Patricia Wrede
Encyclopedia
Patricia Collins Wrede is an American
fantasy
writer
from Chicago, Illinois.
The eldest of five children, she graduated from Carleton College
in 1974 with a BA in Biology, married James Wrede in 1976 (they divorced in 1991), and obtained an MBA from University of Minnesota
in 1977.
She finished her first book in 1978, working as an accountant and financial analyst in the meantime.
She was a founding member of The Scribblies
, along with Pamela Dean
, Emma Bull
, Will Shetterly
, Steven Brust
, Nate Bucklin, in January 1980, "to which [she]
belonged for five extremely productive years."
She sold her first book to Ace in April 1980 and it was published in 1982.
In the fall of 1980, she met Lillian Stewart Carl
who introduced her to Lois McMaster Bujold
.
In 1985, shortly before her fifth book was published, she became a full-time writer.
She is a member of the Liavek
shared-world anthology.
She is a vegetarian and lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota
with her two cats.
She has no children of her own, but has four nieces and four nephews (three in Alabama, three in Illinois, and two in Maine).
In 2009, she donated her archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University
.
The actual chronological order of the books is Caught in Crystal, The Raven Ring, Shadow Magic, Daughter of Witches, and The Harp of Imach Thyssel. The last three are set in the same time period but different nations while the first two are space widely apart chronologically and happen well before the events of the last three. A timeline and short world history at the end of Shadows over Lyra ties everything together and answers a lot of questions.
The omnibus edition of Shadow Magic is a revised one; the writing is significantly different from that in the original, and reflects her greater experience as a writer. It seems that Patricia Wrede rewrote the story for the omnibus, but this is not actually noted anywhere in the book itself.
. It is usually marketed for young adults. The fourth book (told from the perspective of Cimorene's son, Daystar) was written and published first, but is considered to properly go last in the series. The 1995 edition of Talking to Dragons
is significantly different from the original 1985 edition, mostly to make it more consistent with the story in the other books.
The authors tell these stories from the first-person
perspectives of cousins Kate and Cecelia (and, in the third book, two additional characters), who recount their adventures in magic and polite society. These works are unusual in modern fiction in being epistolary novel
s, written using the style of the letter game
.
The Grand Tour or The Purloined Coronation Regalia: Being a Revelation of Matters of High Confidentiality and Greatest Importance, Including Extracts from the Intimate Diary of a Noblewoman and the Sworn Testimony of a Lady of Quality (2004)
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After: Being the Private Correspondence Between Two Prominent Families Regarding a Scandal Touching the Highest Levels of Government and the Security of the Realm (2006)
At the beginning of the first book, Katherine Talgarth ("Kate") and her beautiful younger sister Georgina have been taken by their Aunt Charlotte Rushton from Rushton (in Essex
) to London
to experience part of the Season. Kate's parents, George Talgarth and Celia Rushton, have both died at least five years before. Kate's favorite cousin, Cecelia Rushton ("Cecy"), has been left at home with her brother Oliver and their father, the antiquarian
Arthur Rushton, at Rushton Manor. Oliver and Cecy's mother died when Cecy was quite young. Their father's other umarried sister, Aunt Elizabeth Rushton, lives with them at Rushton Manor.
, the novels take place about 1823, during the Regency period in its broader sense; however, the author has personally stated that the events of Magician's Ward take place in 1818.
The Seven Towers is a stand-alone fiction novel.
Snow White and Rose Red is also a fairytale fantasy
, being a retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Snow White and Rose Red" (not "Snow White") set in Elizabethan England and including elements of the Thomas the Rhymer
ballad as well.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
from Chicago, Illinois.
The eldest of five children, she graduated from Carleton College
Carleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
in 1974 with a BA in Biology, married James Wrede in 1976 (they divorced in 1991), and obtained an MBA from University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in 1977.
She finished her first book in 1978, working as an accountant and financial analyst in the meantime.
She was a founding member of The Scribblies
The Scribblies
The Scribblies were a fantasy fiction writer's group based in the U.S. city of Minneapolis. Members included Nate Bucklin, Emma Bull, Steven Brust, Kara Dalkey, Pamela Dean, Will Shetterly and Patricia Wrede....
