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Barbara Paul

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Barbara Paul
Born
Barbara Jeanne Traber

(1931-06-05)June 5, 1931
Maysville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedJune 6, 2022 (aged 91)
OccupationNovelist, actress, college professor
Website
www.barbarapaul.com

Barbara Jeanne Paul (June 5, 1931 – June 6, 2022), born Barbara Jeanne Traber, also known as Bobbie White, was an American college professor, actress, theatre director, and writer of detective stories and science fiction, born in Kentucky. She taught at the University of Pittsburgh, Berry College and Erskine College. Several of her stories have been the basis of television movies or episodes.

Early life and education

Paul was born in Maysville, Kentucky in 1931, the daughter of Henry Kenneth Traber and Evelyn White Traber.[1][2][3] She was raised by her grandparents Duke White and Florence Snapp White.[4][5] She graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1953. She earned a master's degree from the University of Redlands in 1957, and completed doctoral studies in theatre at the University of Pittsburgh in 1969.[6] Her dissertation was titled Form and Fomula; A study of Philip Massinger's tragic structure.[7][8] She also studied at Southern Illinois University,[9] and on fellowships in Oslo and Vienna.[10]

Career

Paul taught at the University of Pittsburgh,[7] at Berry College in Georgia[11] and at Erskine College in South Carolina.[12][9] She was also drama director at Erskine College.[6][10] She was a house matron and acted in several productions in 1962 at the University of Southern Mississippi's summer theatre program.[10]

Paul wrote more than twenty novels, in the science fiction, horror, and mystery genres. Several of her novels focus on a policewoman character, Marian Larch.[13][14] She also wrote stories, and reviewed books for the Pittsburgh Press.[15][16] A number of her novels feature in-jokes: for example Full Frontal Murder borrows various names from the British TV series Blake's 7. One of her stories was the basis of Dream Girl, an episode of Tales from the Darkside (1986); and her novel Kill Fee (1985) was adapted into the television movie Murder C.O.D. (1990), starring Patrick Duffy. Her 1990 novel In-laws and Outlaws was adapted for a German television movie in 1997.

Paul had a son, Kenneth.[10][11] She died in 2022, at the age of 91.[17]

Publications

Science fiction novels

  • An Exercise for Madmen (1978)[18]
  • Pillars of Salt (1978)[18]
  • Bibblings (1979)[18]
  • Under the Canopy (1980)[18]
  • The Three-Minute Universe (1988) (a Star Trek novel)[18]

Mystery novels

  • The Fourth Wall (1979)[19]
  • Liars and Tyrants and People Who Turn Blue (1980)[20]
  • First Gravedigger (1980)[21]
  • Your Eyelids Are Growing Heavy (1981)[22][23]
  • The Renewable Virgin (1984)[24]
  • Kill Fee (1985)
  • A Cadenza for Caruso (1984)
  • Prima Donna at Large (1985)
  • But He Was Already Dead When I Got There (1986)[25][26]
  • A Chorus of Detectives (1987)
  • He Huffed and He Puffed (1989)
  • Good King Sauerkraut (1989)[27]
  • In-laws and Outlaws (1990) (Later adapted into a 1997 TV-film Der Tusel der Furcht)[28][29]
  • You Have the Right To Remain Silent (1992)[30][31]
  • The Apostrophe Thief (1993)[30]
  • Fare Play (1995)[30][32]
  • Full Frontal Murder (1997)[30][33]

Stories

  • Jack Be Quick and Other Crime Stories (1999)[6]

References

  1. "Duke White, Once Mayor, Dies at 86". The Daily Independent. October 12, 1964. p. 5. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Trabers Here". The Daily Independent. October 29, 1959. p. 6. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Evelyn W. Traber". The Sacramento Bee. November 28, 1998. p. 35. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Granddaughter, Daughter Visit". The Daily Independent. October 7, 1964. p. 7. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Mrs. Florence White". The Kentucky Post. December 11, 1970. p. 14. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Tenkotte, Paul A.; Claypool, James C. (October 17, 2014). The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. p. 703. ISBN 978-0-8131-5996-6.
  7. Sachs, Sylvia (November 16, 1969). "Theatre Study Rewarding; Pitt Teacher Looking Behind Footlights". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 103. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Library of Congress Copyright Office (1973). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1970: July–December. Copyright Office, Library of Congress. p. 2762.
  9. "Mrs. Paul Now at Erskine College". The Daily Independent. June 10, 1961. p. 6. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Ellis, Mary (August 3, 1962). "Summer Theatre students plan travel and study programs". Hattiesburg American. p. 16. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Have Guests". The Daily Independent. August 8, 1960. p. 4. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Erskine Announces Two New Professors". The Greenville News. August 6, 1961. p. 1. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Croan, Robert (April 23, 1995). "Barbara Paul's lady cop: Death becomes her". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 90. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Croan, Robert (August 15, 1993). "Who Done It? (review)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 88. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Paul, Barbara (November 25, 1984). "'Half Moon' doubles up, has 2 stories on dual lives". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 135. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. Paul, Barbara (January 27, 1974). "Garrett Pens New Tales". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 101. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Paul, Barbara". SFE. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  18. "Barbara Paul". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  19. Paul, Barbara (March 15, 2016). The Fourth Wall. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-3237-7.
  20. Paul, Barbara (March 15, 2016). Liars and Tyrants and People Who Turn Blue. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-3238-4.
  21. Paul, Barbara (March 15, 2016). First Gravedigger. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-3239-1.
  22. Paul, Barbara (March 15, 2016). Your Eyelids Are Growing Heavy. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-3240-7.
  23. McGough, Michael (March 25, 1982). "A mystery in our own back yard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 19. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. Sachs, Sylvia (June 11, 1985). "Shadyside author writes sixth successful mystery". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 18. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. Paul, Barbara (March 15, 2016). But He Was Already Dead When I Got There. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-3245-2.
  26. Sachs, Sylvia (July 17, 1986). "These mystery writers make their stories entertaining". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 54. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. "Good King Sauerkraut by Barbara Paul (review)". Publishers Weekly. 1989. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  28. Paul, Barbara (March 15, 2016). In-Laws and Outlaws. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1-5040-3249-0.
  29. Sachs, Sylvia (January 12, 1991). "Pittsburgh's Barbara Paul pens another good mystery". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 24. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. "Barbara Paul". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  31. Bell, Mae Woods (September 20, 1992). "Mystery writer creates one more action-packed story". Rocky Mount Telegram. p. 20. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. "Fare Play: A Mystery with Marian Larch by Barbara Paul (review)". Publishers Weekly. 1995. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  33. Croan, Robert (September 25, 1997). "An erotic thriller that keeps you turning pages". The Log Cabin Democrat. p. 13. Retrieved May 10, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.