Cecelia Holland
Cecelia Holland | |
---|---|
Born | Henderson, Nevada, U.S. | December 31, 1943
Occupation | Novelist |
Language | English |
Nationality | American |
Education | Connecticut College (BA) Columbia University |
Genre | Historical fiction |
Website | |
www |
Cecelia Holland (born December 31, 1943) is an American historical fiction novelist.
Early life and education
Holland was born December 31, 1943, in Henderson, Nevada. She grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey, where she started writing at age 12, recording the stories she made up for her own entertainment. From the beginning, she focused on history because "being twelve, I had precious few stories of my own. History seemed to me then, as it still does, an endless fund of material."[1]
Holland attended
Bibliography
Literary style
In the Autumn 2002 issue of the Historical Novel Society magazine, Solander, Sarah Johnson writes, "What sets Cecelia’s work apart in the genre is not just her productivity but also her versatility; she has the unique ability to make most any historical period her own.[3]
She records the often harsh details of life in the distant or recent past and her depiction of it involves considerable research. Her character-driven plots often are developed from the
In her medieval novels in particular, she makes her characters, including Huns and Mongols, speak in colloquial English. This is intended to give the reader the impression of listening in on a conversation in the speakers' own vernacular.[2]
Most of her novels have grown slowly in the back of her mind, often as the result of articles and essays written by her. The Belt of Gold and The Lords of Vaumartin, however, were written "cold" as the result of requests by her editor. While she claims not to choose fictional settings based on their infrequent usage by other writers, she has said, "I wouldn't dare do the Civil War, because it's so well known, every damn detail, it would be so stifling."[citation needed]
Floating Worlds (1976), is a science fiction novel written in a similar style. It is an epic novel set in approximately the 40th century AD, by which time a colonized Solar System hosts a variety of political systems. Paula Mendoza, an ex-prisoner from anarchist Earth, becomes a diplomat and the lover of one of the Styth, a variant human subspecies who live in floating cities.[4]
Personal life
During the late 1990s, Publishers Weekly described Holland as a "bohemian den mother" and historical novelist who had written 24 books.[5] As of 2011, Holland lived in Fortuna, a small town in rural Humboldt County, California. She has three daughters and five grandchildren. For ten years, Holland taught two three-hour creative writing classes a week at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, California. She was visiting professor of English at Connecticut College in 1979. Holland was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1981–1982.[6]
References
- ^ "About Cecelia". TheFiredrake.com (Official site). Retrieved September 5, 2014.
- ^ a b c Howard, Patricia J. "Irony of Fate In Cecelia Holland's "Two Ravens": Echoes of "Beowulf" and Icelandic Saga." The Comparatist 14 (1990): (pgs. 15-25)
- ^ Johnson, Sarah (30 November 2002). "Such Great Stories in History: An Interview with Cecelia Holland; Solander, Historical Novel Society".
- ISBN 9780815603955(p.82)
- ^ Reynolds, Susan Salter (November 10, 1997). "Cecelia Holland: A Novelist Excavating the Past". Publishers Weekly.
- ISBN 9781857431797.
External links
- Official website
- "Cecelia Holland Awards". Locus Science Fiction Foundation.
- An Hour with Cecelia Holland (interview). .