Elizabeth George

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Other people Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox writer

Susan Elizabeth George (born February 26, 1949)<ref name=CT-2001-p229>Template:Cite book</ref> is an American writer of mystery novels.

She is best known for a series of novels featuring Inspector Thomas Lynley. The 21st book in the series was published in January 2022. The first 11 were adapted for television by the BBC as earlier episodes of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2001). A later, separate four-part series entitled Lynley to be shown on BBC One began filming in 2024, starring Leo Suter and Sofia Barclay.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Elizabeth George was born in Warren, Ohio, the second child of Anne (née Rivelle) and Robert Edwin George. She has an older brother, author Robert Rivelle George. Her mother was a nurse, and her father a manager for a conveyor company.<ref name=CT-2001-p229 /> The family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was 18 months old.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> She has described the family as "quite poor" and with little formal education, but recounts that her mother gave her an old Remington typewriter, and she began writing at the age of 7.<ref name=":1" /> She says: "I have always felt compelled to write. When I began reading the Little Golden Books as a 7-year-old, I knew that I wanted to write one, too. I wrote tiny stories like that in the beginning."<ref name=":2" /> She names Anne of Green Gables as one of the literary influences of her childhood.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She received an Associate of Arts in 1969 from Foothill Community College in Los Altos Hills, California, a Bachelor of Arts in 1970 from the University of California, Riverside, a Master of Science in counseling and psychology in 1979 from the California State University, Fullerton and later attended the University of California, Berkeley.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="encyclopedia/george-elizabeth-1949">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=LindsayEB-p92>Template:Cite book</ref>

She received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Cal State University Fullerton in 2004<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was awarded an honorary Masters in Fine Arts from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

1975-1987 She taught English in high schools in Orange County, California (Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California), El Toro High School).<ref name=":0"/><ref name="encyclopedia/george-elizabeth-1949"/><ref name=LindsayEB-p92 />

George wrote three crime novels before being accepted for publication.<ref name=":1" />

1988-1990 She taught creative writing at colleges in Orange County, California (Coastline Community College, Irvine Valley College, University of California, Irvine).<ref name=":0"/><ref name="encyclopedia/george-elizabeth-1949"/><ref name=LindsayEB-p92 /> She then gave up teaching and become a full-time writer.<ref name=":0" />

Her first published novel, A Great Deliverance (1988), introduces the upper-class Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley of Scotland Yard (in private life, the Earl of Asherton) and his working-class partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> When asked in an interview why she chose to create a titled hero, she spoke of the freedom of being a debut novelist, saying: "I could do anything, you see, because when I started I never thought it would be published."<ref name=":1" />

Since 1988 George has published 21 more Inspector Lynley mysteries, four young adult novels in the Whidbey Island series, three collections of short stories and two self-help books for writers. She names the author John Fowles as her main literary influence.<ref name=":2" />

She established the Elizabeth George Foundation, a grant for unpublished and emerging writers, in 1997.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

George has taught creative writing seminars in the US, Canada and the UK.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

George married Ira Jay Toibin in 1971 and they divorced in 1995.<ref name="LindsayEB-p92" /> George is currently married to retired firefighter Tom McCabe.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref> She has spoken of her struggle with depression,<ref name="thefreelibrary/a0533505011">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> saying: "Happiness is an inside job - it takes a long time to learn that."<ref name=":1" /> She moved from Huntington Beach, California<ref name="ocregister/writers-group">Template:Cite news</ref> to Whidbey Island, Washington.<ref name=":3"/><ref name="seattletimes/2008/lynley">Template:Cite news</ref>

Reception

George has spoken of being a great Anglophile since her first visit to Britain in 1966, and of watching UK TV shows and reading books by UK novelists to "pick up the syntax of British speech."<ref name=":3"/> She has been praised for the authenticity of her portrayal of "the nuances, class system, language, humour and habits of the British,"<ref name=":3" /> although not all critics have been in agreement. The Times crime critic Marcel Berlins has described her as "an exasperating writer, (who) insists on perpetuating a police procedure that hasn’t existed for decades, is not good on social mores and her dialogue often reveals a tin ear."<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> Critics have commented adversely on the length and complexity of her novels<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> whilst acknowledging the satisfying nature of the read.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Awards

A Great Deliverance: Winner: Agatha Award for Best First Novel (1988); 1989 Anthony Award for Best Debut Novel (1989); Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (France).<ref name=":1" /> Nominated: Edgar Award in 1988.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Works

Inspector Lynley

Whidbey Island Saga

  • 2012: The Edge of Nowhere (The Edge of Nowhere: Saratoga Woods or The Edge of Nowhere 01: The Dog House) (Template:ISBN)
  • 2013: The Edge of the Water (The Edge of the Water: Saratoga Woods) (Template:ISBN)
  • 2015: The Edge of the Shadows (Template:ISBN)
  • 2016: The Edge of the Light (Template:ISBN)

Short story collections

Nonfiction

References

Template:Reflist

External

Template:Agatha Award

Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Elizabeth_George&oldid=327792"