, along with Pamela Dean
Pamela Dean
Pamela Dean Dyer-Bennet is an American fantasy author whose most notable book is Tam Lin, based on the Child Ballad of the same name, in which the Scottish fairy story is set on a midwestern college campus loosely based on her alma mater, Carleton College in Minnesota.She was a member of the...
, Emma Bull
Emma Bull
Emma Bull is a science fiction and fantasy author whose best-known novel is War for the Oaks, one of the pioneering works of urban fantasy. She has participated in Terri Windling's Borderland shared universe, which is the setting of her 1994 novel Finder...
, Will Shetterly
Will Shetterly
Will Shetterly is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction best known for his novel Dogland . The novel is inspired by his childhood at the tourist attraction Dog Land owned by his parents...
, Steven Brust
Steven Brust
Steven Karl Zoltán Brust is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He was a member of the writers' group The Scribblies, which included Emma Bull, Pamela Dean, Will Shetterly, Nate Bucklin, Kara Dalkey, and Patricia Wrede; he also belongs to the Pre-Joycean...
, Nate Bucklin, in January 1980, "to which [she]
belonged for five extremely productive years."
She sold her first book to Ace in April 1980 and it was published in 1982.
In the fall of 1980, she met Lillian Stewart Carl
Lillian Stewart Carl
Lillian Stewart Carl is an American author of mystery, fantasy and science-fiction novels.Carl resides in North Texas. She has been a friend of Lois McMaster Bujold since childhood; both authors credit Carl with getting Bujold started writing. This is described in the introduction to Bujold's...
who introduced her to Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold is an American author of science fiction and fantasy works. Bujold is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field, having won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record. Her novella The Mountains of Mourning won both the Hugo...
.
In 1985, shortly before her fifth book was published, she became a full-time writer.
She is a member of the Liavek
Liavek
Liavek is a shared world brought to life in a series of five fantasy anthologies edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly.-Contributors:Contributors include Bull, Shetterly, Gene Wolfe, Jane Yolen, John M. Ford, Kara Dalkey, Barry B. Longyear, Megan Lindholm, Nancy Kress, Patricia C. Wrede, Steven...
shared-world anthology.
She is a vegetarian and lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
with her two cats.
She has no children of her own, but has four nieces and four nephews (three in Alabama, three in Illinois, and two in Maine).
In 2009, she donated her archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
.
Lyra
These books share a common setting on a world named Lyra, and are listed here in order of publication. As the books are only loosely connected, they may be read in any order, though order of publication is probably preferable.- Shadow Magic (1982)
- Daughter of Witches (1984)
- The Harp of Imach Thyssel (1985)
- Caught in Crystal (1987)
- The Raven Ring (1994)
- Shadows over Lyra (omnibus edition including the first three Lyra novels published) (1997)
The actual chronological order of the books is Caught in Crystal, The Raven Ring, Shadow Magic, Daughter of Witches, and The Harp of Imach Thyssel. The last three are set in the same time period but different nations while the first two are space widely apart chronologically and happen well before the events of the last three. A timeline and short world history at the end of Shadows over Lyra ties everything together and answers a lot of questions.
The omnibus edition of Shadow Magic is a revised one; the writing is significantly different from that in the original, and reflects her greater experience as a writer. It seems that Patricia Wrede rewrote the story for the omnibus, but this is not actually noted anywhere in the book itself.
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles
This series features Princess Cimorene, as she becomes a dragon's princess, rescues said dragon, falls in love, and ultimately saves the enchanted forestEnchanted forest
In literature, an enchanted forest is a forest under, or containing, enchantments. Such forests are described in the oldest folklore from regions where forests are common, and occur throughout the centuries to modern works of fantasy...
. It is usually marketed for young adults. The fourth book (told from the perspective of Cimorene's son, Daystar) was written and published first, but is considered to properly go last in the series. The 1995 edition of Talking to Dragons
Talking to Dragons
Talking to Dragons is a young adult fantasy novel, the fourth and final book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede, although it was published first, in 1985...
is significantly different from the original 1985 edition, mostly to make it more consistent with the story in the other books.
