# Susan Moody

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British writer (born 1940)

Susan Moody Born Susan Elizabeth Horwood (1940-01-18) 18 January 1940 (age 86) Oxford, England Other names Susannah James; Susan Madison (pen names) Occupation Writer Spouses Walter Bertsch ​ ​ (m. 1961; died 1971)​ John Moody ​ ​ (m. 1972, divorced)​ John Donaldson ​ ​ (m. 2001; died 2026)​ Children 3

**Susan Moody** [FCIL](/source/Fellow_of_the_Chartered_Institute_of_Linguists) (born 18 January 1940), is the principal [pen name](/source/Pen_name) of **Susan Elizabeth Horwood**, an English novelist best known for her [suspense](/source/Thriller_(genre)) [novels](/source/Novel).

After marrying her third husband, [Professor](/source/Professor) [John Dalgleish Donaldson](/source/John_Dalgleish_Donaldson), at [Oxford](/source/Oxford) on 5 September 2001, she became [stepmother](/source/Stepmother) of his four children, including [Mary, Queen of Denmark](/source/Queen_Mary_of_Denmark).[1] She lives in [Hobart](/source/Hobart), [Tasmania](/source/Tasmania), [Australia](/source/Australia).

## Biography

The daughter of Professor Frederick Chesney Horwood (1904–1990) and Ursula *née* Wheeler-Robinson (1908–1989), daughter of [the Revd Henry Wheeler-Robinson DD](/source/H._Wheeler_Robinson), she grew up in Oxford, attending [Headington School](/source/Headington_School). She then lived in France where she met her first husband, Professor Walter Frank Bertsch (died 1971), whom she married in 1961. They moved to [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee) where she lived for 10 years and had two sons, before returning to Britain. She married secondly in 1972, Dr John Moody, having one son. She then studied with the [Open University](/source/Open_University) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) 1978).

In 1983, Moody published her first novel, *A Distant Shore*, and one other historical novel under the pen name **Susannah James** before she turned to the genre of crime and suspense literature. More recently, she has also used the pen name **Susan Madison**.[2]

Moody is a former Chairwoman of the [Crime Writers' Association](/source/Crime_Writers'_Association) and has served as World President of the International Association of Crime Writers.[3] She has been elected to the prestigious [Detection Club](/source/Detection_Club) and as a [Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists](/source/Fellow_of_the_Chartered_Institute_of_Linguists) (FCIL). Having led numerous courses on writing crime fiction, she continues to tutor creative writing courses in England, [France](/source/France), Australia, and [Denmark](/source/Denmark).

## Bibliography

Amateur detective Penny is a beautiful 6-ft black photographer, daughter of a UN Ambassador.

- *Penny Black* (1984) (#56 among [The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time](/source/The_Top_100_Crime_Novels_of_All_Time))

- *Penny Dreadful* (1984)

- *Penny Post* (1985)

- *Penny Royal* (1986)

- *Penny Wise* (1988)

- *Penny Pinching* (1989)

- *Penny Saving* (1993).

### Cassie Swann series

Cassie Swann is an expert [bridge](/source/Contract_bridge) player in England.

- *Takeout Double* (Also published as: *Death Takes a Hand*) (1993)

- *Grand Slam* (1994)

- *King of Hearts* (1995)

- *Doubled in Spades* (1996)

- *Sacrifice Bid* (1997)

- *Dummy Hand* (1998).

### Stand Alones

- *Playing With Fire*; *([Mosaic](/source/Mosaic)*, USA).

- *Hush-a-bye*

- *House of Moons*

- *[Misselthwaite](/source/Misselthwaite_Manor)* : a sequel to [Frances Hodgson Burnett](/source/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett)'s novel *[The Secret Garden](/source/The_Secret_Garden)*; *([Return to the Secret Garden](/source/Return_to_the_Secret_Garden)*, USA).

- *Falling Angel*

- *The Italian Garden*

- *The Colour of Hope*

- *Touching The Sky*

- *Letters From Kirsten* (Denmark)

- *Losing Nicola*

- *Dancing in the Dark*.

### Other

- *A Distant Shore*, an historical novel set in the royal harem of Istanbul.

- *Lucia's Legacy*, an historical novel set in Spain in the 1800s.

- *Love Over Gold*, the novelisation of the [Nescafé](/source/Nescaf%C3%A9) [Gold Blend couple](/source/Gold_Blend_couple) advertisements.

- *Hatchards Crime Companion: The top 100 crime novels of all time selected by The Crime Writers Association*, edited by Susan Moody.

### Short stories

Moody has written a number of well-received [short stories](/source/Short_stories) which have appeared in many anthologies.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [www.burkespeerage.com](https://www.burkespeerage.com/royal_families.php)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Susan Moody - Literature"](https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/susan-moody).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [www.crimewritersna.org](https://www.crimewritersna.org/)

## External links

- [Susan Moody](https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/susan-moody) at [British Council](/source/British_Council): Literature

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States Czech Republic Netherlands Norway Poland Israel Academics CiNii Other IdRef Open Library 2 3 Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Susan Moody](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Moody) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Moody?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.