Victoria Thompson (born Victoria Ellen Straface, July 25, 1948 – August 23, 2024) was an American author of cozy mystery novels.
Biography Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., on July 25, 1948. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Secondary Education from the University of Maryland in 1970. She then earned a Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in 2012.
Thompson lived with her husband near Chicago. She had two adult daughters who are both writers, and three grandchildren. Thompson died at her home in Long Grove, Illinois, on August 23, 2024, at the age of 76.
Career Thompson began her career writing historical romance novels in the 1980s. In 1996, her publisher let her go, and her agent encouraged her to try writing mysteries. When Thompson heard Berkley Books was looking for a writer for a series set in turn of the 20th century New York City with a midwife heroine, so she wrote a proposal adding a detective character, and was hired to write the Gaslight Mystery series. Thompson felt it was kismet because she loves history, and she had fallen in love with New York City, and Greenwich Village in particular, when her daughter attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. At that time, Thompson was working as a fundraiser for the March of Dimes, and several of the volunteers she worked with were midwives.
Along with writing, Thompson was a professor in the creative writing Master of Fine Arts program at Seton Hill University from 2000-2023. She also served on the Board of Trustees for the Vernon Area Public Library in Lincolnshire, Illinois from 2019-2024.Board Changes 6/21/2024) Many of her former students have become published authors, including V.M. Burns. Thompson also taught for a time in the continuing education program at Pennsylvania State University.
Awards and achievements Source:
In 2012, Thompson received a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine. In 2016, she was Guest of Honor at Malice Domestic mystery fan convention. +Awards for Thompson's writingYearTitleAwardResult1999Murder on Astor PlaceRomantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards First Mystery AwardFinalist2001Murder on St. Mark’s PlaceEdgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback OriginalFinalist2005Murder on Marble RowBruce Alexander Historical Mystery AwardFinalist2012Murder on Fifth AvenueAgatha Award for Best Historical NovelFinalist2013Murder in ChelseaAgatha Award for Best Historical NovelFinalist2014Murder in Murray HillAgatha Award for Best Historical NovelFinalist2015Murder on Amsterdam AvenueAgatha Award for Best Historical NovelFinalist2016Murder in Morningside HeightsAgatha Award for Best Historical NovelFinalist2018Murder on Union SquareAgatha Award for Best Historical NovelFinalist2019City of SecretsG. P. Putnam's Sons Sue Grafton Memorial AwardFinalist
Selected publications
Novels
Gaslight Mystery Novels
Counterfeit Lady Novels
Novellas
Nonfiction
References
External links Official website Penguin Random House Author Page