- Dealing with DragonsDealing with DragonsDealing with Dragons is a young adult fantasy novel written by Patricia C. Wrede, in which the princess Cimorene escapes her tediously ordinary family to be a dragon's princess. It is the first book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles series....
(1990) - Searching for Dragons (1991)
- Calling on DragonsCalling on DragonsCalling on Dragons is a young adult fantasy novel by Patricia C. Wrede, third in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.-Plot summary:In this book, the witch Morwen is introduced in greater depth. She has been a fairly minor character in previous books, but Book Three is told from her perspective...
(1993) - Talking to DragonsTalking to DragonsTalking to Dragons is a young adult fantasy novel, the fourth and final book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede, although it was published first, in 1985...
(1985, revised 1995)
Cecelia and Kate
with Caroline StevermerCaroline Stevermer
Caroline Stevermer is a writer of young adult fantasy novels and shorter works. She is best known for two series of historical fantasy novels.With Patricia C...
The authors tell these stories from the first-person
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
perspectives of cousins Kate and Cecelia (and, in the third book, two additional characters), who recount their adventures in magic and polite society. These works are unusual in modern fiction in being epistolary novel
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
s, written using the style of the letter game
Letter game
A letter game involves the exchange of written letters, or e-mails, between two or more participants. The first player writes a letter in the voice of a newly created character; in this first letter, the writer should establish their own identity and that of their correspondent, should set the...
.
At the beginning of the first book, Katherine Talgarth ("Kate") and her beautiful younger sister Georgina have been taken by their Aunt Charlotte Rushton from Rushton (in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
) to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to experience part of the Season. Kate's parents, George Talgarth and Celia Rushton, have both died at least five years before. Kate's favorite cousin, Cecelia Rushton ("Cecy"), has been left at home with her brother Oliver and their father, the antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
Arthur Rushton, at Rushton Manor. Oliver and Cecy's mother died when Cecy was quite young. Their father's other umarried sister, Aunt Elizabeth Rushton, lives with them at Rushton Manor.
Magic and Malice
"Mairelon" is a gentleman wizard with unusual talents, and Kim is his streetwise protégée. Together, they foil plots and generally get into trouble. From a reference to the date being thirty years since the TerrorReign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
, the novels take place about 1823, during the Regency period in its broader sense; however, the author has personally stated that the events of Magician's Ward take place in 1818.
- Mairelon the Magician (1991)
- Magician's Ward (1997)
- Magic and Malice (1999) — omnibus of Mairelon the Magician and Magician's Ward
- A Matter of Magic (2010) — paperback omnibus of Mairelon the Magician and Magician's Ward
Others
- The Seven Towers (1984)
- Snow White and Rose Red (1989)
- Book of EnchantmentsBook of EnchantmentsBook of Enchantments is a collection of short stories by fantasy author Patricia C. Wrede. It was first published in hardcover by Harcourt Brace in 1996, and was subsequently issued in paperback by Point Fantasy in 1998 and in trade paperback by Magic Carpet Books in 2005...
(1996) - Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, Episode I - The Phantom Menace (Jr. Novelization) (1999) - Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, Episode II - Attack of the Clones (Jr. Novelization) (2002) - Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (Jr. Novelization) (2005)
The Seven Towers is a stand-alone fiction novel.
Snow White and Rose Red is also a fairytale fantasy
Fairytale fantasy
Fairytale fantasy is distinguished from other subgenres of fantasy by the works' heavy use of motifs, and often plots, from folklore.-History:...
, being a retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Snow White and Rose Red" (not "Snow White") set in Elizabethan England and including elements of the Thomas the Rhymer
Thomas the Rhymer
Thomas Learmonth , better known as Thomas the Rhymer or True Thomas, was a 13th century Scottish laird and reputed prophet from Earlston . He is also the protagonist of the ballad "Thomas the Rhymer"...
ballad as well.
External links
- Official web site
- Bibliography at SciFanSciFanSciFan is an online database for fans of science fiction and fantasy books.The site provides detailed bibliographies, linking books together into series' where appropriate and, in turn, grouping series by universe...
- Novel synopses, cover art, and reviews at Fantasy Literature