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Michelle Paver

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Michelle Paver
Paver in 2005
Paver in 2005
Born (1960-09-07) 7 September 1960 (age 64)
Blantyre, Nyasaland
OccupationNovelist
CitizenshipBritish
Alma materLady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Period2000–present
Genre
Notable worksWolf Brother (2004)
Notable awardsGuardian Children's Fiction Prize
2010
Signature
Website
michellepaver.com

Michelle Paver (born 7 September 1960) is a British novelist. She is best known for her children's historical fantasy series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, set in prehistoric Europe, which started with Wolf Brother, in 2004. It has sold more than 2.5 million copies and has been translated into 30 languages.

Born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), she moved to England as a young child. Paver started her career as a lawyer, before becoming a full-time writer. She is also the author of the children's series Gods and Warriors, as well as novels for adults, including the Daughters of Eden trilogy and several standalone books.

Biography

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Early life

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Michelle Paver was born on 7 September 1960, in Blantyre, Nyasaland (now Malawi),[1] to a Belgian mother and South African father. Her father ran a newspaper, the Nyasaland Times. In 1963, her family moved to Wimbledon, England.[2] She was educated at Wimbledon High School.[3] Later, after earning a first-class degree in biochemistry from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, she became a solicitor and, after five years, a partner at a City of London law firm.[2]

Paver's father's death in 1996 prompted her to take a one-year sabbatical, during which she travelled around France and America and wrote the first draft of the book, Without Charity. She resigned from legal practice soon after her return, to concentrate on writing.[2]

Writing career

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Standalone novels

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In 2000, Michelle Paver published her debut adult historical novel, Without Charity (a sweeping tale of betrayal, forbidden love, and family secrets, spanning modern-day London, Edwardian England, and the Boer War),[4] followed by A Place in the Hills (a tale of passion, mystery, and lost treasure, as Antonia's search for the truth behind a Roman poet's riddle intertwines with a love that defies time and tragedy in the hills of Provence), the following year.[5]

Other standalone works include the ghost novel, Dark Matter (2010), a chilling tale of isolation and terror set in the Arctic, which was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel;[6] Thin Air (2016), a tale of mountaineering and supernatural terror in the Himalayas;[7] and Wakenhyrst (2019), a gothic thriller about a young girl uncovering dark secrets in the Fens.[8] Her forthcoming novel, Rainforest, described as "an 'immersive' companion story to Dark Matter and Thin Air", is set to be published in 2025.[9]

Daughters of Eden

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Paver's Daughters of Eden trilogy, was published from 2002 to 2005, consisting of The Shadow Catcher (a tale of betrayal and redemption, as Madeleine journeys from Victorian Scotland to a decaying Jamaican plantation to confront her family's dark legacy),[10] Fever Hill (set in Jamaica in 1903, the story follows Sophie Monroe as she uncovers family secrets and confronts prejudice to save the plantation she loves),[11] and The Serpent's Tooth (set against the backdrop of World War I, the story follows Belle as she battles secrets, tragedy, and war to find love, friendship, and redemption).[12]

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

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In 2004 she published Wolf Brother, the first book in her Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series and her first book for children. The book has sold more than 2.5 million copies and has been translated into 30 languages.[13] Paver was paid a reported £2.8 million advance for the first book.[14]

The series is set in prehistoric Northern Europe[15] and is made up of nine novels published from 2004 to 2022.[16] It tells the story of Torak, a twelve-year-old boy who is clanless, and his friends Renn and Wolf. The main story arc revolves around Torak and his quest to defeat the Soul Eaters, a group of evil clan mages who seek out to destroy all life in the forest in which they live. For the sixth book of the series, Ghost Hunter (2009), she won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a book award judged by a panel of British children's writers.[17]

Gods and Warriors

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Paver's second children's series, Gods and Warriors, is set during the Bronze Age. It tells the story of Hylas, a 12-year-old goatherd, whose adventures take him to Ancient Crete and Ancient Egypt, and Pirra, the daughter of a high priestess with a crescent-shaped scar on her cheek. The story crucially features animals in the plot – a lion, a falcon and a dolphin: the dolphin from the first book, the lion from the second book onwards and the falcon from the third book onwards.[18]

Books

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Daughters of Eden trilogy

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  1. The Shadow Catcher (2002)
  2. Fever Hill (2004)
  3. The Serpent's Tooth (2005)

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series

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Main article: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
  1. Wolf Brother (2004)
  2. Spirit Walker (2005)
  3. Soul Eater (2006)
  4. Outcast (2007)
  5. Oath Breaker (2008)
  6. Ghost Hunter (2009)
  7. Viper's Daughter (2020)
  8. Skin Taker (2021)
  9. Wolfbane (2022)

Gods and Warriors series

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  1. The Outsiders (2013)/Gods and Warriors (2012 – Only first print carries this name.)
  2. The Burning Shadow (2013)
  3. Eye of the Falcon (2014)
  4. The Crocodile Tomb (2015)
  5. Warrior Bronze (2016)

Stand-alone books

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References

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  1. ^ "Summary Bibliography: Michelle Paver". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Paver, Michelle. "From Africa to Wimbledon & Beyond…". Michelle Paver. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  3. ^ "The Radio 2 Book Club - Thin Air by Michelle Paver". BBC Radio 2. BBC. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Without Charity". Michelle Paver. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  5. ^ "A Place In The Hills". Michelle Paver. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  6. ^ "2010 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". Shirley Jackson Awards. July 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2015. Novel ... Finalists: Dark Matter, Michelle Paver (Orion) ...
  7. ^ Craig, Amanda (20 November 2016). "Thin Air by Michelle Paver review – Touching the Void meets Jack London". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  8. ^ Housham, Jane (7 December 2019). "Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver review – dark goings-on in the Fens". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  9. ^ a b Fraser, Katie (29 May 2024). "Orion signs 'major' deal for Michelle Paver's latest novel". The Bookseller. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  10. ^ "The Shadow Catcher". Michelle Paver. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Fever Hill". Michelle Paver. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  12. ^ "The Serpent's Tooth". Michelle Paver. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Wolf Brother". wolfbrother.com. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Fantasy book gets record advance". 2 September 2004. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Michelle Paver talks to Daniel Hahn". Hay Festival. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Series". Toppsta. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  17. ^ Page, Benedicte (8 October 2010). "Michelle Paver wins Guardian children's fiction prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  18. ^ "Gods and Warriors". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
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