Anthologies#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Handbook of Oral History |
2006 |
Buy |
| Thinking About Oral History: Theories and Applications |
2007 |
Buy |
| Memories of Mass Repression: Narrating Life Stories in the Aftermath of Atrocity |
2008 |
Buy |
Non-Fiction#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| Fenwomen |
1977 |
Buy |
| Writing Lives: Conversations Between Women Writers |
1988 |
Buy |
| Growing Up in Lambeth |
1989 |
Buy |
| Narratives of Exile and Return |
1997 |
Buy |
| Narrative and Genre |
1997 |
Buy |
| Caribbean Migration: Globalized Identities |
1998 |
Buy |
| Family Love in the Diaspora: Migration and the Anglo-Caribbean Experience |
2006 |
Buy |
| Old Wives’ Tales: The History of Remedies, Charms and Spells |
2010 |
Buy |
| Empire and Nation-building in the Caribbean: Barbados, 1937-66 |
2010 |
Buy |
Standalone Novels#
| Title |
Published |
Buy on Amazon |
| The Mighty Jester |
2014 |
Buy |
| The Dressmaker’s War / The Dressmaker of Dachau |
2015 |
Buy |
| The Hidden |
2019 |
Buy |
| The Forgotten |
2021 |
Buy |
Mary Chamberlain had an established career as a historian before she began writing fiction. Her academic work focused on oral history, Caribbean migration, and women’s lives in Britain, with books like Fenwomen (1977), Narratives of Exile and Return (1997), and Empire and Nation-building in the Caribbean (2010).
Her transition to fiction came with The Mighty Jester (2014), followed by The Dressmaker’s War (2015), published in the U.S. as The Dressmaker of Dachau. The novel follows a young London seamstress who is trapped in occupied Europe during World War II. The Hidden (2019) and The Forgotten (2021) continue her focus on the human cost of wartime, drawing on the kind of personal histories that shaped her academic research.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books has Mary Chamberlain written?
Mary Chamberlain has written sixteen books across three series.
What was Mary Chamberlain's first book?
Mary Chamberlain’s first book is Fenwomen, published in 1977.
Is Mary Chamberlain both a historian and a novelist?
Yes. Chamberlain had a long academic career in oral history and migration studies before turning to historical fiction. Her novels, including The Dressmaker of Dachau and The Hidden, draw on her knowledge of twentieth-century European and Caribbean history.