Barnett, Colleen A. 1925–

PERSONAL: Born February 22, 1925, in Green Bay, WI; daughter of Gerald (an attorney) and Mae (a homemaker; maiden name, Heney) Clifford; married John E. Barnett (an attorney), May 21, 1949 (died March 27, 2004); children: Jerome, David (deceased), Michael (deceased), Andrew, Catherine Barnett Wilson, James, Mary Marguerite, Thomas P.M., Edward. Ethnicity: "Irish." Education: University of Wisconsin—Madison, B.A., 1946, M.A., 1955, LL.D., 1990. Politics: "Democrat until recently, now independent." Religion: Catholic.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Poisoned Pen Press, 6962 E. 1st Ave., Ste. 103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. E-mail—barnett@mwt.net.

CAREER: Grant County Department of Social Services, Lancaster, WI, began as volunteer coordinator, became social work supervisor, between 1972 and 1987; Morrow Law Offices, Dodgeville, WI, attorney, 1990–97; Huebner and Associates, Richland Center, WI, mediator, 1998–2000; writer, 2000–. University of Wisconsin—Richland Center, instructor, 1996–2000. Southwestern Wisconsin Library Board, member; Boscobel Area Health Center, board member; Tri-State Health Planning, member.

WRITINGS:

Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, Volume 1: 1860–1979, Ravenstone Press (Manhattan, KS), 1997, revised edition, Poisoned Pen Press (Scottsdale, AZ), 2001, Volume 2: 1980–1989, Poisoned Pen Press (Scottsdale, AZ), 2002, Volume 3: 1990–1999, two volumes, Poisoned Pen Press (Scotts-dale, AZ), 2003.

Contributor to periodicals.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Revising Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, completion expected in 2008; research for a projected Mystery Women, Volume 4, 2010.

SIDELIGHTS: Colleen A. Barnett told CA: "My parents were readers, and I grew up in a house of books. Mysteries were favorites from my preteens, particularly those with independent young women. (Now I enjoy independent old women.) Through high school and college, I always made time for recreational reading."

"Writing was also important to me. I worked on grade-school and high-school newspapers. By my senior year, I was the managing editor of the Daily Cardinal at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. My stay in law school ended after three semesters when I met Navy veteran John Barnett, a fellow law student. John was ready to graduate, and we were both ready to marry. My law degree was put on hold for forty years. So was any serious writing, but I continued to read … at night after the children were asleep, whenever I could.

"My jobs as a volunteer coordinator and social work supervisor gave me many opportunities to write newspaper articles, newsletters, and speeches. They also sensitized me to the low self-images and ambitions of women with whom I became acquainted. When our youngest child was in college and I was unhappy with my job, my understanding husband suggested that I return to law school. I took the LSATs and began again, but I was reading and writing regularly.

"After graduation I worked as an attorney and a mediator, specializing in divorce and custody issues. I was impressed by the power of images, of how people are portrayed in the media, literature, and entertainment. Film critic Molly Haskell's book From Reverence to Rape and Bobby Ann Mason's The Girl Sleuth helped me to focus. Two lines crossed: the impact of the images on young girls and women, how their expectations and goals were expanded or limited by what they read and saw; and the popularity of the mystery novel. I began by researching the earliest female protagonists I could find: through the British Library, the Congressional Library, civic and universities, and Elderhostel programs. My local library was a wonderful resource, bringing me books from all over the United States.

"Initially I was interested in patterns, how the books of a particular time reflected the role of women in society at that period. To get there I had to read the books, review them, and develop a biography of each female. I charted the changes in how women were portrayed and the world and national events that facilitated or reflected those changes: wars, depression or full employment, the right to vote, the Married Women's Acts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. It was thrilling work, and I wanted to share it. Thanks to my initial publisher of Volume 1 (Raven-stone Books) and Poisoned Pen Press, I could do that. Robert Rosenwald of Poisoned Pen Press said neither of us would make any money on the publications, but they were worth doing."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2004, Mary Ellen Quinn, review of Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, p. 1494.

Library Journal, May 1, 1998, Denise Johnson, review of Mystery Women, p. 92.

Publishers Weekly, November 17, 2003, review of Mystery Women, p. 49.