Tracy Chevalier | |
---|---|
Born | Tracy Rose Chevalier 19 October 1962 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Occupation | Writer |
Language | English |
Citizenship | American / British |
Education | Oberlin College (BA) University of East Anglia (MA) |
Genre | Historical fiction |
Notable works | Girl with a Pearl Earring |
Spouse | Jonathan Drori |
Children | 1 son |
Website | |
tchevalier | |
Literatureportal |
Tracy Rose Chevalier (born 19 October 1962) [1] is an American-British novelist. She is best known for her second novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring , which was adapted as a 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth.
Chevalier was born on 19 October 1962, in Washington, D.C. [2] She is the daughter of Douglas and Helen (née Werner) Chevalier. Her father was a photographer who worked with The Washington Post for more than 30 years. Chevalier has an older sister, Kim Chevalier, who resides in Soulan, France; and a brother, Michael Chevalier, who lives in Salida, Colorado. [3] As of 2022 [update] , Chevalier lives in London with her husband, Jonathan Drori. [4] [5] [6]
She graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1980. After receiving her bachelor's degree in English from Oberlin College in 1984, she moved to England, where she began working in publishing. In 1993, she began studying Creative Writing, earning a master's degree from the University of East Anglia. Her tutors included novelists Malcolm Bradbury and Rose Tremain. [5]
Following her graduation from Oberlin College, Chevalier moved to England, where she began working as an editorial assistant with Macmillan's Dictionary of Art, then later joined St. James Press, serving as a reference book editor. [7]
Her first novel, The Virgin Blue, was published in the UK in 1997 and was chosen by W H Smith for their showcase of new authors. [8] Her second novel, entitled Girl with a Pearl Earring , was published in 1999. The work, which was based on the famous painting by Vermeer, has been translated into 38 languages. As of 2014, it has sold over five million copies worldwide. [9] It won the Barnes and Noble Discover Award in 2000. [10] In 2003, a film based on the novel was released, receiving three Academy Award nominations in 2004, along with ten BAFTAs and two Golden Globes. Her 2013 novel, The Last Runaway was honored with the Ohioana Book Award [11] and was chosen for the Richard and Judy Book Club for autumn 2013. [12]
In 2011 she edited and contributed towards Why Willows Weep, a collection of short stories by 19 authors, the sale of which raised money for the Woodland Trust, for which her husband served as a trustee. [13] [14]
Other of her works that include historical figures as characters include William Lobb and Johnny Appleseed in At the Edge of the Orchard, and William Blake in Burning Bright.
Chevalier has been involved in representing authors as a member of various community organizations. In 2004, she began serving as the chairperson for the Management Committee for the UK's Society of Authors, serving in that capacity for four years. [15] Girl with a Pearl Earring was chosen as one of the books given away in both the U.S. and UK for World Book Night 2013. In 2015 she joined the British Library Board as a Trustee. She is also an ambassador for the Woodland Trust, where her husband serves as a member of the board of directors. [16]
Judith Blume is an American writer of children's, young adult, and adult fiction. Blume began writing in 1959 and has published more than 26 novels. Among her best-known works are Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (1970), Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), Deenie (1973), and Blubber (1974). Blume's books have significantly contributed to children's and young adult literature. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
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Lois Lenore Lenski Covey was a Newbery Medal-winning author and illustrator of picture books and children's literature. Beginning in 1927 with her first books, Skipping Village and Jack Horner's Pie: A Book of Nursery Rhymes, Lenski published 98 books, including several posthumously. Her work includes children's picture books and illustrated chapter books, songbooks, poetry, short stories, her 1972 autobiography, Journey into Childhood, and essays about books and children's literature. Her best-known bodies of work include the "Mr. Small" series of picture books (1934–62); her "Historical" series of novels, including the Newbery Honor-winning titles Phebe Fairchild: Her Book (1936) and Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison (1941); and her "Regional" series, including Newbery Medal-winning Strawberry Girl (1945) and Children's Book Award-winning Judy's Journey (1947).
Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth was an American writer of fiction and poetry for children and adults. She won the 1931 Newbery Medal from the American Library Association award recognizing The Cat Who Went to Heaven as the previous year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." In 1968 she was a highly commended runner-up for the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award for children's writers.
Girl with a Pearl Earring is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, dated c. 1665. Going by various names over the centuries, it became known by its present title towards the end of the 20th century because of the earring worn by the girl portrayed there. The work has been in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague since 1902 and has been the subject of various literary and cinematic treatments.
Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 1999 historical novel written by Tracy Chevalier. Set in 17th-century Delft, Holland, the novel was inspired by local painter Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. Chevalier presents a fictional account of Vermeer, the model and the painting. The novel was adapted into a 2003 film of the same name and a 2008 play. In May 2020, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a new dramatisation of the novel.
Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 2008 play. Adapted by David Joss Buckley from the 1999 novel of the same title by Tracy Chevalier, it premiered at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. It then received its London premiere at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 29 September 2008, directed by Joe Dowling and designed by Peter Mumford. Its London run had been scheduled to end on 1 November, but after largely poor reviews and in a poor financial climate it closed early on 18 October.
Mistress and Maid is an oil-on-canvas painting produced by Johannes Vermeer c. 1667. It portrays two women, a mistress and her maid, as they look over the mistress' letter. The painting displays Vermeer's preference for yellow and blue, female models, and domestic scenes. It is now in the Frick Collection in New York City.
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Olivia Hetreed is a British screenwriter and editor, and the current president of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain. In 2003, she received a BAFTA nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for adapting Tracy Chevalier's best-selling novel Girl with a Pearl Earring into the film of the same name.
Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 2003 drama film directed by Peter Webber from a screenplay by Olivia Hetreed, based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Tracy Chevalier. Scarlett Johansson stars as Griet, a young 17th-century servant in the household of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer at the time he painted Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) in the city of Delft in Holland. Other cast members include Tom Wilkinson, Cillian Murphy, Essie Davis, and Judy Parfitt.
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