18 Facts About Susanna Clarke

Susanna Clarke was born on 1 November 1959 in Nottingham, England, the eldest daughter of a Methodist minister and his wife.

Susanna Clarke studied philosophy, politics, and economics at St Hilda's College, Oxford, receiving her degree in 1981.

Susanna Clarke spent two years teaching English as a foreign language in Turin, Italy, and Bilbao, Spain.

Susanna Clarke returned to England in 1992 and spent the rest of that year in County Durham, in a house that looked out over the North Sea.

Susanna Clarke signed up for a five-day fantasy and science-fiction writing workshop, co-taught by science fiction and fantasy writers Colin Greenland and Geoff Ryman.

The students were expected to prepare a short story before attending, but Susanna Clarke only had "bundles" of material for her novel.

Susanna Clarke learned of these events when Nielsen Hayden called and offered to publish her story in his anthology Starlight 1, which featured pieces by well-regarded science-fiction and fantasy writers.

Susanna Clarke accepted, and the book won the World Fantasy Award for best anthology in 1997.

Susanna Clarke spent the next ten years working on the novel in her spare time.

Susanna Clarke published stories in Starlight 2 and Starlight 3 ; according to The New York Times Magazine, her work was known and appreciated by a small group of fantasy fans and critics on the internet.

Susanna Clarke was never sure if she would finish her novel or if it would be published.

Around 2001, Susanna Clarke "had begun to despair", and started looking for someone to help her finish and sell the book.

Susanna Clarke's style has frequently been described as a pastiche, particularly of 19th-century British writers such as Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and George Meredith.

The supernatural is contrasted with and highlighted by mundane details and Susanna Clarke's tone combines arch wit with antiquarian quaintness.

In 2006, Susanna Clarke published a collection of eight fairy tales presented as the work of several different writers, seven of which had been previously anthologized.

When she began writing her next book, Susanna Clarke was living in Cambridge with her partner, the science fiction novelist and reviewer Colin Greenland.

Susanna Clarke commented in 2005 and 2007 that progress on the book had been slowed by her ill health.

Susanna Clarke has published her short stories in multiple publications, including traditional press and newspapers as well as radio broadcast.