Michelle Paver
Encyclopedia
Michelle Paver is a British-based novelist
and children's writer, author of the six-book series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
, set in the pre-agricultural
Stone Age
.
(now Malawi
) in central Africa. Her mother was Belgian
and her South African father ran a newspaper, the Nyasaland Times. Her family settled in Wimbledon
, England when she was three. She was educated at The Study and
Wimbledon High School
. After reading biochemistry
at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford
, where she attained a first-class degree, she became a partner in a City of London law firm. Her father's death in 1996 prompted her to take a one-year sabbatical, during which she travelled around France and America and wrote her first book, Without Charity. She resigned from legal practice soon after her return, to concentrate on writing.
Her 2010 novel Dark Matter has been nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award for best novel.
tell the story of Torak, an adolescent boy from the Wolf Clan, and his friends Renn and Wolf. The main story arc revolves around Torak and his quest to defeat the Soul Eaters, a group of evil clan mages who seek out to destroy all life in the forest in which they live. The books are set in the pre-agricultural Stone Age.
The first of the series, Wolf Brother
was published in 2004 and as a whole the books have sold over 1 million copies in the UK. Paver was paid a reported £2.8 million advance for the first book. Ghost Hunter (2010), the sixth and last in the series, won the 2010 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
.
The first book from Gods and Warriors is scheduled to be published in the autumn of 2012.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and children's writer, author of the six-book series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is a series of six fantasy books from British author Michelle Paver, her first books for children. The books chronicle the adventures of Torak, an adolescent boy from the Wolf Clan, and his friends Renn and Wolf...
, set in the pre-agricultural
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
.
Biography
Michelle Paver was born in NyasalandNyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
(now Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
) in central Africa. Her mother was Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and her South African father ran a newspaper, the Nyasaland Times. Her family settled in Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, England when she was three. She was educated at The Study and
Wimbledon High School
Wimbledon High School
.Wimbledon High School is an independent girls' school in Wimbledon, South West London. It is run by the Girls' Day School Trust and celebrated its 130th birthday on November 9 2010, having been founded by Edith Hastings in 1880. WHS educates girls between the ages of 4 and 18.The motto is "Ex...
. After reading biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where she attained a first-class degree, she became a partner in a City of London law firm. Her father's death in 1996 prompted her to take a one-year sabbatical, during which she travelled around France and America and wrote her first book, Without Charity. She resigned from legal practice soon after her return, to concentrate on writing.
Her 2010 novel Dark Matter has been nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award for best novel.
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
The Chronicles of Ancient DarknessChronicles of Ancient Darkness
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness is a series of six fantasy books from British author Michelle Paver, her first books for children. The books chronicle the adventures of Torak, an adolescent boy from the Wolf Clan, and his friends Renn and Wolf...
tell the story of Torak, an adolescent boy from the Wolf Clan, and his friends Renn and Wolf. The main story arc revolves around Torak and his quest to defeat the Soul Eaters, a group of evil clan mages who seek out to destroy all life in the forest in which they live. The books are set in the pre-agricultural Stone Age.
The first of the series, Wolf Brother
Wolf Brother
Wolf Brother is the first book in the series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver. Wolf Brother takes place 6000 years ago during the New Stone Age, and tells the story of twelve-year-old Torak, a boy of the Wolf Clan....
was published in 2004 and as a whole the books have sold over 1 million copies in the UK. Paver was paid a reported £2.8 million advance for the first book. Ghost Hunter (2010), the sixth and last in the series, won the 2010 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
Guardian Award
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award is a prominent award for works of children's literature by British or Commonwealth authors, published in the United Kingdom during the preceding year. The award has been given annually since 1967, and is decided by a panel of authors and the...
.
Gods and Warriors
Michelle Paver's new series of books for children is titled Gods and Warriors, set during the Bronze Age. It tells the story of Hylas, a 12-year-old goatherd, whose adventures take him to Crete and Egypt, and also heavily features animals in the plot - a lion, a falcon and a dolphin.The first book from Gods and Warriors is scheduled to be published in the autumn of 2012.
General fiction
- Without Charity (2000)
- A Place in the Hills (2001)
- The Shadow Catcher (2002)
- Fever Hill (2004)
- The Serpent's Tooth (2005)
- Dark MatterDark Matter (Paver novel)Dark Matter is a speculative fiction novel from Michelle Paver. Part horror, part ghost story, it was published in the UK on October 21, 2010.-Critical reception:...
(2010)
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
- Wolf BrotherWolf BrotherWolf Brother is the first book in the series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver. Wolf Brother takes place 6000 years ago during the New Stone Age, and tells the story of twelve-year-old Torak, a boy of the Wolf Clan....
(2004) - Spirit Walker (2005)
- Soul Eater (2006)
- Outcast (2007)
- Oath Breaker (2008)
- Ghost HunterGhost hunterGhost Hunter can refer to:*Ghost hunting, the practice of hunting ghosts*The Ghost Hunter, a series of novels**The Ghost Hunter, a television series based on the novels*Death of a Ghost Hunter, a 2007 horror film...
(2009)August