78 ratings | 12 reviews | avg rating:3.99

Joanne Dobson’s Followers (73)

Joanne’s Bookshelves

to-read (80)
currently-reading (35)
read (118)
influences (2)
want-to-read (1)

Joanne’s Friends (358)

Stacy Alesi

1,025 books | 2,974 friends

Jen

1,888 books | 425 friends

Melina Selverston-scher

631 books | 137 friends

Patti

5,227 books | 221 friends

Jess Lourey

13 books | 2,086 friends

Vickie

8,720 books | 434 friends

Chris

186 books | 1,750 friends

3,175 books | 1,590 friends

More friends…

Joanne Dobson

Goodreads Author

Born

March 27

Website

http://www.joannedobson.com

Twitter

DobsonJaDobson

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Historical Fiction, Fiction

Member Since

February 2014

edit data

At midlife, after two decades as an English professor and literary scholar, Joanne Dobson surprised herself (and her colleagues) by writing a mystery novel set at a small, elite, New England college where the curriculum seemed to offer a major in murder. Joanne was even more surprised when QUIETER THAN SLEEP (1997) was published by Doubleday. QUIETER was the first of the six Professor Karen Pelletier academic mystery novels, and the sheer pleasure of writing mysteries lured Joanne's feet from the straight path of tenured professorship to the slippery slope of 21st-century fiction writing.

And now comes an unexpected new surprise, THE KASHMIRI SHAWL (2014). An historical novel set in an India in violent rebellion (1857) and an America on the ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Joanne Dobson questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Joanne Dobson "I dwell in Possibility," Emily Dickinson says. That's what I love about being a writer--dwelling in possibility.…more"I dwell in Possibility," Emily Dickinson says. That's what I love about being a writer--dwelling in possibility.(less)

flag

4 likes · like
2 comments

Not so much a question as it is a compliment! I finished it last week, and have found that the emotions I felt while reading it have stayed with me. Vivid scenes and scenarios keep popping up in my mind, and I keep bringing it up with people in the course of conversations. Have been recommending it all around! Thank you for your gift of these pleasures. Goodreads tells me this has to have a question mark, so ?

Joanne Dobson Abigail, Thank you for this! and for the lovely Goodreads review! I'm especially happy that both the scenes and the emotions came alive with you and h…moreAbigail, Thank you for this! and for the lovely Goodreads review! I'm especially happy that both the scenes and the emotions came alive with you and have stayed with you.

The emotions I claim as my own, and have found them reflected movingly in the multitude of 19th-century American women's novels and stories I've read both on my own and as a part of my literary scholarship. (My 1997 essay, "Reclaiming Sentimental Literature," can be found in the scholarly journal American Literature, if you are so moved!)

The scenes, ah, the scenes! I had the great privilege of spending four solid weeks in the capacious library of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, reading mid-nineteenth-century newspapers, magazines, books, letters, handling writing paper and straight pens and inkwells and pen-wipers. Then I took that historical immersion in 19th-century New York City right into 21st-century New York City, and walked just about every step that Anna takes, so I could feel the City beneath my feet, and in the air, and in the geography. As for India, I got as close as Sri Lanka, that beautiful island Anna would have known as Ceylon. And missionary wives wrote such beautiful letters about their surroundings in India!

So, you offered me a question mark without a question, and I have given you answers without questions! Fun? Fun!(less)

flag

1 like · like
2 comments

See all 7 answers from Joanne Dobson…

Combine Editions
Joanne Dobson’s books

Average rating: 3.94 · 4,204 ratings · 536 reviews · 20 distinct works • Similar authors

	Quieter than Sleep (A Karen Pelletier Mystery, #1) 3.75 avg rating — 553 ratings — published 1997 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Northbury Papers (A Karen Pelletier Mystery #2) 3.84 avg rating — 412 ratings — published 1998 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Raven and the Nightingale (A Karen Pelletier Mystery #3) 3.85 avg rating — 406 ratings — published 1999 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cold and Pure and Very Dead (A Karen Pelletier Mystery #4) 3.70 avg rating — 365 ratings — published 2000 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Maltese Manuscript (A Karen Pelletier Mystery #5) 3.70 avg rating — 308 ratings — published 2003 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Death Without Tenure (A Karen Pelletier Mystery #6) 3.53 avg rating — 310 ratings — published 2009 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Kashmiri Shawl: A Novel 4.01 avg rating — 112 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Face of the Enemy: A New York in Wartime Mystery #1 by Joanne Dobson (Goodreads Author), Beverle Graves Myers (Goodreads Author) 3.73 avg rating — 91 ratings — published 2012 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Attic: A Professor Karen Pelletier Short Story 3.80 avg rating — 20 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dickinson and the Strategies of Reticence: The Woman Writer in Nineteenth-Century America 3.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 1989 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Joanne Dobson…

