Elizabeth Eyre

{{More citations needed|date=November 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox writer  |name = Elizabeth Eyre |image = |caption = No photo available |pseudonym = Elizabeth Eyre is a pseudonym of Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey. |occupation = N/A |genre = Mysteries, historical }}

'''Elizabeth Eyre''' is a pseudonym used by the authors Jill Staynes (1927–2013)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.crimefictioniv.com/Part_18A.html | title=Crime Fiction IV – Allen J. Hubin }}</ref> and Margaret Storey (born c. 1927) for their ''Sigismondo'' series of novels.

==Biography== From the dust jacket of ''Bravo for the Bride'' (1994):

{{blockquote|Elizabeth Eyre is the pseudonym of Jill Staynes and Margaret Storey. They were pupils at the same school where they invented bizarre characters and exchanged serial episodes about them. Their first book together, at the age of fifteen, was called 'Bungho, or why we went to Aleppo'. It was not offered for publication. They have both written stories for children, and together created the highly praised Superintendent Bone modern detective novels as well as this series of Italian Renaissance whodunits.}}

==Writing style== The Eyre novels are marked by colourful characters and an atmospheric treatment of the Italian Renaissance setting.<ref>Lynda G. Adamson, ''World Historical Fiction: An Annotated Guide to Novels for Adults and Young Adults''. Greenwood Publishing Group {{ISBN|9781573560665}} (p. 43)</ref> While some characters are clearly intended as comic relief, the humour is dry and unobtrusive. The stories themselves are carefully plotted and well thought out.

The work should not be confused with that of Margaret Storey – an author of books for children and young adults who wrote the magic realism series of "Tim and Melinda" books.{{citation needed|date= August 2023}}

==Critical response== The ''Sigismondo'' series received a positive response from many reviewers when it was released, with good reviews appearing in the ''Sunday Express'' (London) and the ''Weekend Telegraph'' (London), some of which were reprinted on the dust jackets of the later volumes in the series.{{citation needed|date= August 2023}}

==Influence on popular culture== The books contributed to the historical mystery subgenre that arose in the 1990s with the success of Ellis Peters and the Cadfael series and Lindsey Davis and the Marcus Didius Falco series.{{citation needed|date= August 2023}}

Although well received at the time of their release, the books now appear to be out of print, though many are still available through libraries and second-hand book traders.{{citation needed|date= August 2023}}

==Bibliography== *''Death of the Duchess'' 1991 *''Curtains for the Cardinal'' 1992 *''Poison for the Prince'' 1993 *''Bravo for the Bride'' 1994 *''Axe for an Abbot'' 1995 *''Dirge for a Doge'' 1996

==References== {{reflist |25em}}

==External links== *[http://italian-mysteries.com/EEap.html Elizabeth Eyre Bio on ItalianMysteries.com]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyre, Elizabeth}} Category:British mystery writers Category:Writers of historical mysteries Category:British women mystery writers Category:British women historical novelists Category:Collective pseudonyms Category:20th-century pseudonymous women writers Category:20th-century British women novelists Category:20th-century British novelists Category:British historical fiction writers Category:Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Category:20th-century pseudonymous writers