Carolyn Meyer

Carolyn Meyer is an American author of historical fiction and novels for children and young adults. Ten of her books have been chosen as Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association.

Carolyn Meyer was born in Lewistown, a small town in central Pennsylvania. According to her, she began writing at an early age, and at age eight, she had already written the first three chapters of the novel Humpy the Caterpillar and Gladys the Snail: A True Life Romance.

After graduating from Bucknell University in 1957, she moved to the New York suburbs and started to write seriously. Her debut is called Miss Patch's Learn-To-Sew Book. Since then, she has written a total of more than 60 books.

Her first historical novel, Where the Broken Heart Still Beats: The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker, was published in 1992. It describes the life of Quanah Parker, the last of the great Comanche chiefs, son of a Comanche Indian, and a white kidnapped woman. The story unfolds through alternating points of view: that of Cynthia Ann and the diary kept by her cousin Lucy.

Her other most notable works include:

— White Lilacs (1993) is set in the segregated American South. This poignant novel tells the story of Rose Lee Jefferson, a young African-American girl who faces racial prejudice and injustice in her community;
— Mary, Bloody Mary (1999) is about the life of Mary Tudor, the first female monarch of England, and explores the tumultuous political and religious landscape of sixteenth-century Europe;
— Doomed Queen Anne (2004), the tragic story of Anne Boleyn, the ill-fated second wife of Henry VIII, highlighting the political intrigue and personal struggles she faced during her brief but impactful reign;
— Patience, Princess Catherine (2004) explores the life of Catherine of Aragon, the resilient first wife of Henry VIII;
— Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess (2000) about the final days of the Romanov dynasty. Meyer breathes life into the enigmatic Anastasia Romanov, the youngest daughter of Russia's last tsar.

Along with historical fiction and realistic novels for young adults, Carolyn Meyer has written nonfiction for young adults and books for younger readers on topics as diverse as the Amish, the Irish, the Japanese, Yup'ik Eskimos, a rock band, rock tumbling, bread baking, and coconuts.

Carolyn Meyer lives in Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is a mother to three grown sons.

Photo credit: www.readcarolyn.com