Basic Mystery Novel Questions:
Murder Mystery Questions:
Character Questions:
Location Questions:
Reveal Questions:
Satisfaction Questions:
November 28, 1944, in Hanover, Pennsylvania, to an unwed, teenage mother and her married boyfriend. Brown was left at an orphanage by her mother before she was rescued and adopted by a cousin of her mother’s and her husband. (Author Biographies)
The bestselling author of 37 books is nothing if not versatile: feminist activist, mystery writer, lesbian pioneer, fox hunter, screenwriter, novelist, and animal rescuer.
She even became a tabloid star during her three-year relationship with tennis superstar Martina Navratilova. (Time Magazine)
Education:
University of Florida, Gainesville
New York University, B.A. 1968
New York School of Visual Arts - cinematography certificate 1968
Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, D.C., Ph.D. 1976 (Bio)
Awards:
Best Variety Show award (TV Writers Guild), 1982
New York Public Library Literary Lion award, 1986
Outstanding Alumni, American Association of Community Colleges, 1999
Outstanding Alumna, Broward Community College, 1999 (Bio)
Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of:
Her most renowned novel “Rubyfruit Jungle” (1973) has won The Lambda Literary Pioneer Award and The Lee Lynch Classic Book Award. (Lafayette Student News)
Many other books
An Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet
Outstanding Writing In A Variety Or Music Program - 1982
I Love Liberty on ABC (Emmys)
Television and film scripts: I Love Liberty, with others, 1982; The Long Hot Summer, 1985; My Two Loves, 1986; The Alice Marble Story, 1986; Sweet Surrender, 1986; The Mists of Avalone, 1987; Table Dancing, 1987; The Girls of Summer, 1989; Selma, Lord, Selma, 1989; Rich Men, Single Women, 1989; The Thirty Nine Year Itch, 1989
Poetry: The Hand That Cradles the Rock. New York, New York UniversityPress, 1971, Songs to a Handsome Woman. Baltimore, Diana Press, 1973, Poems. Freedom, California, Crossing Press, 1987
Other: A Plain Brown Rapper (essays). Baltimore, Diana Press, 1976, Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of Writers Manual. New York, Bantam, 1988, Rita Will: Memoir of a Literary Rabble-Rouser. New York, Bantam Books, 1997. (Bio)
Her works have been gathered into a special collection at the University of Virginia Library.
This includes manuscript drafts, screenplays, correspondence, and personal collection items.
Brown lives in Afton, Virginia
She is a Master of Foxhounds and the Huntsman at Oakridge Fox Hunt Club
National Writers Series: Rita Mae Brown
An Interview with author Rita Mae Brown
2011 Gaithersburg Book Festival Featured Author - Rita Mae Brown
"The first Mrs. Murphy mystery came out in 1991 – that would make Sneaky Pie 25 years old. I’m assuming that the original Sneaky Pie is no longer with you. What was it like for you to have to train a new cat to take over the important job of co-author? Was there ever a moment when you thought you would end the series after the original Sneaky Pie passed away?” (King)
"The original Sneaky Pie lived to twenty. The original Pewter made it to twenty-four. Training replacements was easy. Cats are smart. I suspect they trained me. All my rescues: horses, cats, dogs and foxhounds live long, useful lives. When the original Sneaky Pie died it didn’t occur to me to stop the series. Too many people enjoy the characters, plus, in my small way, I hope they move people to go to shelters or donate.” (King)
"You love being outdoors, and yet, you are an incredibly prolific writer. How do you make yourself come inside to write?” (King)
"Coming inside depends on the season. I write in the morning in the winter as it is cold here at the very feet of The Blue Ridge Mountains. Summer it’s the reverse. Work happens in the cool of the morning, come inside in the afternoon. As I now have air conditioning—resisted it for years—it’s pleasant and I don’t sweat on the pages. No running ink!” (King)
"How much longer do you plan on keeping the Mrs. Murphy series going?” (King)
"So long as people wish to read it.” (King)
"Every one of you can read. So, can you go back and remember the first book you read a book that opened the door to the world, and opened the door inside … a book you realized [that you’re no longer alone],” she said. “If you go back and you look at these books that you’ve read, it is your inner roadmap. It is a roadmap of your emotions, it’s a roadmap of your life, and probably you never thought of it, and … you’re still on this journey.” (Lafayette Student News)
"And how do cats figure into this mystery series?”
"Well, their senses are so much smarter than ours. I mean, they're much sharper. Also, they're physically more adept. If we had the jumping ability of a cat from a standing position, we'd be able to jump on top of a two-story house. It's pretty amazing. The other thing is, animals are not hagridden by ideologies. There are no screens between them and reality, so they see things much more clearly than people.” (Time Magazine)
"Structure is the basic element Brown considers when writing fiction, carefully planning the framework of each story and how characters, plot, and other literary elements will be placed…Brown appropriated autobiographical elements for those books, in which character Nickel Smith, depicted at various ages, shares many of Brown’s own characteristics. Interested in ancient literature, Brown acknowledges being inspired by the intricate Greek plays of Aristophanes and other early dramatists. She frequently incorporates tall tales, lies, legends, and historical and literary references in her novels to develop characterizations and settings. Humor and absurdity often lighten the intense tone of Brown’s fiction, helping to expose facts and enabling broader awareness of nuances and secrets that would otherwise remain obscured.” (Analysis)
"Brown’s agrarian interests shape her mystery fiction, which emphasizes protecting natural resources and educating people to respect the environment. Sensory details, such as noting weather conditions and seasonal changes, enhance the landscape descriptions. Brown has noted that each mystery she writes occurs in a particular season, and she cycles consecutively through the seasons of the year in four novels. Emphasizing pastoral aspects of her settings, Brown devotes passages to the praise of nature and animals, inserting Bible verses occasionally. Her portrayals of settings as sanctuaries from modern stresses often convey a spiritual tone.” (Analysis)