A Thomas Smith Arthur Thomas Smith

Zadie Smith, born Sadie Smith in London in 1975, is a celebrated English writer of novels, essays, and short stories. She adopted the name Zadie at age 14. Her family background includes a Jamaican mother and an English father; her parents divorced during her teenage years. Smith's early interests included tap dancing and musical theatre, and she also worked as a jazz singer and aspired to be a journalist. She studied English literature at King's College, Cambridge, where she published short stories in a student anthology that led to a publishing contract for her first novel.

Her debut novel, *White Teeth*, published in 2000, achieved immediate commercial and critical success, earning numerous awards. Smith has since published several other novels, including *The Autograph Man*, *On Beauty*, *NW*, and *Swing Time*, as well as short story collections and essays. She has also held academic positions, including a professorship in Creative Writing at New York University. Smith's work often explores themes of identity, race, and contemporary society. She has also engaged with literary criticism, responding to discussions about her work and contemporary fiction.

Born Sadie Smith on October 25, 1975, in north-west London, she later changed her name to Zadie at age 14. Her mother was Jamaican, and her father was English. Smith's parents divorced when she was a teenager. Her childhood interests included tap dancing, and in her youth, she considered a career in musical theatre. While attending King's College, Cambridge, to study English literature, she supported herself as a jazz singer and harbored aspirations of becoming a journalist. During her university years, Smith contributed short stories to *The Mays Anthology*, a collection of student writing, which brought her to the attention of a publisher. She graduated from Cambridge with an upper second-class honours degree.

Zadie Smith's career launched with her debut novel, *White Teeth*, published in 2000. The book garnered significant critical acclaim and commercial success, winning multiple awards. Her subsequent novels, such as *The Autograph Man* (2002), *On Beauty* (2005), *NW* (2012), and *Swing Time* (2016), have further solidified her reputation. Smith's writing often delves into complex themes, including race, postcolonial identity, multiculturalism, and the intricacies of contemporary urban life. She has also published essay collections, notably *Changing My Mind* (2009), and has been a frequent contributor to publications like *Harper's Magazine* and *The New York Review of Books*.

Beyond her prolific writing career, Smith has also contributed to academia. In September 2010, she joined New York University as a tenured professor in the Creative Writing faculty. Smith has engaged with literary criticism, notably responding to critiques of her work and the concept of 'hysterical realism.' Her essay collection *The Morality of the Novel* (also known as *Fail Better*) explores 20th-century writers through the lens of moral philosophy. She has also participated in public discourse on writing, offering advice such as 'Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it.'

Smith's literary output continued with works like the short story collection *Grand Union* (2019) and the essay collection *Intimations* (2020). In 2021, she debuted her play *The Wife of Willesden*, an adaptation of Chaucer's 'The Wife of Bath's Tale,' set in contemporary London and exploring themes of faith, sex, and marriage. Her 2023 novel, *The Fraud*, is a historical work centered on the Tichborne case and the identity theft surrounding Arthur Orton, exploring 19th-century English society and its controversies. Several of Smith's works have been adapted for television, including *White Teeth* and *NW*.

“Actually, I got a Third in my Part Ones.”

“Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.”