Charlotte MacLeod facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charlotte MacLeod
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| Born | Charlotte Matilda MacLeod November 12, 1922 Bath, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | January 14, 2005 (Aged 82) Lewiston, Maine |
| Pen name | Alisa Craig |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Mystery |
| Notable works | The Peter Shandy series |
Charlotte MacLeod (November 12, 1922 – January 14, 2005) was a Canadian-American mystery fiction writer.
Biography
Charlotte Matilda MacLeod was born in 1922 in Bath, New Brunswick, Canada, but emigrated to the United States in 1923 and became a naturalized US citizen in 1951. She attended the Art Institute of Boston. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, she worked as a copywriter for Stop & Shop Supermarkets in Boston. She eventually moved on to join the staff of N. H. Miller & Company, an advertising agency, where she rose to the level of vice president; she retired in 1982.
While continuing to work at the advertising company during the day, MacLeod began writing mystery fiction, eventually publishing over 30 novels. Many of her books are set in New England, including a series featuring university professor Peter Shandy, and another about Beacon Hill couple Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. Other mysteries, set in Canada, were published under the pen name Alisa Craig.
MacLeod tailored her books to fit into the cozy mystery genre, i.e. avoiding too much violence while featuring a humorous and literate-yet-light style, likable protagonists, and eccentric casts of secondary characters.
Her work sold over one million copies in the United States as well as Canada and Japan. MacLeod was co-founder of the American Crime Writers League and served as president. She received a Nero Award for The Corpse in Oozak's Pond in 1987, which was also nominated for an Edgar Award.
MacLeod began writing at 6 a.m. each day, continued through the morning, then used the afternoon for rewrites. She only started new books on Sundays. Although described as a "true lady" and often seen with hat and white gloves, while writing she would stay dressed in a bathrobe to avoid the temptation of leaving the house for an errand.
MacLeod spent her final years in Maine. Toward the end of her years she suffered from Alzheimer's disease. She died on January 14, 2005, in a Lewiston, Maine nursing home.
Awards
In 1998, MacLeod received the Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement.
| Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Plain Old Man | Anthony Award for Best Novel | Finalist | |
| 1987 | The Corpse in Oozak’s Pond | Nero Award | Winner | |
| 1988 | Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel | Finalist | ||
| 1989 | “A Cozy For Christmas” in Mistletoe Mysteries | Agatha Award for Best Short Story | Finalist | |
| Vane Pursuit | CWA Last Laugh Dagger Award | Finalist | ||
| 1992 | An Owl Too Many | Agatha Award for Best Novel | Finalist | |
| 1994 | Had She But Known: Mary Roberts Rinehart | Agatha Award for Best Non-Fiction | Finalist |
Awards and nominations
- Nero Award (1 win)
- Edgar Allan Poe Award (2 nominations)
- American Mystery Awards (5 wins)
- Bouchercon XXIII Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1986 Anthony award nomination for Best Novel, The Plain Old Man
- 1992 Anthony award nomination for Best Short Story Collection, Christmas Stalkings: Tales of Yuletide Murder
- Malice Domestic Lifetime Achievement Award
