Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
Caroline Todd died on August 28, 2021.
From the authors' website, 2018
Charles and Caroline Todd are a mother-and-son writing team who live on the east coast of the United States. Caroline has a BA in English Literature and History, and a Masters in International Relations. Charles has a BA in Communication Studies with an emphasis on Business Management, and a culinary arts degree that means he can boil more than water. Caroline has been married (to the same man) for umpteen years, and Charles is divorced.
Charles and Caroline have a rich storytelling heritage. Both spent many evenings on the porch listening to their fathers and grandfathers reminisce. And a maternal grandmother told marvelous ghost stories. This tradition allows them to write with passion about events before their own time. And an uncle/great-uncle who served as a flyer in WWI aroused an early interest in the Great War.
Charles learned the rich history of Britain, including the legends of King Arthur, William Wallace, and other heroes, as a child. Books on Nelson and by Winston Churchill were always at hand. Their many trips to England gave them the opportunity to spend time in villages and the countryside, where there'a different viewpoint from that of the large cities. Their travels are at the heart of the series they began ten years ago.
Charles's love of history led him to a study of some of the wars that shape it: the American Civil War, WWI and WWII. He enjoys all things nautical, has an international collection of seashells, and has sailed most of his life. Golf is still a hobby that can be both friend and foe. And sports in general are enthusiasms. Charles had a career as a business consultant. This experience gave him an understanding of going to troubled places where no one was glad to see him arrive. This was excellent training for Rutledge's reception as he tries to find a killer in spite of local resistance.
Caroline has always been a great reader and enjoyed reading aloud, especially poetry that told a story. The Highwayman was one of her early favorites. Her wars are WWI, the Boer War, and the English Civil War, with a sneaking appreciation of the Wars of the Roses as well. When she's not writing, she's traveling the world, gardening, or painting in oils. Her background in international affairs backs up her interest in world events, and she's also a sports fan, an enthusiastic follower of her favorite teams in baseball and pro football. She loves the sea, but is a poor sailor. (Charles inherited his iron stomach from his father.) Still, she has never met a beach she didn't like.
Both Caroline and Charles share a love of animals, and family pets have always been rescues. There was once a lizard named Schnickelfritz. Don't ask.
Writing together is a challenge, and both enjoy giving the other a hard time. The famous quote is that in revenge, Charles crashes Caroline's computer, and Caroline crashes his parties. Will they survive to write more novels together? Stay tuned! Their father/husband is holding the bets.
Ian Rutledge Series
A Test of Wills (1996)
Wings of Fire (1998)
Search the Dark (1999)
Legacy of the Dead (2000)
Watchers of Time (2001)
A Fearsome Doubt (2002)
A Cold Treachery (2005)
A Long Shadow (2006)
A False Mirror (2007)
A Pale Horse (2008)
A Matter of Justice (2009)
The Red Door (2010)
A Lonely Death (2011)
The Confession (2012)
Proof of Guilt (2013)
Hunting Shadows (2014)
A Fine Summer's Day (2015)
No Shred of Evidence (2016)
Racing the Devil (2017)
The Gate Keeper (2018)
The Black Ascot (2019)
Charles Todd's website
This bio was last updated on 08/31/2021. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.
For a while your partnership was a big secret. What made the change to
"coming out" as a mother-son writing team?
Caroline: It was a great relief. Shortly before we'd started all this,
I'd been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. That was just as the Gulf War
started, and I became an expert on it, watching CNN constantly while we tried to
figure out what caused my condition. Then we had to search for a cure that
didn't aggravate my allergies. That took a while, and I really couldn't add the
pressure and stress of a tour until we were sure the problem was under control.
Charles: I don't often talk about any of this, but it was a scary time,
and when I was cleared for action, it was a wonderful feeling. For all I knew it
could have been a permanent exclusion: I would have stayed in the shadows if
necessary. I think this is why I really enjoy meeting fans and going to mystery
conventions—I came close to missing all that.
It was a great relief to me too. I'd been out there carrying the banner and
worrying about Caroline, and was very glad when we could work together. It has
been fun, and interesting. I never know what she's going to say on a panel, and
she has no idea what I'm going...
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Clare read History at Trinity College, Cambridge, where she was a Senior Scholar. She graduated with a Double First.
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