Short Stories/Novellas
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Princess and the Pea | 2013 | Buy |
Standalone Novels
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Thirteenth Tale | 2006 | Buy |
| Bellman & Black | 2013 | Buy |
| Once Upon a River | 2018 | Buy |
Diane Setterfield is an English author born in 1964 in Berkshire. She studied French literature at the University of Bristol, where she earned both her bachelor’s degree and a PhD on the autobiographical structures in Andre Gide’s early fiction. She taught at universities in France and England before leaving academia to write fiction. She lives in Oxford.
Her debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale (2006), reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list and has sold over three million copies in 38 countries. The book won the 2007 Quill Award for Debut Author of the Year. Written in the gothic tradition, the novel tells the story of a reclusive author who summons a young biographer to record her life story, with echoes of the Bronte sisters throughout. Her second novel, Bellman & Black (2013), follows a Victorian businessman haunted by a childhood act of cruelty, while her third, Once Upon a River (2018), is set along the Thames in 1887 and weaves together the stories of three families connected by a mysterious girl who appears to return from the dead.
Setterfield’s novels share a fascination with storytelling itself, secrets, and the weight of the past. Her academic background in French literature shows in her carefully structured plots, and each book draws on different corners of the gothic and historical fiction traditions.