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Susan Hill

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Susan Hill (born February 5, 1942) is a British popular writer of fiction and non fiction. Her novels have been best sellers, and she remains best known for her ghost story The Woman in Black. Other notable novels have been I'm the King of the Castle and The Mist in the Mirror.

Biography

Susan Hill was born in Scarborough, a seaside resort on the North East coast of Yorkshire. Her hometown was later referred to in her novel A Change for the Better (1969) and some short stories especially "Cockles and Mussels". She attended Scarborough Convent School, where she became very interested in the theatre and literature. Her family left Scarborough in 1958 and moved to the city of Coventry where her father worked in car and aircraft factories. She took A levels in English, French, History and Latin, proceeding to an English degree at King's College, London. By this time she had already written her first novel which was published by Hutchinson in her first year at university. She received some unwelcome publicity related to the sexual content of her novel and how some of the media thought it unfitting of a "schoolgirl" of her age, which embarrassed her and her family for several years afterward.

Her first serious novel Gentlemen and Ladies was published in 1968. This was followed in quick succession by A Change for the Better, I'm the King of the Castle, The Albatross, Strange Meeting, The Bird of Night, A Bit of Singing and Dancing and In the Springtime of Year, all written and published between 1968 and 1974. In 1975 she married Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells and they moved to Stratford upon Avon. Their first daughter, Jessica, was born in 1977. Hill has recently founded her own publishing company, Long Barn Books, which has published one work of fiction per year.

Writing

Susan Hill has remained a popular and consistent writer throughout her career. Her novels are usually written in a descriptive and emotive gothic style which her fans sometimes refer to as hypnotic. She has been especially noted for her ghost story The Woman in Black which she wrote in 1982. She expressed an interest in the traditional English ghost story which relies on suspence and atmosphere to create its impact, similar to the classic ghost stories by Montague Rhodes James and Daphne du Maurier. The novel was turned into a play in 1987 and it quickly became a sensation. The play is still running in the West End of London to this day. It was also filmed for a TV movie in 1989. She wrote another ghost story with similar ingredients, The Mist in the Mirror, to follow up in 1992. She also wrote a sequel to du Maurier's Rebecca entitled Mrs De Winter in 1993.

Since 2004, Hill has begun a strand of crime novels featuring Detective Simon Serallier, the first of which, The Various Haunts of Men, did well commercially despite very mixed reviews. The second, The Pure in Heart, followed in 2005, and the third, The Risk of Darkness, in 2006, with a fourth book planned for 2007.

Bibliography

Novels

  • The Enclosure. Hutchinson 1961
  • Do Me a Favour, Hutchinson 1963
  • Gentleman and Ladies. Hamish Hamilton 1968 Penguin Paperback1970
  • A Change for the Better, Hamish Hamilton 1969 Penguin Paperback 1971
  • I'm the King of the Castle, Hamish Hamilton 1970; Penguin Paperback 1972
  • Strange Meeting, Hamish Hamilton 1971; Penguin Paperback 1973
  • The Bird of Night, Hamish Hamilton 1972; Penguin Paperback1973
  • In the Springtime of the Year, Hamish Hamilton 1973; Penguin Paperback 1974
  • The Woman in Black - A Ghost Story, Hamish Hamilton Penguin Paperback 1983/ Mandarin Paperback 1989 Vintage Paperback 1999
  • Air and Angels, Sinclair Stevenson 1991; Mandarin Paperback 1993; Vintage 1999
  • The Mist in the Mirror: A Ghost Story, Hamish Hamilton 1992; Mandarin paperback 1993; Vintage 1999
  • Mrs de Winter, Sinclair Stevenson 1993; Mandarin Paperback 1994; Vintage 1999
  • The Service of Clouds, Chatto and Windus 1997; Vintage 1999
  • The Various Haunts of Men, Sinclair Stevenson 2004
  • The Pure in Heart, Chatto and Windus
  • The Risk of Darkness, Chatto and Windus
  • Corruption, Chatto and Windus
  • The Going Down of the Sun

Short Story Collections

  • The Albatross and other stories, Hamish Hamilton 1970; Penguin 1972
  • A Bit of Singing and Dancing, Hamish Hamilton 1973; Penguin 1974
  • Listening to the Orchestra, Long Barn Books 1997
  • The Boy who Taught the Beekeper to Read, Chatto and Windus July 2003

Non Fiction

  • The Magic Apple Tree, (autobiography) Hamish Hamilton, 1982; Penguin 1985; Long Barn Books 1998
  • Through the Kitchen Window, Illustrated by Angela Barrett Hamish Hamilton 1984; Penguin 1986
  • Through the Garden Gate, (Illustrated by Angela Barrett), Hamish Hamilton, 1986
  • The Lighting of the Lamps, (Collected pieces) Hamish Hamilton, 1987
  • Shakespeare Country, (photographs by Talbot and Whiteman) Michael Joseph, 1987
  • The Spirit of the Cotswolds, (photographs by Nick Meers), Michael Joseph, 1988
  • Family, (Autobiography) Michael Joseph, 1989
  • Reflections from a Garden, (Illustrated by Ian Stephens; written with Rory Stuart) Pavilion Books 1995

Plays

  • The Cold Country and other plays for Radio BBC Publications, 1975

For Children

  • One Night at a Time, Hamish Hamilton 1984; Puffin 1986
  • Mother's Magic, Hamish Hamilton 1985; Puffin 1986
  • Can it be True?; (illustrated by Angela Barrett) Hamish Hamilton 1987; Puffin 1988; Walker Books 1990
  • Susie's Shoes, (illustrated by Priscilla Lamont), Hamish Hamilton 1989; Puffin 1990
  • Stories from Codling Village, (illustrated by Caroline

Crosland) Walker Books 1990 (Paperback history. Divided into three separate books. 1992-4 A Friend Next Door/A Very Special Birthday/The Story of Queenie and Treacle Walker Books paperbacks.)

  • I've Forgotten, Edward Walker Books and Sainsburys 1990
  • I Won't Go there Again, Walker Books 1990
  • Pirate Poll (illustrated by Priscilla Lamont), Hamish Hamilton 1991; Puffin 1992
  • The Glass, Angels Walker Books 1991, Paperback 1993
  • Beware, Beware, (illustrated by Angela Barrett), Walker Books 1993, Paperback 1994
  • King of King's, (illustratedb by John Lawrence), Walker Books 1994
  • The Christmas Collection: An Anthology (illustrated: John Lawrence), Walker Books 1995
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