Christine Marion Fraser
Christine Marion Fraser (1938-2002) was a Scottish author renowned for her compelling storytelling, despite facing significant physical challenges due to a rare metabolic bone disease that confined her to a wheelchair for most of her life. Born in Gowan, near Glasgow, she was the eighth child in a struggling family, which shaped her early experiences and perspectives. From a young age, Fraser exhibited a passion for reading and writing, which she pursued primarily through self-education after her illness limited her mobility.
Fraser's literary career began in the late 1970s with the publication of her debut novel, *Rhanna*, a contemporary romance set in the Hebrides that quickly became a bestseller. This success led to a series of novels exploring the lives and loves of fictional characters in various Scottish landscapes, including the *Kings* series and the *Noble* series. In addition to her fiction, Fraser wrote three volumes of autobiography, sharing her life's journey in a candid manner.
Though her work was often overlooked by critics, Fraser's novels resonated deeply with readers, earning her a devoted following and widespread popularity. Her contributions to literature were recognized posthumously, with an exhibit celebrating her life aimed at supporting cancer research. Fraser's legacy endures as one of Scotland's most beloved authors, reflecting her resilience and creativity.
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Subject Terms
Christine Marion Fraser
Writer
- Born: 1938
- Birthplace: Gowan, Scotland
- Died: November 22, 2002
Biography
Christine Marion Fraser was born in 1938 in Gowan, a town near Glasgow, Scotland. She was the eighth child of a poverty-stricken shipyard worker and his wife, and the family lived together in a small, crowded tenement apartment. She was an enthusiastic reader and writer from the age of five. When she was ten years old, she began suffering from a rare metabolic bone disease that caused her body to produce an excess of calcium. The condition affected her fingers, knees, and spine and eventually robbed her of the ability to stand or walk, confining her to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
Despite her infirmity, she was a cheerful and determined child. Primarily self-educated after being incapacitated, she worked as a machinist in a knitwear factory to help support her large family. While attending a meeting of the Disabled Drivers’ Association, where she learned to drive a car, she met Ken Ashfield. The two married in the early 1960’s and moved to Argyll.
In Argyll, Fraser composed music, painted, and embarked on a variety of excursions with her devoted husband, going camping, visiting country hotels, and dropping into parties and pubs. In the 1970’s, her husband encouraged Fraser to try her hand at writing again. Her debut effort was Rhanna, published in 1978 and the first entry in contemporary romance saga detailing the lives and loves of the inhabitants of a fictional island in the Hebrides. The appealing and unpretentious novel was inspired by Fraser’s visit to the Hebrides on a holiday; it featured evocative descriptions of the wild and isolated terrain and the unique characters shaped by this environment. Rhanna became a best-seller and led to seven additional novels in the popular series, concluding with Stranger on Rhanna in 1992.
Fraser also began writing her autobiography in installments, publishing three volumes of memoirs that deal with various phases of her sometimes difficult, ultimately rewarding life: Blue Above the Chimneys, Roses Round the Door, and Green Are My Mountains. In 1986, she launched the five-book Kings series with King’s Croft, an episodic nineteenth century romance set in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. A third series, Noble, began with Noble Beginnings and examined the lovelorn trials and tribulations of the family of a mill-owner in Argyll during the reign of Queen Victoria. The Kinvara series revisited the Outer Hebrides, where a lighthouse provides the focus for the amorous adventures of its keepers and their families in the 1920’s.
Largely ignored by the Scottish literati, Fraser’s unmannered but captivating storytelling abilities were embraced by readers, who made virtually all of her novels best-sellers and Fraser one of Scotland’s most popular authors. Her works were distributed worldwide and translated into many languages. Fraser died on November 22, 2002, and her life and achievements were celebrated posthumously in an exhibit to aid cancer research.