"I write as someone who fully supports Celtic cultural, political and economic independence." -- Peter Beresford Ellis, 2013

Peter Beresford Ellis—also known as ‘Peter Tremayne’ and ‘Peter MacAlan’—was born on this date in 1943. Without a doubt, he is one of the foremost popularizers of Celtic fiction and non-fiction of the last hundred years. In addition, he has authored biographies of H. Rider Haggard and Talbot Mundy.

Ellis was born in Coventry, England. As with so many British and Irish folk, his ancestry is a mixture from all over the Pretannic Archipelago. As he has stated many times:

"With Irish, Breton, Welsh and Scots uncles and aunts as well as the English, what else could I do but be interested in the Celts?"

"Interested" is an understatement. In his early twenties, Ellis covered the Northern Ireland beat as a journalist in 1964. His first book, Wales: A Nation Again, was published in 1968. Peter was off and running after that, publishing a Celtic-related book every couple of years for the next four decades.

Ellis earned the credentials to back it all up, even in academic circles. As his bio states:

Educated at Brighton College of Art and the University of London, Ellis graduated from North East London Polytechnic (now part of the University of East London) in Celtic Studies in 1989. He also earned a master's degree in Celtic Studies from the University of East London (1993).

[Ellis] has written academic articles and papers in the field for journals ranging from The Linguist (London) to The Irish Sword: Journal of the Irish Military History Society (University College Dublin). In 1999 The Times Higher Education Supplement described him as one of the leading authorities on the Celts then writing.

I can't recall exactly which Ellis book on the Celts I first read. After I read the first one, I quickly began seeking out others. Among my favorites are Macbeth: High King of Scotland 1040-57, The Druids, The Celtic Empire: The First Millennium of Celtic History 1000 BC - AD 51, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology and Erin's Blood Royal.

Most of those are from the '80s or later. I find his non-fiction from the '70s a little harder going, as a rule, though still informative. By the '80s, he'd mastered his craft. The combination of fervent enthusiasm and deep knowledge makes for very enjoyable reading.

Concurrent with his non-fiction, Ellis was writing various sorts of fiction, beginning in the '70s. Much of what I've read from that period is readable, but forgettable. There are his three 'Lan-Kern' novels. I remember liking what I read, but I wouldn't reread them. Peter has also written several novels based on Celtic history and legends. Raven of Destiny is one. Bloodmist is another. Once again, I liked them, but they were a bit 'flat'. The action scenes really didn't quite 'pop' enough for heroic fantasy, in my opinion. Still, I applaud Peter getting those novels out there. The subjects were all worthy, I just feel that the execution could've been a bit better. Perhaps another author can pick up the torch...

Ellis hit literary pay-dirt with his Absolution by Murder novel in 1994. The protagonist was Sister Fidelma. Sometimes called an 'Irish nun', Fidelma is a seventh-century religieuse attached to an Irish abbey and is trained in Brehon law. Part of a legal tradition stretching back, perhaps, to the second millenium B.C., Fidelma investigates various crimes in Mumun (medieval Munster) and beyond on behalf of her brother, the king of Mumun.

Fidelma reminds me a little bit of Keith Taylor's Felimid mac Fal. Both are redheads from Munster. Both are part of druidic orders that survived into medieval times. Both know their own worth and neither one tolerates being snubbed or disrespected.

The Sister Fidelma mystery novels were an instant hit and now number well over thirty installments. Their popularity isn’t that hard to understand. Ellis is a good writer of such mysteries. The setting, Ireland’s ‘Age of Saints’, was virtually untouched before Ellis staked his claim. Anyone wanting to learn about one of the great periods of Irish history while reading a good tale of mystery would have to look long n’ hard before finding something to equal the Sister Fidelma books.

As I mentioned above, Ellis can’t quite write action scenes fit for heroic fantasy. However, he writes the action scenes in the Fidelma tales the same way. Thus, the Fidelma books come off as fairly blood n’ thunder in comparison to many other ‘historical mystery’ rivals. It all boils down to expectations and setting. Personally, if you know someone—especially a woman—who likes historical mysteries, I would recommend this series to them. Quality genre literature.

On a personal note, I was basically handed a vacation to Ireland back in 2019. As fate would have it, the Sister Fidelma Society was holding their bi-annual feile/conference during the span of my stay. I worked a day of my sojourn into attending the event—which was held in one of my favorite Irish towns, Cashel. The staff and attendees were all friendly. Mr. Ellis also attended, but I was only able to speak with him briefly as he signed my copy of Celtic Empire. I would’ve loved to sit down and chat about Haggard and Mundy, but that just wasn’t possible. In the photo above, you can see me on the back row, third from the right. Mr. Ellis is almost directly in front of me on the second row.

Considering his track record of writing tales falling somewhere within the ambit of 'adventure fiction', it shouldn't be particularly surprising that Ellis is a fan of H. Rider Haggard and Talbot Mundy. He penned biographies of both men. Considering that both books were written over forty years ago, they are still worth reading, in my estimation. More recently, Ellis wrote a biography of a more obscure ‘Lost Race’ author, E. Charles Vivian. The Shadow of Mr. Vivian was published in 2014, a publication that should’ve gladdened the heart of Kevin Cook.

Ellis' literary output spans well over half a century. This post just scratches the surface. Sword-brothers, raise a glass in honor of a man who has written his share of worthy books and who has himself honored the likes of Haggard and Mundy.