Many major writers of historical romance cite her as an important influence.[2] She has collaborated with
Mercedes Lackey on historical-fantasy fiction.
Early life and education
She was born September 27, 1927, to Margaret Segall Jacobs and Morris B. Jacobs.[3] Gellis grew up in
Brooklyn.[4]
She earned a B.A. in chemistry and English in 1947 at
Hunter College, and master's degrees in biochemistry and medieval literature.[4] Gellis worked in New York City as a research chemist for about a decade before becoming a writer.[4]
Writing career
After leaving her research lab job when her son was born, Gellis wrote her first novels, Bond of Blood and Knight's Honor, in the 1960s.[4] She went on to write more than fifty novels. These included more than twenty historical romances, including the Roselynde Chronicles and the Heiress Series, medieval murder mysteries, historical fantasies, space opera, and a mystery featuring
Lucrezia Borgia as an amateur detective. Her pseudonyms included Max Daniels, Priscilla Hamilton, and Leah Jacobs.[5] In 1981, the publisher of Romantic Times named Gellis as one of the most popular historical romance authors.[6]
Personal life and death
She married Charles Gellis on April 14, 1946, and they had one son.[3] Gellis died on May 6, 2016, in Michigan and is buried at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, MI.[1]
1984 Porgie Gold Medal for best historical romance, West Coast Review of Books[7]
1986 Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award[4][8]
Books
Pseudonymous books
Gellis wrote books published under at least three pseudonyms.
The Psychiatrist's Wife (1966), as Leah Jacobs
Space Guardian (1977), as Max Daniels
Offworld (1979), as Max Daniels
The Love Token (1979), as Priscilla Hamilton
Fantasy and science fiction
Offworld
The Space Guardian
Irish Magic (contributor)
Irish Magic II (contributor)
Overstars Mail
Greek mythology
Dazzling Brightness
Shimmering Splendor
Enchanted Fire
Bull God
Thrice Bound
Medieval books
Knight's Honor
Bond of Blood
The Dragon and the Rose
The Sword and the Swan
The Rope Dancer
Masques of Gold
The Royal Dynasty series
Siren Song
Winter Song
Fire Song
A Silver Mirror
The Roselynde Chronicles
Roselynde
Alinor
Joanna
Gilliane
Rhiannon
Sybelle
Desiree
Tales of Jernaeve
Tapestry of Dreams
Fires of Winter
Napoleonic era
The English Heiress
The Cornish Heiress
The Kent Heiress
Fortune's Bride
A Woman's Estate
Gellis and Mercedes Lackey
Gellis and
Mercedes Lackey wrote four prequels in the
Baen Books series "Serrated Edge", whose first four novels Lackey co-wrote with others from 1992 to 1994.[9] These are Gellis's works most widely held in
WorldCat libraries.[10]
This Scepter'd Isle (2004)
Ill Met by Moonlight (2005)
By Slanderous Tongues (2007)
And Less Than Kind (2008)
Mysteries
Magdalene la Bâtarde series
Historical mysteries featuring 12th-century madam-turned-amateur detective Magdalene la Bâtarde:
^D. L. Kirkpatrick; Lesley Henderson, eds. (1990). Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers. St. James Press. p. 267.
ISBN978-1-55862-180-0.
GaleK2404000178.