Elizabeth Eyre
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Eyre is a pen name used by Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey
. Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey have written many books together, but the Elizabeth Eyre pen name seems only to have been used for the Sigismondo series of novels.
" series.
"Elizabeth Eyre is the pseudonym of Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey. They were pupils at the same school where they invented bizarre characters and exchanged serial episodes about them. Their first book together, at the age of fifteen, was called 'Bungho, or why we went to Aleppo'. It was not offered for publication. They have both written stories for children, and together created the highly praised Superintendent Bone modern detective novels as well as this series of Italian Renaissance whodunnits." ~ from the dust jacket of Bravo for the Bride, 1994, Headline Book Publishing Ltd.
setting. While some characters are clearly intended as comic relief, the humour is dry and unobtrusive. The stories themselves are carefully plotted and well thought out.
From The Mail on Sunday
, London
"An imaginative drama of courtly Renaissance Italy, complete with dwarves, secret passages, plots and passions – and feasts that make an English Christmas dinner look positively paltry. Sigismondo, the Duke's mystery sleuth, could well be starting a career to equal Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael's"
series and Lindsey Davis
and the Marcus Didius Falco
series.
Although well received at the time of their release, the books now appear to be out of print, though many are still available through libraries and second-hand book traders.
Margaret Storey
Margaret Storey may refer to:* Margaret Storey , writer of children's and young adult stories, including the Melinda Farbright series...
. Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey have written many books together, but the Elizabeth Eyre pen name seems only to have been used for the Sigismondo series of novels.
Biography
The author bio for Elizabeth Eyre is identical on each of the novels in the "SigismondoSigismondo
Sigismondo is an operatic 'dramma' in two act by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa.The opera was not a success and Rossini later re-used some of its music in Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra, The Barber of Seville, and Adina.-Performance history:Sigismondo was first...
" series.
"Elizabeth Eyre is the pseudonym of Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey. They were pupils at the same school where they invented bizarre characters and exchanged serial episodes about them. Their first book together, at the age of fifteen, was called 'Bungho, or why we went to Aleppo'. It was not offered for publication. They have both written stories for children, and together created the highly praised Superintendent Bone modern detective novels as well as this series of Italian Renaissance whodunnits." ~ from the dust jacket of Bravo for the Bride, 1994, Headline Book Publishing Ltd.
Writing style
The Eyre novels are marked by colourful characters and an atmospheric treatment of its Italian RenaissanceItalian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
setting. While some characters are clearly intended as comic relief, the humour is dry and unobtrusive. The stories themselves are carefully plotted and well thought out.
Critical response
The Sigismondo series received a positive response from many reviewers when it was released, with good reviews appearing in the Mail on Sunday (London), the Sunday Express (London) and the Weekend Telegraph (London), some of which were reprinted on the dust jackets of the later volumes in the series.From The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
, London
"An imaginative drama of courtly Renaissance Italy, complete with dwarves, secret passages, plots and passions – and feasts that make an English Christmas dinner look positively paltry. Sigismondo, the Duke's mystery sleuth, could well be starting a career to equal Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael's"
Influence on popular culture
The books contributed to the historical mystery subgenre that arose in the 1990s with the success of Ellis Peters and the CadfaelCadfael
Brother Cadfael is the fictional main character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey, in western England,...
series and Lindsey Davis
Lindsey Davis
Lindsey Davis is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire.-Biography:...
and the Marcus Didius Falco
Marcus Didius Falco
Marcus Didius Falco is the central character and narrator in a series of novels by Lindsey Davis. Using the concepts of modern detective stories , Davis portrays the world of the Roman Empire under Vespasian...
series.
Although well received at the time of their release, the books now appear to be out of print, though many are still available through libraries and second-hand book traders.