Edith Pargeter
| Edith Pargeter | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Edith Mary Pargeter 28 September 1913 Horsehay, Shropshire, England |
| Died | 14 October 1995 (aged 82) Madeley, Shropshire, England |
| Pen name | Ellis Peters; John Redfern; Jolyon Carr; Peter Benedict |
| Occupation | Author |
| Citizenship | British |
| Education | Dawley Church of England School; Coalbrookdale High School for Girls |
| Genre | historical fiction; mysteries; nonfiction works about Shrewsbury; translations from the Czech |
| Notable works | "The Brother Cadfael Chronicles"; the George Felse mysteries; the "Heaven Tree" trilogy |
| Notable awards | OBE; British Crime Writers Association; Mystery Writers of America |
Edith Mary Pargeter, OBE, BEM (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her nom de plume Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. She is well known for her medieval-detective series The Cadfael Chronicles.
Pargeter was born in the village of Horsehay (Shropshire, England). Her father was a clerk at a local ironworks. She was educated at Dawley Church of England School and the old Coalbrookdale High School for Girls. She had Welsh ancestry, and many of her short stories and books (both fictional and non-fictional) are set in Wales and its borderlands, or have Welsh protagonists.
During World War II, she worked in an administrative role in the Women's Royal Naval Service (the "Wrens") and had reached the rank of petty officer by 1 January 1944 when she was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the New Year Honours.
In 1947 Pargeter visited Czechoslovakia and became fascinated by the Czech language and culture. She became fluent in Czech and published award-winning translations of Czech poetry and prose into English.
She devoted the rest of her life to writing, both nonfiction and well-researched fiction. She never attended university but became a self-taught scholar in areas that interested her, especially Shropshire and Wales. Birmingham University gave her an honorary master's degree. She never married, but did fall in love with a Czech man. She remained friends with him after he married another woman. She was pleased that she could support herself with her writing from the time after the Second World War until her death.
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