Marilyn Harris was a celebrated American author, known for her works in historical fiction, historical romance, gothic, European literature, drama, and horror genres. She was born on June 4, 1931, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to John P., an oil executive, and Dora Harris, a homemaker. Harris had an early inclination towards literature, which was evident during her educational years. She attended Cottey College from 1945 to 1951 and then transferred to the University of Oklahoma, where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees in 1953 and 1955, respectively.
Harris's literary career began in 1967 with the publication of her first collection of short stories, 'King's Ex,' by Doubleday. After this, she proved to be a prolific author, publishing seventeen books, including novels, short stories, romance/historical fiction, and children's fiction in a twenty-year period from 1970 to 1989. Some of her notable works include 'In the Midst of Earth' (1969), 'The Peppersalt Land' (1970), 'The Runaway's Diary' (1971), 'The Conjurers' (1974), 'Bledding Sorrow' (1976), 'The Portent' (1980), 'The Last Great Love' (1981), 'Warrick' (1985), 'Night Games' (1987), and 'Lost and Found' (1991). Her work has received a wide readership, with nine million of her books in print in 1983 and translations in many languages, including French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Japanese.
Harris is best known for her popular novel series, the Eden series, a historical saga based on the life of England's Eden family. This seven-book series, published between 1971 and 1978, remains popular even today. In addition to this, Harris wrote a single novel, 'Hatter Fox,' in 1973, which became an instant bestseller and was later adapted into a movie by CBS in 1977 under the title 'The Girl Called Hatter Fox.' Harris was also an author in residence at Oklahoma's Central State University. She passed away on January 18, 2002.