Susanna Clarke is an English author celebrated for her unique contributions to fantasy literature. Her debut novel, 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell,' published in 2004, achieved significant success, winning the Hugo Award. This alternative history novel is set in 19th-century England and explores the return of magic, focusing on two contrasting magicians. Clarke's writing style is often noted for its pastiche of 19th-century literary traditions, particularly writers like Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, and features detailed footnotes that build a rich fictional world.

Following her debut, Clarke released a collection of short stories, 'The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories' (2006), which delved into magical England with a focus on female characters' acquisition of power through magic. Her second novel, 'Piranesi,' published in 2020, garnered widespread critical acclaim and the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2021. Clarke is known for her meticulous approach to writing, often working on her novels for extended periods. She has stated she is currently working on a new novel set in Bradford, England.

Born in Nottingham, England, Susanna Clarke spent her formative years in various towns across Northern England and Scotland due to her father's profession as a Methodist minister. Her childhood was marked by a strong inclination towards reading, with authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen being significant influences. After studying philosophy, politics, and economics at St Hilda's College, Oxford, she pursued a career in publishing for eight years. She also spent time teaching English abroad in Italy and Spain before returning to England. It was during a period in County Durham, overlooking the North Sea, that she began conceptualizing her first novel, 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.'

The initial spark for 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell' came to Clarke while she was teaching in Bilbao, Spain, manifesting as a 'waking dream' involving a man with a magical background. This idea coalesced with her recent rereading of J. R. R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings,' inspiring her to embark on writing a fantasy novel. Upon returning to England in 1993, Clarke dedicated herself to the project, attending a fantasy and science-fiction writing workshop. Although she had extensive material for her novel, she presented a short story, 'The Ladies of Grace Adieu,' which garnered significant attention and was shared with prominent figures in the fantasy genre, eventually leading to its publication in an anthology.

Clarke's literary style is characterized by a deliberate pastiche of 19th-century British authors, creating a voice that is both antiquarian and witty. Her works, including 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell' and 'The Ladies of Grace Adieu,' are set in an alternate magical England. While 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell' centers on the dynamic between two male magicians, her short stories often explore the empowerment of female characters through magic, particularly in the collection 'The Ladies of Grace Adieu.' This collection, while praised, was sometimes seen as lacking the substantiality of her debut novel. Her novel 'Piranesi' offers a different, more introspective exploration of a unique world and consciousness.

“I had a kind of waking dream ... about a man in 18th-century clothes in a place rather like Venice, talking to some English tourists. And I felt strongly that he had some sort of magical background – he'd been dabbling in magic, and something had gone badly wrong.”

“try writing a novel of magic and fantasy”

“The Ladies of Grace Adieu”

“The Ladies of Grace Adieu”

“the most striking story”