Patricia Cornwell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Patricia Cornwell
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Cornwell in 2016
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| Born | Patricia Carroll Daniels June 9, 1956 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Education | King College Davidson College (BA) |
| Period | 1990–present |
| Genre | Crime fiction |
| Spouse |
Charles Cornwell
(m. 1980; div. 1989)Staci Gruber
(m. 2006) |
Patricia Cornwell (born Patricia Carroll Daniels on June 9, 1956) is a well-known American writer. She is famous for her exciting crime novels. Her books often feature a character named Kay Scarpetta, who is a medical examiner. These stories are usually set in Richmond, Virginia.
Cornwell's novels are special because they focus a lot on forensic science. This is the science used to solve crimes. Her books have even influenced how police work is shown on TV. Patricia Cornwell has sold over 120 million books worldwide.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Patricia Cornwell was born in Miami, Florida, on June 9, 1956. She is related to the famous writer Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her father was a top lawyer. When she was young, her parents separated.
In 1961, Patricia and her brothers moved to Montreat, North Carolina. They were helped by Ruth Graham, who was married to the famous speaker Billy Graham. Ruth Graham saw that Patricia was good at writing. She encouraged Patricia to follow her talent.
Patricia was a smart student. She was also good at drawing cartoons and playing tennis. She went to King College and then to Davidson College. She graduated from Davidson College in 1979 with a degree in English.
Writing Career
In 1979, Cornwell started working as a reporter for The Charlotte Observer newspaper. She first edited TV listings. Then she wrote feature stories and later became a crime reporter. In 1980, she won an award for her reporting on crime. She worked at the newspaper until 1981.
She then moved to Richmond, Virginia. In 1983, her biography of Ruth Graham was published. It was called A Time for Remembering: The Ruth Bell Graham Story. This book won an award in 1985.
Becoming a Crime Novelist
In 1985, Patricia Cornwell started working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia. She worked there for six years. She was a technical writer and then a computer analyst. She also volunteered with the Richmond Police Department.
Her experiences there helped her create the character of Dr. Kay Scarpetta. In 1990, her first Scarpetta novel, Postmortem, was published. This book was inspired by real events in Richmond. It won several awards, including the British John Creasey Award and the American Edgar Award. Cornwell was the first author to win these awards in one year.
The Kay Scarpetta Series
The Scarpetta novels are known for their detailed use of forensic science. Kay Scarpetta solves mysteries by investigating clues found on crime victims. She also does field investigations and confronts suspects. These books have greatly influenced TV shows about crime solving, like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
The stories often involve themes of safety, family, and food. Conflicts with Scarpetta's colleagues also make the cases more complex. While the novels take place in different locations, they mostly center around Richmond, Virginia.
The style of the Scarpetta novels has changed over time. From The Last Precinct (2000) onwards, the stories are told in the present tense. Starting with Blow Fly (2003), the stories are told from a third-person point of view. This means readers see events through the eyes of different characters, even the criminals. However, Cornwell returned to a first-person perspective in Port Mortuary (2010).
Other Book Series
Besides the Scarpetta novels, Cornwell has written three other police fiction books. These are known as the Trooper Andy Brazil/Superintendent Judy Hammer series. They are set in North Carolina, Virginia, and along the mid-Atlantic coast.
Jack the Ripper Research
Patricia Cornwell has spent a lot of time and money researching the famous Jack the Ripper murders. She believes that the British artist Walter Sickert was the killer. She has written two books about her theory: Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper—Case Closed (2002) and Ripper: The Secret Life Of Walter Sickert (2017).
Her theories have caused some debate, especially among art experts and other Ripper researchers. Cornwell has bought many of Sickert's paintings to study them. She claimed to find a clue in a letter supposedly from the killer. However, other experts noted that many fake letters were sent, and the paper she found was widely available.
Personal Life
On June 14, 1980, Patricia married Charles L. Cornwell. He was her professor and 17 years older than her. They separated in 1989, but Patricia kept her married name.
In 2006, Cornwell married Staci Gruber, a professor at Harvard University. She shared news of her marriage in 2007. Cornwell has spoken about the importance of equal rights. She lives with Gruber in Massachusetts.
Patricia Cornwell has been friends with the family of Billy Graham since she was a child. She was also friends with former President George H. W. Bush.
Health and Views
Patricia Cornwell has faced health challenges in the past. She has also donated money to both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.
Charitable Work
Cornwell has made many important donations to different causes. She has given money to the Virginia Institute for Forensic Science and Medicine. She also funds scholarships for creative writing at Davidson College. She donated her collection of Walter Sickert paintings to Harvard University.
She supports psychiatric research as a member of the McLean Hospital's National Council. She has also given large donations to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice for their Crime Scene Academy and to the Harvard Art Museum. She helped the Richmond City Police Department buy bullet-proof vests for their police dogs. She also supports the Veterans Village of San Diego. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, Maryland, uses a special apartment donated by Cornwell to train crime scene investigators.
Hobbies
In 1999, Patricia Cornwell earned her private helicopter license.
Awards and Recognition
Patricia Cornwell has received many awards for her writing:
- ECPA Gold Medallion Book Award for A Time For Remembering (1985)
- Edgar Award, John Creasey Memorial Award, Anthony Award, and Macavity Award for Postmortem (1991)
- Prix du Roman d'Adventures for Postmortem (1992)
- Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement (1995)
- Gold Dagger for Cruel and Unusual (1993)
- Sherlock Award for Best Detective for the character Kay Scarpetta (1999)
- British Book Awards' Crime Thriller of the Year for Book of the Dead (2008)
- RBA Prize for Crime Writing for Red Mist (2011)
See also
In Spanish: Patricia Cornwell para niños
