Paula Hawkins (born 26 August 1972) is a British author best known for her top-selling
psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting.
In terms of context and c ...
novel ''
The Girl on the Train'' (2015), which deals with themes of domestic violence, alcohol, and drug abuse.
The novel was
adapted into a film starring
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awar ...
in 2016. Hawkins' second thriller novel, ''
Into the Water'', was released in 2017.
Life and career
Hawkins was born and raised in Salisbury,
Rhodesia (now
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
,
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
), the daughter of Anthony "Tony" Hawkins and his wife Glynne. Her father was an economics professor and financial journalist. Before moving to London in 1989 aged 17, Hawkins attended
Arundel School
Arundel School is a private, day and boarding school for girls aged 12–18 in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Arundel School was ranked 48th out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa, based upon quality of education, student engagement, strength and acti ...
, Harare, Zimbabwe then studied for her
A-Levels
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...
at
Collingham College
Collingham College is an independent, co-educational school, founded as Collingham Tutors in 1975, by Old Etonian John Marsden and Nicholas Browne. Collingham is situated in London's Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is directly betwe ...
, an independent college in
Kensington, West London.
[Runaway success: Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train. Portraits by Pal Hansen]
''Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' Hawkins read
philosophy, politics and economics at
Keble College
Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...
,
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
She worked as a journalist for ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'', reporting on business. She then worked for a number of publications on a freelance basis, and wrote a financial-advice book for women, ''The Money Goddess''.
Around 2009, Hawkins began to write romantic comedy fiction under the name Amy Silver, writing four novels including ''Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista''. She did not achieve commercial breakthrough until she challenged herself to write a darker, more serious story.
Her best-selling novel ''
The Girl on the Train'' (2015), was a complex thriller, with themes of domestic violence, alcohol, and drug abuse.
The novel took her six months, writing full-time, to complete, at a time when she was in a difficult financial situation and had to borrow from her father. The novel was adapted into a
film in 2016.
In November 2016, she was listed as one of
BBC's 100 Women. Paula's second thriller, ''Into The Water'' was published in May 2017 and went on to become a ''Sunday Times'' and ''NYT'' bestseller. Her novel ''A Slow Fire Burning'' was published on 31 August 2021.
Bibliography
* ''The Money Goddess: The Complete Financial Makeover'' (2006) (Paula Hawkins)
* ''Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School'' (2001) (with co-author Grace Llewellyn) (ISBN 978-0-471-34960-0)
* ''Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista'' (2009) (Amy Silver)
* ''All I Want for Christmas'' (2010) (Amy Silver)
* ''One Minute to Midnight'' (2011) (Amy Silver)
* ''The Reunion'' (2013) (Amy Silver)
* ''
The Girl on the Train'' (2015) (Paula Hawkins)
[ by Paula Hawkins]
* ''
Into the Water'' (2017) (Paula Hawkins)
* ''A Slow Fire Burning'' (2021) (Paula Hawkins)
References
External links
*
BBC Meet the Author: Paula Hawkins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Paula
1972 births
Living people
British women novelists
Alumni of Arundel School
Alumni of Keble College, Oxford
People from Harare
21st-century British women writers
21st-century British novelists
Writers from London
Zimbabwean emigrants to the United Kingdom
BBC 100 Women
White Zimbabwean people