3 posts
Joanne Dobson's Blog

Why the Heck I Published ... Part 2

In my last post, "Why the Heck I Published My New Book with Amazon," I ended on a hopeful note, stating that "the book world is getting a much needed shake-up." What I didn't say, in so many words, anyhow, is that I, among many other respectable established mid-list authors, have become collateral damage in that shake-up. And I have to admit that, even though I carefully designate myself as an Ind Read more of this blog post »

3 likes · Like • 7 comments • flag

Published on November 07, 2014 13:42 • Tags: amazon, dickinson, independent-publishing, the-kashmiri-shawl, whitman

View all 3 posts »

Series by Joanne Dobson

A Karen Pelletier Mystery (6 books)
by

Joanne Dobson (Goodreads Author)

3.74 avg rating — 2,374 ratings

Helluva War (1 book)
by

Joanne Dobson (Goodreads Author),

Beverle Graves Myers (Goodreads Author)

3.73 avg rating — 91 ratings

Joanne is Currently Reading

Joanne Dobson is currently reading

Murder In My Backyard (Inspector Ramsay, #2)

by Ann Cleeves (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nov 19, 2022 03:49PM

Joanne Dobson is currently reading

Daisy (The Ladies In Love Series Book 5)

by Jennie Tremaine

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nov 08, 2023 02:02AM

Joanne Dobson is currently reading

Peg and Rose Solve a Murder (Senior Sleuths #1)

by Laurien Berenson (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nov 06, 2022 07:20PM

rss
Joanne’s Recent Updates

Joanne Dobson wants to read Mosby's EMT Basic Textbook by Walt Alan Stoy	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 22, 2023 08:06AM · like

More of Joanne's books…

Quotes by Joanne Dobson (?)

“What should girls read?” Caroline asked, as Anna entered the library. “Everything,” Anna replied. A”
― Joanne Dobson, The Kashmiri Shawl: A Novel

1 likes

“Saturday morning I vacuumed, dusted, folded laundry, repotted an ivy plant that had outgrown its clay pot months before—anything to avoid having to sit down again with those damn freshman papers.”
― Joanne Dobson, The Raven and the Nightingale

0 likes

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Mystery/Thriller ...: march 2010 - sandi	15	45	Apr 09, 2010 11:57AM
Readers and Reading: March 2010 reads	50	81	Apr 25, 2010 03:50PM
Cozy Mysteries : Theme Read - May 2010	91	176	Jun 05, 2010 04:46PM
Cover to Cover Ch...: Ellen's 2010 Booklist	6	115	Dec 31, 2010 02:46PM
American Historic...: New Relevant History blog post	31	98	Sep 05, 2012 02:06PM
The Mystery, Crim...: New Relevant History post on my blog	12	49	Sep 05, 2012 02:08PM
Historical Fictio...: New Relevant History post on my blog	2	107	Sep 05, 2012 02:10PM
The Book Challenge: Ellen's 2013 Book Challenges	29	258	Feb 17, 2013 02:26PM
Cozy Mysteries : What Cozy Did You Just Finish Reading??? (Archive)	6235	2612	Jun 25, 2013 01:29PM

More…

Joanne’s Quotes

“What should girls read?” Caroline asked, as Anna entered the library. “Everything,” Anna replied. A”
― Joanne Dobson, The Kashmiri Shawl: A Novel

1 likes

Joanne’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-3) post a comment »

date

newest »

message 3: by Ronald

Oct 25, 2014 01:18PM

Hi Joanne,

Read your revue today's of "These Old Shades," about early 20th-century history novels. My book, "Harrington Manor" is set in 1923, Orange County, CA. It has local history, and a smattering of New York, Paris, Mazatlan and the budding movie industry. The story revolves around greedy siblings who want their fathers money for different reasons. That evening Peter Harrington is found dead before dinner, perhaps a victim of another stroke, but when LAPD's detective Sidney Snipes arrives he suspects foul play.

Two minor love stories are flushed out to the delight of the survivors.

I will send a PDF file or other reader files if interested and ask nothing in return. Because you enjoy this time period I thought you may like to read it.

James Milward, pen Ronald James

reply | flag

message 2: by Joanne

Oct 13, 2014 02:31PM