Kate Summerscale (born 1965) is an English writer and journalist.

Biography

Summerscale was brought up in Japan, England and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. After attending

Bedales School Bedales School is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conven ...

(1978–1983), she took a double-first at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

and an MA in journalism from Stanford University. She lives in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

with her son.

Writing

She is the author of ''The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House'', based on a real-life crime committed by

Constance Kent Constance Emily Kent (6 February 1844 – 10 April 1944) was an English woman who confessed to the murder of her half-brother, Francis Saville Kent, in 1860, when she was aged 16 and he aged three. The case led to high-level pronouncements ther ...

and investigated by

Jack Whicher Detective Inspector Jonathan "Jack" Whicher (1 October 1814 – 29 June 1881) was an English police detective. He was one of the original eight members of London's newly formed Detective Branch, which was established at Scotland Yard in 1842.

, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction 2008, and the bestselling ''The Queen of Whale Cay'', about

Joe Carstairs Marion Barbara 'Joe' Carstairs (1 February 1900 – 18 December 1993) was a wealthy British power boat racer known for her speed, eccentric lifestyle, and gender nonconformity. In the 1920s she was known as the ‘fastest woman on water’. ...

, "fastest woman on water", which won a

Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awa ...

in 1998 and was shortlisted for the 1997 Whitbread Awards for biography. Her book on Whicher inspired the 2011–2014 ITV drama series, ''

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher ''The Suspicions of Mr Whicher'' is a British series of television films made by Hat Trick Productions for ITV, written by Helen Edmundson and Neil McKay. It stars Paddy Considine in the title role of detective inspector Jack Whicher of the Met ...

'', written by Helen Edmundson. She worked for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' and from 1995 to 1996 she wrote and edited obituaries for ''The Daily Telegraph''. She also worked as literary editor of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

''. Her articles have appeared in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

''. She has also judged various literary competitions including the Booker Prize in 2001.

Awards and prizes

*1997

Whitbread Award The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

(for biography), shortlist, ''The Queen of Whale Cay'' *1998

, winner, ''The Queen of Whale Cay'' *2008

Samuel Johnson Prize The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, is an annual British book prize for the best non-fiction writing in the English language. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award. With its ...

, winner, ''The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House'' *2009

Anthony Awards The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America Mystery W ...

(Best Critical / Non-fiction Work), shortlist, ''The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House'' *2010 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature *2017

Edgar Awards The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

(Best Fact Crime), winner, ''The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer'' *2020

Baillie Gifford Prize The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, is an annual British book prize for the best non-fiction writing in the English language. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award. With its m ...

, shortlist, ''The Haunting of Alma Fielding''

Bibliography

*''The Queen of Whale Cay'', Fourth Estate, August 1997 *''The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House'', Bloomsbury, April 2008 *''Mrs Robinson's Disgrace'' (2012) *''The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer'' (29 Apr 2016) *'' The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story'' (2020) *''The Book of Phobias and Manias'', Profile Books, October 2022

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Summerscale, Kate 1965 births English writers Living people People educated at Bedales School Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature English biographers Women biographers English women novelists English women journalists Edgar Award winners English women non-fiction writers