Carol Topolski (born 1949) is a British

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. Before becoming a full-time writer she was a practising

psychoanalytic PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk the ...

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

and she drew on her experiences in writing her first novel, '' Monster Love'' which was published in 2008. According to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' it 'shocked and impressed in equal measure' and has been compared to

Lionel Shriver Lionel Shriver (born Margaret Ann Shriver; May 18, 1957) is an American author and journalist. Her novel '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005. Early life and education Shriver was born Margaret Ann Shriver, ...

's '' We Need to Talk About Kevin''. Her second novel ''Do No Harm'' was published in 2010. Born in 1949, her mother was a child psychologist, her father was scientist and author

Kit Pedler Christopher Magnus Howard Pedler (11 June 1927 – 27 May 1981) was an English medical scientist, parapsychologist, and science fiction screenwriter and author. Career Pedler was the head of the electron microscopy department at the Institute ...

. She studied English at

Sussex University The University of Sussex is a public research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the South Downs National Park, and provide ...

and is a graduate of the

UEA Creative Writing Course The University of East Anglia's Creative Writing Course was founded by Sir Malcolm Bradbury and Sir Angus Wilson in 1970. The M.A. has been regarded among the most prestigious in the United Kingdom. The course allows specialisation in the followi ...

. She has had many varied jobs, spending ten years working as a

probation officer A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probat ...

and a further twelve years as a censor working for the

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works (su ...

. She has also set up a

rape crisis centre A rape crisis centre, also known as a sexual assault crisis centre or sexual assault referral centre (SARC), is a specialised centre to support victims of rape or other sexual assault, both in the immediate aftermath of the assault and in the ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. She has two daughters and a granddaughter and now lives in

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

with her husband of 39 years who is Judge Michael Jonathon Topolski

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. She grew up in the area but expressed an interest in moving to

East Dulwich East Dulwich is an area of South (London sub region), South East London, England in the London Borough of Southwark. It forms the eastern part of Dulwich, with Peckham to the east and Camberwell to the north. East Dulwich is home to the Dog Kenn ...

in a May 2008 interview. According to a 2011 article she was still living in Clapham at the time of the interview.

References

External links

Interview
with ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'', Published on Monday 24 January 2011
Podcast
for The Writer's Guild {{DEFAULTSORT:Topolski, Carol Alumni of the University of East Anglia English women novelists 1949 births Living people Alumni of the University of Sussex 21st-century English women writers British psychological fiction writers People from Clapham