Patricia Cornwell
Bio
Patricia Carroll Daniels was born on June 9, 1956, in Miami. Her father, Sam Daniels, was a lawyer who had clerked for Hugo Black, a Supreme Court Justice. He passed away in 1996. Her mother, Marilyn "Pat" Daniels was a secretary. Patricia was the second child of three; she has a younger brother and an older brother. When she was five years old, Patricia's parents' marriage began to come apart. Two years later, her mother moved, with the three kids, to Montreat, North Carolina. Patricia ended up living two miles down the road from Ruth Bell Graham and her husband, evangelist Billy Graham. Ruth would eventually become a friend and mentor to Patricia, being one of the first people to encourage her to write.
In high school, Patricia played No. 3 singles on the (men's) tennis team and was undefeated. After graduation, she attended King College and shortly thereafter transferred to Davidson College on a tennis scholarship. She eventually gave up the tennis scholarship and worked several jobs, including waitressing, to pay for her education.
In 1979, after graduating from college, Patricia began her writing career with the Charlotte Observer. She worked as a journalistic factotum, features writer and, eventually, a police reporter. It was her crime reporting/writing which earned her several awards. In 1980, she married Charles Cornwell, an English professor 17 years her senior. He decided to quit his job at Davidson College in order to pursue a degree in divinity. With some trepidation, Patricia moved to Richmond, Virginia with her husband. In 1983, she wrote a biography of her friend and mentor, Ruth Bell Graham (wife of evangelist Billy Graham). This earned her the Medallion Award.
In 1984, Patricia got a job at the Virginia medical examiner's office. She worked there for six years, first as a technical writer and then as a computer analyst. During her stay there, she witnessed hundreds of autopsies. Patricia also spent time as a volunteer police officer. In 1988, she decided that the life of a preacher's wife was not for her, and she and her husband amicably divorced a year later.
In 1990, after several rejections, Patricia's first crime novel Postmortem was published. It received rave reviews and many awards. It is the only novel in history to win the Edgar, Macavity, Dagger and Anthony awards in one year. Patricia was the first American to ever win the French Prix du Roman D'Aventure award.
Patricia has gone on to write many more books. Her most popular series features Kay Scarpetta, a chief medical examiner. She currently spends her time in Richmond, Virginia and New York. She supports several institutions that are concerned with forensic research, victims' support, and animal rescue.
Bibliography
Kay Scarpetta Series:
Trace (2004)
Blow Fly (2003)
The Last Precinct (2000)
Black Notice (1999)
Point of Origin (1998)
Unnatural Exposure (1997)
Cause of Death (1996)
From Potter's Field (1995)
The Body Farm (1994)
Cruel and Unusual (1993)
All That Remains (1992)
Body of Evidence (1991)
Postmortem (1990)
Andy Brazil Series:
Isle of Dogs (2001)
Southern Cross (1999)
Hornet's Nest (1996)
Non-Fiction:
Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed (2002)
Biography:
A Time for Remembering (1983; republished as Ruth, a Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham in 1997)
Other Works:
Food to Die For: Secrets from Kay Scarpetta's Kitchen (2001)
Life's Little Fable (1999)
Scarpetta's Winter Table (1998)
Links
Patricia Cornwell's Official Site
Mystery Reviews Online
Tangled Web UK: Patricia Cornwell