harry Cathcart, an impoverished aristocrat. In an interview, she stated that she ceased writing the Edwardian series as a result of the pressure of writing for the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series.[1]
Biographyedit
Marion Chesney was born on 10 June 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland,[2][3] and worked as a buyer of fiction for the Glasgow bookshop John Smith & Son before working at the Scottish Daily Express as a theatre critic, newspaper reporter and editor.[4] She married Express Middle East Correspondent Harry Scott Gibbons in 1969;[4] they had a son, Charles.[5] The couple moved to the Cotswolds when their son was about to go to university, assuming that he would go to Oxford, though in fact he did not.[4]
Chesney had also lived in the USA. In later life she divided her time between a cottage in the Cotswolds, and Paris.[6] She died at a hospital in Gloucester, England on 30 or 31 December 2019, at the age of 83.[7][8]
Bibliographyedit
As Ann Fairfaxedit
My Dear Duchess (1979)
Henrietta (1979)
Annabelle (1980)
Penelope (1982)
As Jennie Tremaineedit
Kitty (1979)
Daisy (1980)
Lucy (1980)
Polly (1980)
Molly (1980)
Ginny (1980)
Tilly (1980)
Susie (1981)
Poppy (1982)
Sally (1982)
Maggie (1984)
Lady Anne's Deception (1986)
As Helen Cramptonedit
The Marquis Takes a Bride (1980)
Marriage a la Mode (1980)
The Highland Countess (1981)
As Marion Chesneyedit
Stand-alone novelsedit
Regency Gold (1980)
Lady Margery's Intrigue (1980)
The Constant Companion (1980)
Quadrille (1981)
My Lords, Ladies and Marjorie (1981)
The Ghost and Lady Alice (1982)
Love and Lady Lovelace (1982)
Duke's Diamonds (1982)
The Flirt (1985)
At The Sign of the Golden Pineapple (1987)
Miss Davenport's Christmas (1993)
The Chocolate Debutante (1998)
(some of these books were re-published much later as part of other series, often as by "M. C. Beaton")
Those Endearing Young Charms
The French Affair (1984)
To Dream of Love (1986)
A Marriage of Inconvenience (1992)
A Governess of Distinction (1992)
The Glitter and the Gold (1993)
Duke's Diamonds (1982)
Those Endearing Young Charms (1986)
Westerbyedit
The Westerby Inheritance (1982)
The Westerby Sisters (1982)
The Six Sistersedit
Minerva (1983)
The Taming of Annabelle (1983)
Deirdre and Desire (1984)
Daphne (1984)
Diana the Huntress (1985)
Frederica in Fashion (1985)
A House for the Season seriesedit
The Miser of Mayfair (1986)
Plain Jane (1986)
The Wicked Godmother (1987)
Rake's Progress (1987)
The Adventuress (1987)
Rainbird's Revenge (1988)
The School for Mannersedit
Refining Felicity (1988)
Perfecting Fiona (1989)
Enlightening Delilah (1989)
Finessing Clarissa (1989)
Animating Maria (1990)
Marrying Harriet (1990)
Waverley Womenedit
The First Rebellion (1989)
Silken Bonds (1989)
The Love Match (1990)
The Travelling Matchmakeredit
Emily Goes to Exeter (1990)
Belinda Goes to Bath (1991)
Penelope Goes to Portsmouth (1991)
Beatrice Goes to Brighton (1991)
Deborah Goes to Dover (1992)
Yvonne Goes to York (1992)
Poor relationedit
Lady Fortescue Steps Out (1993)
Miss Tonks Turns to Crime (1993) aka Miss Tonks Takes a Risk
^Obituaries, Telegraph (31 December 2019). "MC Beaton, prolific author who created the phlegmatic PC Hamish Macbeth and the amateur sleuth Agatha Raisin – obituary". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
^Genzlinger, Neil (16 January 2020). "Marion Chesney, a.k.a. Mystery Writer M.C. Beaton, Dies at 83". The New York Times.