Lucia St. Clair Robson
Encyclopedia
Literary biography
Lucia St. Clair Robson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida. She has been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Venezuela, a teacher in New York City, and a librarian in Annapolis, Maryland. She has also lived in Japan, South Carolina, and Arizona. She now resides near Annapolis, Maryland.- In explaining how she came to write her first historical novel, Lucia said, "Along with my library degree I learned one of life's great truths: you don't have to know all the answers, you just have to know where to find them. As a public librarian in Maryland I gave book-related programs in the local schools. While gathering material for the talks, I ran across the story of Cynthia Ann Parker's life with the Comanches. I told the kids that this was a more fascinating story than anyone could make up.
- Shortly after that I went to a science fiction convention and met Brian DaleyBrian DaleyBrian Daley was an American science fiction novelist. He also adapted for radio the Star Wars radio dramas and wrote all of its episodes.-Biography:...
, author of the Han Solo books. I mentioned Cynthia Ann's story to Brian and his editor who referred me to Pamela Strickler of Ballantine Books. She advised me to, "Write the best story you can, from the heart, to please yourself."
In 1982, Ballantine published Ride the Wind, which made the New York Times best sellers list. It also won the Western Writers of America
Western Writers of America
Western Writers of America, founded 1953, promotes literature, both fiction and non-fiction, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional western fiction, the more than five hundred current members also include historians and other non-fiction writers as well as authors...
's Golden Spur Award
Spur Award
The Spur Award is an annual literary prize awarded by the Western Writers of America. Founded in 1953 with only four categories , the award today has expanded to include the following categories:...
for Best Historical Novel of the year. Now in its 26th printing, WIND was included in the top 100 westerns of the 20th century, and has garnered more than 120 5-star reader reviews on Amazon.
- I've written eight other novels that feature people and times seldom mentioned in history texts. …A historical novelist must do more than list which generals fought where and when. She tries to re-create the society in which people lived, and she has to make it so vivid that readers can feel as though they're living there too. I no longer collect a paycheck as a librarian, but my library training helps me find out what people wore, what jokes they told, how they insulted each other, what they ate, how they amused themselves, what diseases laid them low and how they tried to cure them.
- As a writer of historical fiction, it's my job to create a plausible reality in a time long gone. A descendant of one of my characters once asked me where I got the stories I told in my book about her family. I told her I had either read them or made them up. She said I couldn't have because those were stories only the family knew. I blamed it on coincidence, but sometimes I do believe that novelists can "predict" the past."
Lucia was partners with the late science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer Brian Daley
Brian Daley
Brian Daley was an American science fiction novelist. He also adapted for radio the Star Wars radio dramas and wrote all of its episodes.-Biography:...
for fourteen years. To find out more about her and her work visit www.luciastclairrobson.com
Works
- Last Train from Cuernavaca - inspired by two very different women, one Zapotec and one English, who participated in the Mexican Revolution.
- Shadow PatriotsShadow PatriotsShadow Patriots is 2005 historical novel by Lucia St. Clair Robson. It tells of the Culper Ring, a group of George Washington's spies operating out of New York City during the Revolution. The story includes familiar names—Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benedict Arnold, Peggy Shippen -- and one...
- The story of a group that spied for George Washington, including a woman known only as "355" - Ghost WarriorGhost WarriorGhost Warrior, Lozen of the Apaches is a 2002 historical novel by Lucia St. Clair Robson. This novel was the runner-up for the Golden Spur Award in 2002....
- The story of the Apaches and Lozen, revered warrior and shaman. - Ride the WindRide the WindRide the Wind by Lucia St. Clair Robson is the story of Cynthia Ann Parker's life after she was captured during the Comanche raid on her family's fort. In 1836, when she was nine years old, Cynthia was kidnapped by Comanche Indians. This is the story of how she grew up with them, mastered their...
- Cynthia Ann Parker's life with the Comanches. - The Tokaido RoadThe Tokaido Road (novel)The Tokaido Road is a 1991 historical novel by Lucia St. Clair Robson. Set in 1702, it is a fictional account of the famous Japanese revenge story of the Forty-Seven Ronin...
- A chase up the fabled Tokaido Road, set against the backdrop of feudal Japan's most famous event, the revenge of the forty-seven ronin. - Mary's LandMary's LandMary's Land, by Lucia St. Clair Robson, is a 1995 historical novel, set in the year 1638. It is based on Margaret Brent's life.-External links:* Monster Jam in Mary's Land...
- A novel of the rowdy Maryland frontier of 1638. - Fearless, A Novel of Sarah BowmanFearless, A Novel of Sarah BowmanFearless, A Novel of Sarah Bowman is a 1998 novel of historical fiction by Lucia St. Clair Robson.The novel tells how Sarah Bowman arrived in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1845, to work as a laundress for the army that Zachary Taylor had assembled to invade Mexico in the Mexican-American War...
- Six-foot-tall laundress, Sarah Bowman, makes a name for herself in the Mexican War. - Walk in My SoulWalk in My Soul-Plot summary:Walk in My Soul is the story of Tiana Rogers of the Cherokee, the young Sam Houston, and the Trail of Tears.Tiana grew up learning the magic, spells, and nature religion of the Cherokee...
- A fictional account of young Sam Houston's life with the Cherokee Indians and with their Beloved Woman, Tiana Rogers. - Light a Distant FireLight a Distant FireLight a Distant Fire is a 1988 historical novel by Lucia St. Clair Robson that fictionalizes the story of the Second Seminole War, Andrew Jackson, and the charismatic leader Osceola, warchief of the Seminole tribe..-Plot introduction:...
- Osceola and his beleagured people fight the U.S. Army to a standstill in the swamps of Florida in 1840. - "A Chance of a Ghost" short story in Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th AnniversaryTwilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th AnniversaryTwilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary is a collection of short stories written by various authors and edited by Carol Serling, the widow of series creator Rod Serling. Each story was written with themes or styles similar to The Twilight Zone episodes, including narrated...
Awards
True West Magazine named Lucia as Best Living Western Historical Novelist in 2003. In 2011 True West voted her "Best Living Fiction Writer," and wrote, "Lucia St. Clair Robson once again proves a master in prose, description, character development and authenticity via her diligent research."In 1982, the Western Writers of America gave Ride the Wind
Ride the Wind
Ride the Wind by Lucia St. Clair Robson is the story of Cynthia Ann Parker's life after she was captured during the Comanche raid on her family's fort. In 1836, when she was nine years old, Cynthia was kidnapped by Comanche Indians. This is the story of how she grew up with them, mastered their...
their Spur award for Best Historical Western. In 2002, Ghost Warrior
Ghost Warrior
Ghost Warrior, Lozen of the Apaches is a 2002 historical novel by Lucia St. Clair Robson. This novel was the runner-up for the Golden Spur Award in 2002....
was a Spur finalist, and in 2011 her novel about the Mexican Revolution, Last Train from Cuernavaca also won a Spur.
Articles and interviews
- Talking with...Lucia St. Clair Robson, by John Coyne, Peace Corps Writers.
- Novelist Taps History for Story Set in 17th Century Maryland by L. Peat O'NeilL. Peat O'NeilL. Peat O'Neil is a travel writer and foreign service staff member at the Office of eDiplomacy of the U.S. Department of State. O'Neil writes content for Diplopedia and collaborates on other social media programs.-Writer:...
, Washington Post, September 14, 1995.