Peter Berresford Ellis | |
|---|---|
 Ellis inEmly, Ireland in 2006 | |
| Born | (1943-03-10)10 March 1943 (age 82) |
| Other names | Peter Tremayne, Peter MacAlan |
| Education | Brighton College of Art; University of London |
| Alma mater | North East London Polytechnic |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Known for | Celtic history, literary biography, historical novels |
| Spouse | Dorothea Cheesmur (died 2016) |
Peter Berresford Ellis (born 10 March 1943) is a Britishhistorian,literary biographer, andnovelist who has published over 98 books to date either under his own name or his pseudonymsPeter Tremayne andPeter MacAlan. He has also published 100 short stories. Under Peter Tremayne, he is the author of the international bestsellingSister Fidelmahistorical mystery series. His work has appeared in 25 languages.
Peter Berresford Ellis was born inCoventry. His father, Alan John Ellis (1898-1971), was a Cork-bornjournalist who started his career withThe Cork Examiner.[1][2] According to Ellis, the Ellis family (originally "Elys") can be traced in the area from 1288; his branch were stonecutters in Cork City from the early 1800s.[3]
His mother, Eva Daisy (1897-1991), was the daughter of Henry Randolph Randell, a house painter and decorator from an oldSussex family ofSaxon origin. Her autobiography presents its lineage back through 14 generations in theHurstpierpoint area. Her mother was ofBreton descent.[4][5]
Educated atBrighton College of Art and theUniversity of London,[6] Ellis graduated from North East London Polytechnic (now part of theUniversity of East London) in Celtic Studies in 1989.[7] He also earned a master's degree in Celtic Studies from the University of East London (1993).[citation needed]
He began his career as a junior reporter on an English south coast weekly, becoming deputy editor of an Irish weekly newspaper and was then editor of a weekly publishingtrade journal in London. He first went as a feature writer to Northern Ireland in 1964 for a London daily newspaper. His first book was published in 1968:Wales: a Nation Again, on the Welsh struggle for political independence, with a foreword byGwynfor Evans,Plaid Cymru's firstMP.[6]
In 1975 he became a full-time writer. He used his academic background to produce many titles in the field of Celtic Studies and he has written academic articles and papers in the field for journals ranging fromThe Linguist (London) toThe Irish Sword: Journal of the Irish Military History Society (University College Dublin). In 1999The Times Higher Education Supplement described him as one of the leading authorities on the Celts then writing.[6] He has been International Chairman of theCeltic League (1988–90); chairman of Scrif-Celt (The Celtic Languages Book Fair (1985–86); chairman and vice-president of the London Association for Celtic Education (1989–95), of which he is an Honorary Life Member.[6]
He was also chairman of his local wardLabour Party in London and was editorial advisor onLabour and Ireland magazine in the early 1990s. He is an honorary life member of the Connolly Association (founded 1938) to examine and promote the life and teachings ofJames Connolly. He introduced and editedJames Connolly: Selected Writing (Penguin, 1973) and wrote a regular column for the Association's newspaperIrish Democrat from 1987 to 2007. He is a member of theSociety of Authors.[6]
Ellis supportsChechen independence,Tibetan independence, aUnited Ireland andScottish independence.[8]
Ellis believes that the idea of unbiased historical works is a myth, instead believing that historians should state their bias at the start of a work - "I write as someone who fully supports Celtic cultural, political and economic independence. Nor do I disguise the fact that I am a socialist."[8]
Apart from hisCeltic Studies interests, Ellis has written full-length biographies of the writersH. Rider Haggard,W. E. Johns,Talbot Mundy andE. C. Vivian, as well as critical essays on other popular fiction authors. His output in the fictional field, writing in the genre of horror fantasy andheroic fantasy, began in 1977 when the first "Peter Tremayne" book appeared. Between 1983 and 1993 he also wrote eight adventure thrillers under the name "Peter MacAlan".[9]
As of June 2015 he had published 106 books, 100 short stories, several pamphlets, and numerous academic papers and signed journalistic articles. Under his own name he wrote two long running columns: "Anonn is Anall" ("Here and There") from 1987 to 2008 for theIrish Democrat, and, "Anois agus Arís" ("Now and Again") from 2000 to 2008 forThe Irish Post.[citation needed]
His books include 35 titles under his own name 55 titles under hispen name of Peter Tremayne and eight under the pen name of Peter MacAlan.[10][11][12] He has lectured at universities in several countries, including the UK, Ireland, America,Canada,France andItaly. He has also broadcast on television and radio since 1968.[citation needed]
The popularity of hisSister Fidelma mysteries led, in January 2001, to the formation of an International Sister Fidelma Society inLittle Rock, Arkansas, with a website and a print magazine calledThe Brehon produced three times a year.[13][14] A book,The Sister Fidelma Mysteries: Essays on the Historical Novels of Peter Tremayne, was published by MacFarland in 2012. Ellis's novel,The Devil's Seal was published by St. Martin's Press in 2015.
He was given an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by theUniversity of East London in 2006 in recognition of his work.[15]
He is also a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1996) and a Fellow of theRoyal Historical Society (1998). He was made a Bard of theCornish Gorsedd (1987) for his work on the history of theCornish language –The Cornish Language and its Literature (published in 1974). He received an Irish Post Award (1989) for his work on Celtic history, and the French PrixHistoria (2010) for best historical crime novel of 2010.[6]
He was made Honorary Life President of the Scottish 1820 Society (1989),[16] and Honorary Life Member of theIrish Literary Society (2002).[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
Ellis's wife, Dorothea Cheesmur Ellis (11 September 1940 – 30 March 2016) died of cancer at age 75.[24]
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