Marion Gibbons, née
McChesney (born 1936 in
Glasgow, Scotland) is a British popular and prolific writer of
romance and
mystery novels since 1979. She has written numerous successful historical romance novels under (a form of) her maiden name,
Marion Chesney, including the Travelling Matchmaker and Daughters of Mannerling series. Using the pseudonym
M. C. Beaton, she has also written many popular
mystery novels, most notably the
Agatha Raisin and
Hamish Macbeth mystery series. She has also written romance novels under the pseudonyms
Ann Fairfax,
Jennie Tremaine,
Helen Crampton,
Charlotte Ward, and
Sarah Chester.