Stephen R. Lawhead | |
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Born | Kearney, Nebraska, U.S. | July 2, 1950
Occupation | Writer |
Nationality | American |
Education | Kearney High School Kearney State College (BA) Northern Baptist Theological Seminary Wheaton College |
Genres | |
Spouse | Alice Slaikeu (m. 1972) |
Children | 2 |
Parents | Robert Eugene Lawhead Lois Rowena Bissell Lawhead |
Website | |
www |
Stephen R. Lawhead (born July 7, 1950) is an American writer [1] known for his works of fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction, particularly Celtic historical fiction. He has written over 28 novels and numerous children's and non-fiction books.
He was born to Robert Eugene Lawhead and Lois Rowena Bissell Lawhead at Good Samaritan Hospital, Kearney, Nebraska. In 1968, Lawhead graduated from Kearney High School and entered Kearney State College as an Art major. In 1969, while at Kearney State College, he wrote a weekly humour column for the college newspaper and was a frequent contributor of poetry and short stories to The Shore Anthology and The Antler. He paid his way through college largely through playing lead guitar in a college rock band named Mother Rush. Lawhead met Alice Slaikeu in 1971, and married her in 1972. He graduated from Kearney State College in 1973 with BA in Art and then went on to enroll in Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. During this time Lawhead also enrolled in a number of writing courses at nearby Wheaton College. His professional writing career began with five busy years as an editor and staff writer for Campus Life magazine. [2] [3] In 1980, Lawhead became the manager of the successful Christian rock act DeGarmo and Key and formed his own record company, Ariel Records. [4] The demise of Ariel Records in 1981 prompted the beginning of Lawhead's fiction-writing career.
In 1981, Lawhead began to author novels, initially fantasy and science fiction, completing his first trilogy, the "Dragon King trilogy". In 1986, he moved to Oxford, England, to do research for The Pendragon Cycle, a reinterpretation of the legend of King Arthur in a Celtic setting combined with elements of Atlantis. Heavily rooted in the original Celtic source material which gave rise to the later and more familiar versions of the Arthurian legend, the series has received critical acclaim for its creative retelling of the Arthur legend and historical credibility. [5]
The first book in the series, Taliesin, won the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's Gold Medallion Award for Fiction in 1988. [6] Lawhead's research for The Pendragon Cycle sparked an interest in Celtic history and culture, especially Celtic Christianity, topics which have featured prominently in his work ever since.
"The Song of Albion" trilogy prompted a return to England (Lawhead having left in 1987). This was a series of books set between the Celtic Otherworld and present-day Britain. In the 1990s, he published Byzantium , [7] a work of pure historical fiction, followed by "The Celtic Crusades" trilogy, set at the time of the Crusades, and then Avalon: The Return of King Arthur, a stand-alone related to the Pendragon Cycle .
In 2003, Lawhead published the novel Patrick: Son of Ireland, a fictionalized account of the early years of Saint Patrick. In 2006, he published Hood , the first book in the King Raven Trilogy – a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, transferred to Wales. [8] In 2008, the second book in the trilogy, Scarlet, won a Christy Award in the category of Visionary Fiction. [9]
In 2003, Lawhead received an honorary doctorate from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. [10]
Lawhead and his wife reside in Oxford, UK. He has two sons, Ross Lawhead, and Drake Lawhead. [11]
Many of his books are in series following a common theme:
Dragon King trilogy:
Empyrion Saga:
The Pendragon Cycle:
The Song of Albion:
The Celtic Crusades:
Hero (With Ross Lawhead):
Bright Empires:
Eirlandia:
Stand-alone novels:
The Brown Ears Books:
The Howard Books
The Riverbank Series
Lawhead has also contributed essays or chapters to several books. His essay "J.R.R. Tolkien: Master of Middle-earth", which describes the impact J.R.R. Tolkien's writings had on him, is featured in the following titles:
Lawhead has contributed to one fictional compilation, writing a chapter in the serial mystery novel Carnage at Christhaven (1989 – ed. William Griffin).
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.
Uther Pendragon (Brittonic), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur.
John Howe is a Canadian book illustrator and concept designer, best-known for his artwork of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. One year after graduating from high school, he studied in a college in Strasbourg, France, then at the École des arts décoratifs in the same town.
Margaret Edith Weis is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the Dragonlance role-playing game (RPG) world. She is founding CEO and owner of Sovereign Press, Inc and Margaret Weis Productions, licensing several popular television and movie franchises to make RPG series in addition to their own.
The Fionavar Tapestry is a book series of fantasy novels by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay, published between 1984 and 1986. The novels are set in both contemporary Toronto and the secondary world of Fionavar.
Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthurian, Celtic, or Dark Ages could just as easily be placed in historical fantasy. Stories fitting this classification generally take place prior to the 20th century.
The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have served as the inspiration to painters, musicians, film-makers and writers, to such an extent that he is sometimes seen as the "father" of the entire genre of high fantasy.
Do not laugh! But once upon a time I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic to the level of romantic fairy-story... The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama. Absurd.
The Pendragon Cycle is a series of historical fantasy books based on Arthurian legend, written by Stephen R. Lawhead. The cycle was originally planned as a four-book series, but the original publisher opted to stop after the first three books, resulting in an abrupt ending to Arthur and the existence of many unexplored stories and plotlines. The first three books were thus originally called "The Pendragon Trilogy". Lawhead moved to a new publisher a few years later. It was decided to expand on the trilogy by finishing the series, and two additional books were planned. These books, Pendragon and Grail, are interquels that take place in between events covered in Arthur. Lawhead later wrote a final book Avalon, which is not considered to be a true addition to the cycle but rather a "related semi-sequel" to round out the "Once and Future King" aspect of the legend. The film and television rights to the series were purchased by DailyWire+ in November 2022.
This is a bibliography of works about King Arthur, his family, his friends or his enemies. This bibliography includes works that are notable or are by notable authors.
Christian science fiction is a subgenre of both Christian literature and science fiction, in which there are strong Christian themes, or which are written from a Christian point of view. These themes may be subtle, expressed by way of analogy, or more explicit. Major influences include early science fiction authors such as C. S. Lewis, while more recent figures include Stephen Lawhead.
Arthur is a common masculine given name.
Pendragon is a Welsh word meaning "head dragon".
The King Raven Trilogy is a series of historical novels by American writer Stephen R. Lawhead, based on the Robin Hood legend. Lawhead relocates Robin Hood from Sherwood Forest in Nottingham to Wales, and sets the story in the late eleventh century, after the Battle of Hastings and to coincide with the Norman invasion of Wales and the struggles the Cymry (Welsh) people against the Normans, and the political intrigue of medieval Britain. The trilogy consists of three books named Hood, Scarlet, and Tuck. The King Raven series continued his themes of reimagining popular mythology into more authentic and gritty settings, which began with his Pendragon Cycle.
Stories involving the mythical wizard Merlin have been popular since the Renaissance, especially with the renewed interest in the legend of King Arthur in modern times. As noted by Arthurian scholar Alan Lupack, "numerous novels, poems and plays center around Merlin. In American literature and popular culture, Merlin is perhaps the most frequently portrayed Arthurian character."
...bestselling author Stephen R Lawhead's Dragon King series...