Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 10, October 2003

Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article below in your research. Be sure to cite the Seattle Sun as your source.

Bookfest specializes in local authors,

like Candace Robb

By JAMES BUSH

Owen Archer is a different kind of detective.

North End author Candace Robb's best-known character solves crimes in a time long before crime labs or DNA evidence. Living in the English city of York in the late 14th century, Archer is a former soldier who lost an eye in battle and now serves the Archbishop of York in the capacities of spy and sleuth.

Robb, a longtime Wedgwood resident, will be a featured panelist at the Northwest Bookfest, held Oct. 18 and 19 at Sand Point/Magnuson Park.

Given her graduate work in medieval studies, "Obviously, the history is more my interest than the crime," she says. However, notorious crimes like those investigated by Archer are a "community event," she says, allowing her to "explore what everyday life was like and what kinds of secrets people might have had."

Robb's career as a historical novelist followed 13 years as a technical writer at the University of Washington's Applied Physics Lab. In the mornings before work, she would work on her fiction writing, eventually publishing the first Owen Archer historical mystery, 1993's "The Apothecary Rose."

Since then she has published six more Owen Archer mysteries "The Lady Chapel" (1994), "The Nun's Tale" (1995), "The King's Bishop" (1996), "The Riddle of St. Leonard's" (1997), "A Gift of Sanctuary" (1998), and "A Spy for the Redeemer" (1999) and created a second historical crimesolver, Margaret Kerr, a resident of late 13th century Scotland.

The Owen Archer series has cemented her relationship to the English city of York, whose well-preserved medieval fortifications and structures fascinated Robb and husband, Charlie, when they visited. Having saved money for three years to take a belated honeymoon and having planned a crowded three-week itinerary -they first visited York and didn't want to leave, she says.

"What's very fortunate for a Medievalist is that York was a very rich city until the 16th Century, and it went into a decline until the Victorian era, so all those buildings were still there," Robb said.

This city "lost in time" is the setting for Archer's investigations which, despite occurring six centuries ago, involve all the classic elements of the mystery novel. Thrown in for good measure is a primer on the politics of the time, as England began to assert itself as a European power, both militarily and as a trading power. "I tried to choose a time that was a real turning point in England," she says.

Robb's books have proven very popular in England and elsewhere in Europe. They have been translated into six languages and are particular favorites of people who have visited York, she says. "When I do a reading just about anywhere, someone will come up and say 'Oh I love York and I love your books because they take me back there.' "

Robb took on a much bigger challenge when made medieval Scotland the setting for the Margaret Kerr series (her first book was 2000's "A Trust Betrayed"; the British edition of the second installment, "The Fire in the Flint," will be released Oct. 23). "I've really had to work with archeologists and sort of build in my mind what might have been there because there was nothing left," she says.

Born in Taylorsville, N.C., and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Robb says there are two major obstacles that have kept her from packing up and moving to York her love for Seattle and the six-month quarantine England imposes when importing pets (her cats Puck, Agrippa, and Ariel wouldn't approve).

Although she has always been fascinated with history, Robb's focus major was the early 19th century, not the Middle Ages. However, fate intervened in the form of college registration: Robb found that the only available course she could fit into her schedule was on medieval English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. "I had just a great professor she was so in love with the era," Robb recalls. "It hooked me."

Chaucer himself makes an appearance in The Nun's Tale and is a major character in "A Gift of Sanctuary." Many other historical figures also populate Robb's books. After she completes the third book in the Margaret Kerr series, she would like to write a historical novel on Alice Perrers, the young mistress to King Edward III who is also a featured player in some Archer mysteries.

Beyond the required research, writing historical novels challenges Robb to use only words which were in common use at the time. "I try not to use anything past Shakespeare," she days.

This probably makes things easier for those translating her work, although she did trip up one translator with a Star Trek reference in one book's dedication. In it, she credited husband Charlie for always "making it so." The translator's version: "for always giving me what I want."