Amanda Craig
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Amanda Craig | |
---|---|
Born | 1959 (age 64–65) South Africa |
Occupation | Critic Journalist |
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Clare College, Cambridge |
Amanda Craig (born 1959) is a British novelist, critic and journalist. She was a recipient of the Catherine Pakenham Award.
Early life
Born in South Africa, Craig grew up in Italy before moving to
Writing
- Journalism
For ten years, she was the children's books critic for
- Novels
Craig has written a cycle of nine
Her 1996 novel
Although each novel can be read separately, they are linked to each other by common characters and themes, thus constituting a
Craig's fourth novel, In a Dark Wood, concerned the interplay between fairytales and manic depression, and her fifth, Love in Idleness, updates
Her seventh novel, The Lie of the Land (2017), concerned with a London professional couple who can't afford to divorce and move to Devon to a rented house which has been the scene of a murder, was cited as "in the vanguard of the Brexit novel" by Danuta Kean in The Guardian.[8] It was praised by Henry Hitchings in the Financial Times, who commented: "It seems strange that none of Craig's books have been adapted for TV, and the medium is one to which The Lie of the Land would be well suited. An enjoyable, sharp-witted and at times knowingly melodramatic novel, it lives up to the promise of its title – diagnosing the state of the nation without becoming grandiose, and debunking a few quaint myths about the patterns and textures of rural life."[9] It was BBC Radio 4's Book at Bedtime in August 2017. The Guardian chose it as one of the 2017 Books of the Year,[10] as did The Irish Times,[11] The Financial Times,[12] The Observer,[13] and The Telegraph.[14]
Craig has set two of her novels, A Private Place and The Lie of the Land, in
Craig is interested in fairytales and children's fiction, and was one of the first critics to praise J. K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, Cressida Cowell, Stephenie Meyer, Anthony Horowitz, Malorie Blackman and Suzanne Collins.[20]
Craig gave the annual Trollope Society lecture in 2022 and the 2023 Dorothy L Sayers lecture, published in the Daily Telegraph stating that both had influenced her novels and her life-choices.
Following her struggle to get A Vicious Circle published, she became an active campaigner with
In an opinion piece in The Independent, Craig asked why fiction remains obsessed by historical fiction and neglects the contemporary,[22] saying she has "set out to take the DNA of a Victorian novel – its spirit of realism, its strong plot, its cast of characters who are not passively shaped by circumstances but who rise to challenges or escape them." She has said in interviews that she considers writing contemporary fiction to be "a moral duty".
- Other
Craig's short stories have been published in
In 2011, she contributed the short story "Red Berries" to an anthology supporting the Woodland Trust. The anthology, Why Willows Weep,[23] has so far helped the Woodland Trust plant approximately 50,000 trees, and was re-released in paperback format in 2016. In 2017 she contributed the short story "Metamorphosis 2" about a celebrity inspired by Katie Hopkins who transforms into a gigantic cockroach to the anthology A Country of Refuge supporting refugees.
She has written forewords for the 2021 Abacus reissues of 5 novels by Beryl Bainbridge - Every Man For Himself, Master Georgie, The Birthday Boys, According to Queenie and The Bottle Factory Outing, 2 novels by Eva Ibbotson - The Secret Countess and A Glove Shop In Vienna, reissued by Macmillan - plus Alison Lurie's Pulitzer Prize-winning Foreign Affairs.
Personal life
Craig is married to British economist Rob Cohen, with whom she has two children. She lives in London and Devon.
Bibliography
Books
- Foreign bodies. Hutchinson. 1990.
- A Private Place (1991), Hutchinson
- A Vicious Circle (1996), 4th Estate
- In a Dark Wood (2000), 4th Estate
- Love in Idleness (2003), Little, Brown UK
- Hearts and Minds (2009), Little, Brown UK
- The Other Side of You (novella) (2017), Little, Brown UK
- The Lie of the Land (2017), Little, Brown UK
- The Golden Rule (2020), Little, Brown UK
- The Three Graces (2023), Little, Brown UK
References
- ^ Sugarman, Daniel (15 June 2017), "JQ Wingate book prize judges named", The Jewish Chronicle.
- ^ Cowdrey, Catherine (September 30, 2020). Craig asked to step down as Myslexia judge after signing Rowling support letter. The Bookseller.
- ^ @Mslexia (30 September 2020). "Mslexia on Twitter: "https://t.co/bWTKkWnWWT" / Twitter" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Weaving web of intrigue and hope"Western Morning News, 2 May 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "A 'Vicious' Roman a Clef", The New York Times, 1 December 1996.
- ^ Angelini, Francesca (11 June 2017). "Books: The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig". The Times.
- ^ Pearson, Allison (10 July 2017). "Can a novelist heal the divides of Brexit Britain? Step forward, Amanda Craig". The Telegraph.
- ^ Kean, Danuta (9 January 2017). "Vanguard of Brexit fiction set to appear in 2017". The Guardian.
- ^ Hitchings, Henry (16 June 2017). "The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig — another country". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ Jordan, Justine (30 November 2017). "The best fiction of 2017". The Guardian.
- ^ Doyle, Martin. "Fiction, history, humour, emotion: The best books of 2017". The Irish Times.
- ^ Rose, Rebecca (1 December 2017). "Best books of 2017: Fiction". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
- ^ Preston, Alex (3 December 2017). "Alex Preston's best fiction of 2017". The Guardian.
- ^ Pearson, Allison (10 December 2017). "Books to give this Christmas to harassed mum, non-reading nephew, fulminating uncle – and 13 other headscratchers". The Telegraph.
- ^ Craig, Amanda (22 July 2017). "'Devon is a heaven of beauty and inspiration and a hell of damp and dullness' – Amanda Craig". The Guardian.
- ^ McGlone, Jackie (16 June 2017), "Review: The Lie of the Land, by Amanda Craig", The Herald.
- ^ Ross-Southall, Review by Mika. "The Golden Rule by Amanda Craig review — Strangers on a Train in Cornwall".
- ^ Anderson, Hephzibah (29 June 2020). "The Golden Rule by Amanda Craig review – exquisite escapism". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ Clark, Alex (28 May 2023). "The Three Graces by Amanda Craig review – trouble in paradise". The Observer. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Authors unite behind Times children's book reviewer". London Evening Standard. 28 November 2013. p. 16.
- ^ Craig, Amanda (27 June 2012). "Libel laws: I could still be sued and lose everything". The Telegraph.
- ^ Craig, Amanda (13 April 2009). "Stuck in the past: Why is modern literature obsessed with history?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009.
- ^ "Why Willows Weep: Contemporary Tales from the Woods". indiebooks.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016.
External links
- Official website
- Audio slideshow interview with Amanda Craig on The Interview Online