Edith Mary Pargeter (born in 1913, died in 1995) was an English writer, especially known for historical fiction as well as her murder mysteries. Through her popular historical crime series featuring a Benedictine monk in the 12th century, Pargeter is said to have popularized the genre of historical mysteries.
Pargeter’s Welsh ancestry is notable in her writings, with stories often set in Wales or featuring Welsh characters. She spent many years working as a chemist’s assistant in early adulthood and later incorporated medical knowledge gathered there in her stories. Growing up in a working-class home in Shropshire, Pargeter started writing as early as 7 years of age and her first work was published in 1936.
In later adulthood, Pargeter became fascinated with the Czech language and literature. After becoming fluent, she translated several Czech classics into English. Throughout her writing career, Pargeter used a number of pseudonyms, most notably Ellis Peters and Jolyon Carr.
Her works have been translated into 15 languages and were published all over the world. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1994. The short story A Grain of Mustard Seed was published in 1969 under the pseudonym Ellis Peters.
