Tracy Rose Chevalier (born 19 October 1962) is an

American-British Americans in the United Kingdom, American Britons or American British are emigrants from the United States who are residents or citizens of the United Kingdom. History Between the late 19th century and World War II, many so called " dollar pr ...

novelist. She is best known for her second novel, ''

Girl with a Pearl Earring ''Girl with a Pearl Earring'' () is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, dated 1665. Going by various names over the centuries, it became known by its present title towards the end of the 20th century because of the e ...

'', which was adapted as a 2003 film starring

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...

and

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

Personal background

Chevalier was born on 19 October 1962, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

She is the daughter of Douglas and Helen (née Werner) Chevalier. Her father was a photographer who worked with ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' for more than 30 years. Chevalier has an older sister, Kim Chevalier, who resides in

Soulan Soulan (; ) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Soulan are called ''Soulanais''. See also *Communes of the Ariège department The following is a list of the 325 communes of the A ...

, France; and a brother, Michael Chevalier, who lives in

Salida, Colorado Salida ( ; Spanish language: , "exit") is the statutory city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,666 at the 2020 census. History The Arkansas, Colorado, ...

. , Chevalier lives in London with her husband, Jonathan Drori. She graduated from

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (B-CC) is a State school, public Secondary school, high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda, Maryland, Bethesda. Part of the Montgomery County Public Schools ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

, in 1980. After receiving her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in English from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1984, she moved to England, where she began working in publishing. In 1993, she began studying Creative Writing, earning a master's degree from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

. Her tutors included novelists

Malcolm Bradbury Sir Malcolm Stanley Bradbury, (7 September 1932 – 27 November 2000) was an English author and academic. Life Bradbury was born in Sheffield, the son of a railwayman. His family moved to London in 1935, but returned to Sheffield in 1941 wit ...

and

Rose Tremain Dame Rose Tremain (born 2 August 1943) is an English novelist, short story writer, and former Chancellor of the University of East Anglia. Life Rose Tremain was born Rosemary Jane Thomson on 2 August 1943 in London to Viola Mabel Thomson and ...

Professional background

Following her graduation from Oberlin College, Chevalier moved to England, where she began working as an editorial assistant with Macmillan's Dictionary of Art, then later joined

St. James Press Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research a ...

, serving as a reference book editor. Her first novel, ''The Virgin Blue'', was published in the UK in 1997 and was chosen by

W H Smith WH Smith plc, trading as WHSmith (also written WH Smith and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son), is a British retailer, with headquarters in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service st ...

for their showcase of new authors. Her second novel, ''

'', was published in 1999. The work, which was based on the famous painting by

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...

, has been translated into 38 languages. As of 2014, it has sold over five million copies worldwide. It won the Barnes and Noble Discover Award in 2000. In 2003, a film based on the novel was released, receiving three

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations in 2004, along with ten

BAFTAs The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

and two

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

s. Her 2013 novel, ''The Last Runaway'', was honored with the Ohioana Book Award and was chosen for the Richard and Judy Book Club for autumn 2013. In 2011, Chevalier edited and contributed to ''Why Willows Weep'', a collection of short stories by 19 authors, the sale of which raised money for the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 68 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tru ...

, for which her husband served as a trustee. Other of her works that feature historical figures as characters include

William Lobb William Lobb (1809 – 3 May 1864) was a British plant collector, employed by Veitch Nurseries of Exeter, who was responsible for introducing to commercial growers Britain ''Araucaria araucana'' (the monkey-puzzle tree) from Chile and the mass ...

and

Johnny Appleseed Johnny Appleseed (born John Chapman; September 26, 1774March 18, 1845) was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced trees grown with apple seeds (as opposed to trees grown with grafting) to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, I ...

in ''At the Edge of the Orchard'', and

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

in ''Burning Bright''.

Memberships

Chevalier has been involved in representing authors as a member of various community organizations. In 2004, she began serving as the chairperson for the Management Committee for the UK's

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...

, serving in that capacity for four years. ''Girl with a Pearl Earring'' was chosen as one of the books given away in both the US and UK for World Book Night 2013. In 2015, she joined the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

board as a Trustee. She is also an ambassador for the

, where her husband serves as a member of the board of directors.

Honors and awards

* 1997: WH Smith Fresh Talent for ''The Virgin Blue'' * 2000: Barnes and Noble Discover Award for ''Girl with a Pearl Earring'' * 2008: Fellow,

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

* 2013: Ohioana Book Award, for ''The Last Runaway'' * 2013: Richard and Judy Book Club book for ''The Last Runaway'' * 2013: Honorary Doctorate, Oberlin College and University of East Anglia

Works

* ''The Virgin Blue'' (1997) * ''

'' (1999) * ''Falling Angels'' (2001) * ''The Lady and the Unicorn'' (2003) * ''Burning Bright'' (2007) * ''Remarkable Creatures'' (2009) * ''The Last Runaway'' (2013) * ''At the Edge of the Orchard'' (2016) * ''New Boy'' (2017) * ''A Single Thread'' (2019) * ''The Glassmaker'' (2024) ;As editor * ''Twentieth-Century Children's Writers'', 3rd edition, St. James Press, 1989, , * '' Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre'', 2016,

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chevalier, Tracy 1962 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Alumni of the University of East Anglia American expatriates in England American historical novelists American women historical novelists Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School alumni British historical novelists British women historical novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Novelists from Washington, D.C. Oberlin College alumni Girl with a Pearl Earring