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Mary Mackie
Historical Fiction
Non-fiction (Craft of
Writing)
Non-fiction (General)
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The Prince's Thorn - Edward VII and the Lady Farmer (Pegasus, due 2008)
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Cobwebs and Cream Teas (Orion 2004)
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Dry Rot and Daffodils (Orion 2003)
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Frogspawn and Floor Polish (2003)
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Sky Wards (Robert Hale 2001)
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Romantic Suspense
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Nightflower (Hale, 1982)
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Seasons of Mists (Hale, 1982)
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Counterfeit Love (Hale, 1981)
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Dark Ruby (Hale, 1980)
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Flame in the Forest (Hale, 1980)
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Straw in the Wind (Hale, 1979)
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Falconer’s Wood (Hale, 1979)
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Return of Love (NWL, 1979)
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Enigma for a Nurse (Hale, 1979)
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Still Weeps the Willow (Hale, 1979)
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The Scent of Rain (Hale, 1978)
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The Whispering Well (Hale, 1978)
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Shadows of Yesterday (Hale, 1978)
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Pamela (Hale, 1977)
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Into the Twilight
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A Voice in the Fog
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The Unquiet Summer
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The Other Side of the River
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Nicola's Winter
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Shades of Grey
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Castle Kintyle
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The Flower and the Storm
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Akin To Love
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The Wolf of Wierdmoor
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The Waiting Web
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A Light in the Valley
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The Dark Days of Spring
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Give Me No Rubies
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A Season for Singing
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Mist Around the Moon
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A Man Like Matthew
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Shadow on the Lake
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Robin's Song
Saga Fiction
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The Clouded Land (Headline, 1994)
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A Child of Secrets (Headline, 1993)
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Sandringham Rose (Headline, 1992)
Biography
Born and educated in Lincoln, Mary has lived in Germany and various places around
England. Husband Chris was in the RAF for 22 years, became a civilian Internal
Auditor, then ran a National Trust property (Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk) and is now
involved with the local 'Sedgeford dig*' as well as being Mary's chief research
assistant.
The Mackies have two adult sons, the older being a scientist/businessman who
lives near the Adirondack Mountains in New York State with his American wife
and two sons; younger Mackie son, an officer in the PMRAFNS, has a home base
in Peterborough with his wife and two small daughters.
Since her first book was published in 1971, Mary Mackie has produced nearly seventy
full-length books, under eight different names, for publishers on both sides
of the Atlantic. Her work has been read around the world, in hardback, paperback,
large print and in many foreign translations. Several books are also available
on audio cassette.
Non-fiction includes three best-selling books of humorous memoirs, COBWEBS AND
CREAM TEAS, DRY ROT AND DAFFODILS, and FROGSPAWN AND FLOOR POLISH , about life
behind the scenes with the National Trust (Mary and her husband lived and worked
for seven years at Felbrigg Hall, near Cromer). And also a how-to book for hopeful
writers, CREATIVE EDITING.
Mary's fiction has appeared in numerous English-language versions and has been
translated into around twenty languages (including Czech, Greek and Hebrew).
The novels range through contemporary romantic suspense, via the odd 'hot historical'
(bodice ripper - ooh!) to more serious historical sagas, set in periods ranging
from the Iron Age to the First World War. (A particular favourite of many readers
is THE PEOPLE OF THE HORSE, the story of Norfolk's first-known warrior queen,
Boudicca.)
Family sagas based firmly in Norfolk include THE CLOUDED LAND (a story set in
West Norfolk, 1911-16), short-listed for the 'Romantic Novel of the Year' Award
1996. Other similar titles to look for are SANDRINGHAM ROSE, and A CHILD OF SECRETS.
A totally different non-fiction project was SKY WARDS, the first-ever official
history of the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service, specially commissioned
by the Service's Matron-in-Chief, Air Commodore Bob Williams (the first man to
hold that post!). The book took three years of research and writing before being
launched with a splendid party at the RAF Museum, Hendon, with Terry Waite as
guest of honour.
