Mary Miley Theobald

Historian and writer

• Home
• Books
• Mysteries
• Recent Articles & Podcasts
• News & Events
• Welcome
• Subscribe

• 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. Renting Silence book talk: Libbie Mill Library

     September 26 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

  2. Fall for the Book Festival: George Mason University

     October 14

  3. Little Book Shop: Midlothian, VA

     October 26 @ 1:00 pm

  4. History Myths at Rotary Club meeting

     November 13 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

  5. Brew-Ho-Ho at Hardywood Brewery

     December 10 @ 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

  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

  • How to be a success in Vaudeville?
  • Surprising Facts about Fingerprinting
  • Did I pass the Page 69 Test?
  • Dr. Bernardo still exists! Who knew? Not I.

• History Myths Debunked

  • Revisited Myth # 129: Punched patterns on tin lanterns varied by family so people could tell who was moving about outside at night.
  • Why is Nobody Smiling?

• Stuff After Death

  • An article from The Economist explains the poor antiques market
  • Unwanted Inheritance
  • Everything But the House, including the Horse
  • Guidelines from a Frequent Reader

• 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.