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Brenda Rickman Vantrease--Oct 22: Chautauqa

Brenda Rickman Vantrease is a former librarian and English teacher who lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She grew up and was educated in the Middle Tennessee area, graduating from Watertown High in 1963. In 1967 she received a B.A. in English from Belmont University. During the twenty-five years she served as an educator in Nashville, she earned a masters degree and a doctorate from Middle Tennessee State University.

Brenda's first novel, a historical novel of art, love, and religion set in fourteenth century England, was published by St. Martin's Press in March of 2005. The Illuminator, a national bestseller, was translated into fourteen foreign languages and received starred reviews in both Publisher's Weekly and Library Journal. The paperback edition (St. Martin's Griffin, 2006) was a reading group gold selection from Holtzbrinck publishers and was chosen by BOOKSENSE, a publication of the Independent Booksellers Association, to be included on their 2006-2007 List of Recommended Books for Book Clubs. Her second novel, The Mercy Seller, was released from St. Martin's Press in March, 2007, to critical acclaim.