Emma L. Darwin (born 8 April 1964) is an English historical fiction author, writer of the novels ''The Mathematics of Love'' (2006) and ''A Secret Alchemy'' (2008) and various

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Charles and

Emma Darwin Emma Darwin (; 2 May 1808 – 2 October 1896) was an English woman who was the wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin. They were married on 29 January 1839 and were the parents of ten children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. Early lif ...

Biography

Darwin was born and brought up in London. Her father was

Henry Galton Darwin Henry Galton Darwin (6 November 1929 – 17 September 1992) was a British lawyer and diplomat specialising in international law. Biography Darwin was born in Edinburgh, the second son (of four) and third child (of five) of the physicist Sir ...

, a lawyer in the Foreign Office, son of Sir

Charles Galton Darwin Sir Charles Galton Darwin (19 December 1887 – 31 December 1962) was an English physicist who served as director of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) during the Second World War. He was a son of the mathematician George Howard Darwin an ...

, grandson of Sir

George Darwin Sir George Howard Darwin, (9 July 1845 – 7 December 1912) was an English barrister and astronomer, the second son and fifth child of Charles Darwin and Emma Darwin. Biography George H. Darwin was born at Down House, Kent, the fifth chi ...

, and great-grandson of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

. Her mother Jane (née Christie), an English teacher, was the younger daughter of

John Traill Christie John Traill Christie (18 October 1899 – 8 September 1980) was headmaster of Repton School (1932–37) and Westminster School (1937–50), before becoming Principal of Jesus College, Oxford (1949–67). Christie married Lucie Cath ...

. Darwin has two sisters; Carola and Sophia. Due to the parents' work, the family spent three years commuting between London and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. The family spent many holidays on the

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

/ Suffolk border, where much of her novel ''The Mathematics of Love'' is set. Darwin has lamented that any reviews of her work inevitably include references to her family background. She read Drama at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

, and she spent some years in academic publishing. But when she had two small children, she started writing again, and eventually earned an MPhil in Writing at the

University of Glamorgan , image_name = University of Glamorgan arms.png , image_size = 220px , caption = University of Glamorgan coat of arms , motto = Success Through Endeavour , established = , closed = , administrative_staff = , chancellor = John Morris ...

(now the

University of South Wales The University of South Wales ( cy, Prifysgol De Cymru) is a public university in Wales, with campuses in Cardiff, Newport and Pontypridd. It was formed on 11 April 2013 from the merger of the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wa ...

), where her tutor was novelist and poet

Christopher Meredith Christopher Meredith Learned Society of Wales, FLSW (born 1954) is a poet, novelist, short story writer, and translator from Tredegar, Wales. Biography Meredith was born in Tredegar, Wales. His father, Emrys, from Tredegar, was a steelworker ...

. The novel she wrote for the degree became '' The Mathematics of Love'', which was sold to Headline Review, as the first of a two-book deal. Meanwhile, she had found the form of a research degree so fruitful that she completed a PhD in

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

Goldsmiths' College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

in 2010, where her supervisor was Maura Dooley. Darwin now lives with her children in South East London. ''The Mathematics of Love'' was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Best First Book Award for the Europe and South Asia region.Commonwealth Writers Award Shortlist
In 2006, her short story ''Maura's Arm'' as awarded 3rd place in the Bridport Prize. Previously her story, ''Closing Time'' had been longlisted for the 2005 Bridport Prize. She also was highly commended for ''Nunc Dimittis'' in the Cadenza Magazine Competition March 2005. Her short story ''Russian Tea'' was 2004 Phillip Good Memorial Prize Runner Up, and was included in the 2006 Fish Short Histories Prize anthology.

Publications

* ''The Mathematics of Love'' London: Headline Review (3 Jul 2006) - paperback published in the UK 8 March 2007 . Published in the US * ''A Secret Alchemy'' London: Headline Review 13 Nov 2008 * ''Get Started in Writing Historical Fiction'' (2016) Teach Yourself * ''This is not a Book about Charles Darwin: A Writer's Journey through my Family'' (2019) Holland House Books

References

External links

Author's Website

Author's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darwin, Emma 21st-century English novelists British women short story writers English short story writers English women novelists Living people People educated at St Paul's Girls' School 1964 births Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of the University of Glamorgan 21st-century British short story writers 21st-century English women writers