Tracy
Chevalier
was born in 1962. She read English at Oberlin College (Ohio), and moved to
London in 1984. She had only intended to stay in England for 6 years, but she
has now made it her home. It was in her 20s that she first started writing
short stories consistently. One of her early stories was published in a now
defunct magazine called “Fiction”. During this time, she worked as a reference
book editor, but gave this up in 1993 to attend the famous UEA MA in Creative
Writing, where she was taught by novelists Malcolm Bradbury and Rose Tremain.
During the course, Tracy Chevalier was expected to write every day, and she
found that she liked it. She also discovered that she had enough material for a
novel, “The Virgin Blue”, which was published in 1997. Despite being chosen by
booksellers WHSmith for its “Fresh Talent” promotion, the novel did not sell in
huge numbers. However, Tracy Chevalier was to be more successful with her next
novel, “Girl
with the Pearl Earring”. So successful was “Girl with
a Pearl Earring” that it was made into a movie starring Colin Firth and
Scarlett Johansson, which figured in the 2004 Academy Awards. Tracy Chevalier
was inspired to write the novel by the poster she’d had of the Vermeer painting
since she had been 19. She completed the manuscript 2 weeks before giving birth
to her son. Tracy Chevalier’s 3rd novel, “Falling Angels”, was
published in 2001, followed by “The Lady
and the Unicorn” in 2003, and “Burning
Bright”, a book about William Blake, in 2007. In 2001, Tracy Chevalier won
the Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” Award. Tracy Chevalier is
currently writing a book called “She Sells Sea
Shells”, about the 19th century fossil hunter Mary Anning. She lives in London with her family.
A Room of One’s Own –
Tracy Chevalier tells “The Evening Standard” about her working process
How
we met: Susan Elderkin and Tracy Chevalier – both novelists relate their
meeting at the UEA Creative Writing MA
Meet the Author –
watch Tracy Chevalier talk about “The Lady and the Unicorn” in this video
How we
work: Tracy Chevalier, author – a brief interview from 2006
Blast
– Tracy Chevalier is quizzed by readers on the BBC website
I
thought: ‘who’s playing a prank?’ – a “Telegraph” interview from 2003
BBC
Radio 4 Open Book – their audio interview with Tracy Chevalier from 2003
Tracy
Chevalier – World of Interiors – an interview with “The Independent” from
2003
The
essential Vermeer – their interview with Tracy Chevalier from 2001
Another journey into
the past with ‘Pearl’ author Tracy Chevalier – Ellen Kanner’s interview
from 2001
Down
with Waterstone’s – Tracy Chevalier explains why she wasn’t so keen on
Waterstones taking over Ottakars
Visit Tracy Chevalier's homepage
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