Mary Doria Russell was born in the suburbs of Chicago. Her parents were both in the military: her father was a Marine Corps drill instructor, and her mother was a Navy nurse. She graduated from Glenbard East High School and later she earned a Ph.D in biological anthropology at the University of Michigan. She was raised as a Catholic but left the church at age fifteen, and her struggles to figure out how much of that culture to pass on to her children fueled the prominence of religion in her work.
Russell currently lives in Lyndhurst, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, with her husband, Don. They have a son, Dan
Russell currently lives in Lyndhurst, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, with her husband, Don. They have a son, Dan
Awards: Hugo (1998), Clarke (1998), BSFA (1997), Otherwise (1996) see all
Genres: Science Fiction, Western, Historical Mystery
Novels
A Thread of Grace (2005)
Dreamers of the Day (2008)
Doc (2011)
Epitaph (2015)
The Women of the Copper Country (2019)
Dreamers of the Day (2008)
Doc (2011)
Epitaph (2015)
The Women of the Copper Country (2019)
Awards
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Award nominations
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Mary Doria Russell recommends

To Save the Man (2025)
John Sayles
"To Save The Man takes us inside the Carlisle School, the most famous of 19th century residential Indian schools, where piously confident white teachers ruled isolated Indian children with a regimented brutality wrapped in good intentions. With kaleidoscopic empathy, John Sayles takes us by turns into the minds of those teachers and of the students whose resistance to bewildering tyranny is both heartbreaking and magnificent. Historically accurate, devoid of sentimentality, beautifully written and structured, To Save The Man is, hands down, the best book I've read in years."

The Musical Mozinskis (2024)
Susan Petrone
"What do we owe one another and what is owed to us? The Musical Mozinskis asks one of the fundamental questions of family life: can love really be unconditional?"

Anything But Yes (2023)
Joie Davidow
"A compelling account of the intersection of sincere faith and abusive political power."
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