The amazing Kerry Greenwood, former lawyer and author of the 1920s set Phryne Fisher novels, her Corinna Chapman books about a crime solving Baker, and a wide range of other books, both fiction and non-fiction, has passed away.
There’s been nothing official from her publishers, but a funeral announcement is doing the rounds online. Kerry and her family were intensly private, but I just wanted to share my thoughts and how much she shaped my reading habits.
She was a kind, lovely woman, who will be much missed by her fans. My thoughts are with her family, and while I don’t have any details of her death, I do know that she much loved and cared for.
I had the privilege of interviewing Kerry a few years ago, and she was a very kind person who was generous enough to share her time with me.
It was amazing to hear that her hero was Dorothy Sayers, and that she loved to read as much as she loved to write. She wrote for readers of all ages, and was always very conscious of the reader and what they would want from her books. Her aim was always to delight and inspire, while also sharing her immense knowledge and passion for history, Australia and people.
Alongside her prolific writing career, Kerry was also a qualified lawyer who worked for many good causes and was a passionate champion of women’s rights. She travelled the world but ultimately returned to her beloved Australia.
Her novels showed how much she championed women, and also loved history. She was a prolific reader as well as being a writer, and that helped her to craft engaging, intelligent books that went beyond the pappy, easily forgotten cosy crime fiction by some other modern writers.
Her work inspired a TV series and film, and even a convention. Miss Fisher, in particular is a fan favourite, and has helped to create an online community of history lovers and crime fiction fans who enjoyed this action packed but still intelligent and compassionate.
For me personally, Kerry and her writing has had a massive impact. Her kind response to my interview request is actually the only reason I’m still running this blog. At the time, I was getting dispirited, and felt that I probably wasn’t good enough.
I’d sent an email to her publishers a few weeks earlier, out of love for her work but with no expectation of a response, and they kindly replied and asked for some questions. Her responses made me remember my love of all things crime fiction and made me want to carry on.
So it’s such a massive shame to see that Kerry has passed, at the age of 70. While it’s not young, that’s no age, and I followed Kerry on social media and know that she had several books and projects in the pipeline. She will be much missed and her work will live on to make her spirit and knowledge as immortal as a human being can be.
