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.
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]
Biography
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 December 2019, at the age of 83.[7][8]
Little Brown, Chesney's publisher at the time of her death, announced that before the author became ill, she continued to write and was working on new material for her beloved characters, Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin.[9]
Bibliography
As Ann Fairfax
My Dear Duchess (1979)
Henrietta (1979)
Annabelle (1980)
Penelope (1982)
As Jennie Tremaine
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 Crampton
The Marquis Takes a Bride (1980)
Marriage a la Mode (1980)
The Highland Countess (1981)
As Marion Chesney
Stand-alone novels
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)
Westerby
The Westerby Inheritance (1982)
The Westerby Sisters (1982)
The Six Sisters
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 series
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 Manners
Refining Felicity (1988)
Perfecting Fiona (1989)
Enlightening Delilah (1989)
Finessing Clarissa (1989)
Animating Maria (1990)
Marrying Harriet (1990)
Waverley Women
The First Rebellion (1989)
Silken Bonds (1989)
The Love Match (1990)
The Travelling Matchmaker
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 relation
Lady Fortescue Steps Out (1993)
Miss Tonks Turns to Crime (1993) aka Miss Tonks Takes a Risk