Diane Setterfield British writer Country: Great Britain

1. Biography of Diana Setterfield
2. Early Life and Education
3. Career and Writing
4. Later Works and Personal Life

Biography of Diana Setterfield

Diana Setterfield is a British writer known for her acclaimed novel "The Thirteenth Tale," published in 2006. The book was printed in 38 countries and sold over 3 million copies. It topped The New York Times bestseller list for three weeks and gained a large following due to its dark mystery and gothic storytelling style. The novel was later adapted into a television film by British television. Setterfield's second novel, "Bellman & Black," was released in 2013.

Early Life and Education

Diana Setterfield was born in 1964 in Englefield, a historic village in Berkshire, near Reading. The village is known for a battle that took place in 870 AD between the Anglo-Saxons and Danish invaders. Setterfield spent most of her childhood in the neighboring town of Theale, which had little of note except for pubs and breweries. She attended the coeducational Theale Green School and later studied French literature at the University of Bristol. Her doctoral dissertation focused on autobiographical structures in the early works of André Gide.

Career and Writing

Setterfield taught English at the Technological Institute and the Higher Normal School of Chemistry in Mulhouse, France. She also lectured in French at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK. In the late 1990s, Setterfield left academia to pursue her career as a writer. The film rights for "The Thirteenth Tale" were acquired by Heyday Films, the same production company behind the Harry Potter movies. The screenplay was written by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Christopher Hampton. The film, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Olivia Colman, was released on December 30, 2013.

Later Works and Personal Life

Setterfield's next novel, "Bellman & Black," explores themes of time, memory, and loss. It was published in the fall of 2013 in the UK, US, Canada, Norway, and Spain. The Russian edition was released in 2014 by Azbuka Publishing. Diana Setterfield currently resides in Oxford with her husband, Peter Whittall, who works as an accountant. She describes herself as a reader first and a writer second, stating that when she's not writing, she is either reading, thinking, or discussing what she has read.