Marion Chesney


Marion Gibbons was a Scottish writer of romance and mystery novels, whose career as a published author began in 1979. She wrote numerous successful historical romance novels under a form of her maiden name, Marion Chesney, including the "Travelling Matchmaker" and "Daughters of Mannerling" series.
Using the pseudonym M. C. Beaton, she also wrote many popular mystery novels, most notably the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth mystery series. Both of these book series have been adapted for TV. She also wrote romance novels under the pseudonyms Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester.
Writing as Marion Chesney, her final endeavour was an Edwardian mystery series featuring Lady Rose Summer, a charming debutante with an independent streak, and Captain Harry Cathcart, an impoverished aristocrat. In an interview, she stated that she ceased writing the Edwardian series as a result of the pressure of writing for the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series.

Biography

Marion Chesney was born on 10 June 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, and worked as a buyer of fiction for a Glasgow bookshop, theatre critic, newspaper reporter and editor. She married Middle East Correspondent Harry Scott Gibbons; they had a son, Charles. The couple moved to the Cotswolds when their son was about to go to university, assuming that he would go to Oxford, though in fact he did not.
Chesney had also lived in the USA. In later life she divided her time between a cottage in the Cotswolds and Paris. She died at a hospital in Gloucester, England on 30 December 2019, at the age of 83.

As Ann Fairfax

Single novels

Single novels

Single novels

Single romances

  1. The French Affair
  2. To Dream of Love
  3. A Marriage of Inconvenience
  4. A Governess of Distinction
  5. The Glitter and the Gold
  6. Duke's Diamonds
  7. Those Endearing Young Charms

    Westerby

  8. The Westerby Inheritance
  9. The Westerby Sisters

    The Six Sisters

  10. Minerva
  11. The Taming of Annabelle
  12. Deirdre and Desire
  13. Daphne
  14. Diana the Huntress
  15. Frederica in Fashion

    A House for the Season Series

  16. The Miser of Mayfair
  17. Plain Jane
  18. The Wicked Godmother
  19. Rake's Progress
  20. The Adventuress
  21. Rainbird's Revenge

    The School for Manners

  22. Refining Felicity
  23. Perfecting Fiona
  24. Enlightening Delilah
  25. Finessing Clarissa
  26. Animating Maria
  27. Marrying Harriet

    Waverley Women

  28. The First Rebellion
  29. Silken Bonds
  30. The Love Match

    The Travelling Matchmaker

  31. Emily Goes to Exeter
  32. Belinda Goes to Bath
  33. Penelope Goes to Portsmouth
  34. Beatrice Goes to Brighton
  35. Deborah Goes to Dover
  36. Yvonne Goes to York

    Poor relation

  37. Lady Fortescue Steps Out
  38. Miss Tonks Turns to Crime aka Miss Tonks Takes a Risk
  39. Mrs. Budley Falls From Grace
  40. Sir Philip's Folly
  41. Colonel Sandhurst to the Rescue
  42. Back in Society

    The Daughters of Mannerling

  43. The Banishment
  44. The Intrigue
  45. The Deception
  46. The Folly
  47. The Romance
  48. The Homecoming

    Edwardian Murder Mystery

  49. Snobbery with Violence
  50. Hasty Death
  51. Sick of Shadows
  52. Our Lady of Pain

    As Charlotte Ward

Single novel

Hamish Macbeth series

  1. Death of a Gossip
  2. Death of a Cad
  3. Death of an Outsider
  4. Death of a Perfect Wife
  5. Death of a Hussy
  6. Death of a Snob
  7. Death of a Prankster
  8. Death of a Glutton OR Death of a Greedy Woman
  9. Death of a Travelling Man
  10. Death of a Charming Man
  11. Death of a Nag
  12. Death of a Macho Man
  13. Death of a Dentist
  14. Death of a Scriptwriter
  15. Death of an Addict
  16. Death of a Dustman
  17. Death of a Celebrity
  18. Death of a Village
  19. Death of a Poison Pen
  20. Death of a Bore
  21. Death of a Dreamer
  22. Death of a Maid
  23. Death of a Gentle Lady
  24. Death of a Witch
  25. Death of a Valentine
  26. Death of a Chimney Sweep
  27. Death of a Kingfisher
  28. Death of Yesterday
  29. Death of a Policeman
  30. Death of a Liar
  31. Death of a Nurse
  32. Death of a Ghost
  33. Death of an Honest Man
  34. Death of a Love

    Hamish Macbeth companion books

  1. Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death
  2. Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet
  3. Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener
  4. Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley
  5. Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage
  6. Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist
  7. Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death
  8. Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham
  9. Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden
  10. Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam
  11. Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell
  12. Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came
  13. Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate
  14. Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House
  15. Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance
  16. Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon
  17. Love, Lies and Liquor: An Agatha Raisin Mystery
  18. Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye
  19. A Spoonful of Poison: An Agatha Raisin Mystery
  20. Agatha Raisin: There Goes The Bride
  21. Busy Body: An Agatha Raisin Mystery
  22. As the Pig Turns: An Agatha Raisin Mystery
  23. Hiss and Hers
  24. Something Borrowed, Someone Dead: An Agatha Raisin Mystery
  25. The Blood of an Englishman
  26. Dishing the Dirt
  27. Pushing up daisies
  28. The Witches' Tree
  29. The Dead Ringer
  30. Beating About the Bush
  31. Hot to Trot
There are also the short stories Agatha Raisin and the Christmas Crumble, Hell's Bells and Agatha's First Case, as well as The Agatha Raisin Companion with introduction by M.C.Beaton.

Single novels

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