Mary Miley Theobald

Historian and writer

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• About Me

  I'm an Army brat who has lived in Virginia most of my adult life. I received my BA and MA in history from the College of William and Mary and taught American history and museum studies at Virginia Commonwealth University for thirteen years. I am the author of almost 200 magazine articles, most on history, travel, and business topics, ten nonfiction books, and two historical mysteries. 

• Fiction

  • Murder in Disguise
  • Renting Silence
  • The Impersonator
  • Silent Murders
  • Stolen Memories

• Nonfiction

  • Death by Petticoat
  • Stuff After Death
  • First House
  • Rivers and Roads
  • St. Mary's Hospital
  • Williamsburg Christmas
  • Recipes from Raleigh Tavern Bakery
  • Museum Store Management
  • Four Centuries of Virginia Christmas

• Private Publications

  • Williamsburg: The First 75 Years
  • Hirschler Fleischer
  • Owens & Minor
  • HHHunt
  • Brandermill

• Upcoming Events

  1. First House: Delta Gamma Kappa meeting

     January 22, 2019 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

  2. Chesterfield Library Mystery Nights

     February 15, 2019 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

  3. Chesterfield Library Mystery Nights

     February 16, 2019 @ 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

  4. KKG Book Club: Williamsburg

     March 10, 2019 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

  5. Pittsburgh: Fort Pitt Museum conference

     March 23, 2019

  View All Events

• Podcasts and Media

  1) VA This Morning 10.10.2014 2) Pumpkin's Progress 3) History's Myths 4) More History Myths 5) History Myths about Antiques 6) Weird-but-True Things Hardly Anyone Knows about the Roaring Twenties lecture 7) DAR headquarters lecture: women's history myths

Be sure to also visit ...

• Mary Miley’s Roaring Twenties

  • A commercial break
  • The Origins of Ritzy
  • Prohibition Abroad
  • When Vaudeville Got Tired

• History Myths Debunked

  • Revisited Myth #74: The Christmas tree tradition was brought to America by German immigrants.
  • Revisited Myth #101: Colonial Americans decorated their homes with fresh fruit at Christmas.

• Stuff After Death

  • Linen Closet Cleaning Time
  • Aging Parents With Lots of Stuff and Children Who Don’t Want It
  • An article from The Economist explains the poor antiques market
  • Unwanted Inheritance

• Have Stuff, Will Travel

  To schedule book club visits (in person or via Skype) or lectures, contact me directly at mmtheobald@gmail.com. I usually bring along objects and illustrations that make for a lively presentation and discussion.