2008 sees the publication of another non-fiction book which has taken four years
of extensive original research and writing. THE PRINCE'S THORN - EDWARD VII AND
THE LADY FARMER is the true story of Louisa Mary Cresswell, a volatile Victorian
widow who leased Appleton Farm, which was part of royal Sandringham estate, Norfolk,
from 1862-80. She dared to take issue with the Prince of Wales (later Edward
VII), basically because the hares he bred for shooting - his favourite leisure
pursuit - kept damaging her crops and eating into her profits. She came to believe
that the worry of it all drove her husband to an early death and herself, eventually,
to bankruptcy and enforced exile in Texas, USA.
Her own version of these events, a book titled 'Eighteen Years on Sandringham
Estate', appeared in 1887 and caused a furore because of her outspoken criticism
of the Prince and his local staff, including his comptroller Sir Dighton Probyn
and his land agent Edmund Beck (father of Captain Frank Beck, who led the Sandringham
Company to death and glory at Gallipoli in 1915). Today, both editions of Louise
Cresswell's autobiographical memoir are rare - some say because many copies were
bought up and destroyed by royal servants anxious to protect the Prince. Whatever
the truth, Mrs Cresswell remains a controversial subject among many people who
work for the present Queen at her Norfolk home.
However, now, after 140 years, Mary Mackie's new book questions the veracity
of Louise Cresswell's version, with authority based on original research into
documents many of which have never before been published or, indeed, even closely
examined. In particular, Mary was privileged to have access to the Royal Archive
at Windsor Castle where 101 documents waited to add entirely new light on the
subject of the Lady Farmer. This fresh information confirms that Louise Cresswell
was, to say the least, an unreliable witness when it came to matters concerning
the hedonistic, womanizing 'Bertie', Queen Victoria's oldest son.
Though Louise's relationship with her royal landlord forms the heart of the book,
THE PRINCE'S THORN also introduces her own family and her in-laws. They include
merchant-mariners in Norfolk; wealthy bankers and brewers in Bedfordshire; blue-bloods
from Northumberland and cowboys in Texas (at a time when the West was still Wild),
forming a colourful cast of saints and villains, swash-buckling sea captains,
military and naval heroes, lovers and liars. Some of them claim historical significance
- one of Louise's brothers helped to shape South African history; her grandmother-in-law
was Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney), the great prison reformer; one of her
nephews was a close friend of Oscar Wilde; her great friend was the author and
churchman Charles Kingsley; and her son became a well-known cattleman in the
pioneering days of Abilene, Texas, where his descendants still reside.
This book is sure to raise a lot of interest, especially in Norfolk where it
reveals many unexpected links in local history and contradicts accepted wisdom
on the subject of the notorious 'Lady Farmer', Mrs Louisa Mary Cresswell.
Apart from books, Mary Mackie has also published many articles and short stories,
and occasionally dabbles in play-writing and poetry. A particularly entertaining
project was the writing of a set of 26 alliterative short stories, each one having
words which all began with the same letter of the alphabet. The set is complete
- though some, such as Q and Z are pretty brief and more or less incomprehensible
without a dictionary. Still, fun to do. Pity no publisher has yet seen their
potential!
Away from her desk, Mary continues to fulfil speaking engagements both near to
home, across Britain and as far afield as the USA. She has spoken at and run
workshops at various writers' conferences and has also tutored classes in Creative
Writing. Over the years she has started four separate writers' groups, one in
Lincolnshire and three in Norfolk. Would love her own website but hasn't yet
had time to begin one.
For relaxation, Mary enjoys being involved in amateur dramatics with the Princess
Theatre Club in Hunstanton; she also enjoys London and its theatres; travelling;
swimming; scribbling in coffee shops; reading (history, philosophy, psychology,
and all kinds of fiction); 'bimbling' round the lovely Norfolk countryside; local
history; meeting people - and being a grandmother.
Her pet hates include housework and gardening; impenetrable prose; bad grammar
(especially apostrophic illiteracy, don't get me started on that and thank you
Lynne Truss!); bats, cats and undisciplined brats!
Updated: 15 November 2007
Links
*Sedgeford
Historical and Archaeological Research Project
Also writes as:
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