M.C. Beaton

Marion Chesney, also known by her pen name M.C. Beaton, was a prolific Scottish novelist. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1936 and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. Chesney's career in journalism began when she was offered to review variety shows for the Scottish Daily Mail, which quickly led to her becoming their theatre critic. She then moved on to work as a secretary in the advertising department for Scottish Field magazine, where she was soon promoted to fashion editor. After working as a reporter for the Scottish Daily Express and then as a chief woman reporter for the Daily Express in Fleet Street, Chesney decided to try her hand at writing.

Chesney began writing historical romances in 1977 under her maiden name and several pseudonyms, including Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester. However, she grew tired of writing about the same time period and decided to switch to writing detective stories in 1985 under the pseudonym M.C. Beaton. Her first Hamish Macbeth story was inspired by a course at a fishing school during a trip to Sutherland on holiday. Chesney and her husband later moved to the Cotswolds, where she created the beloved character Agatha Raisin.

M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series has been a big success and reached best-selling status. She was known to many readers for her popular fictional series and was often referred to as the "Queen of Crime" (The Globe and Mail). Sadly, M.C. Beaton passed away on December 30th, 2019. However, her legacy lives on through her numerous novels that continue to captivate and entertain readers.