Photo: Patrick Nielsen Hayden from Brooklyn, New York / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Susanna Clarke fascinates me precisely because she works slowly and means it. Spending roughly a decade writing Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in her spare time, then sweeping the Hugo, World Fantasy and Locus awards on her debut, is the literary equivalent of arriving fully formed. I love how she treats magic as scholarship, dense, footnoted, utterly convincing. Her output is small, but every book feels carved rather than churned out, and her 2021 Women's Prize win confirmed she's no one-hit wonder. In an era of relentless content, a writer this patient and meticulous feels almost rebellious, and I deeply respect that restraint.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Susanna Clarke
- Name (Japanese)
- スザンナ・クラーク
- Reading
- すざんな・くらーく
- Born
- November 1, 1959 (age 66)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Boar
- Origin
- Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- novelist / writer / science fiction writer / editor / language teacher
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- St Hilda's College
Awards & achievements
- 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novel
- 2005 Locus Award for Best First Novel
- 2005 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
- 2005 Mythopoeic Awards
- 2005 The British Book Awards
- 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction
- 2005 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Susanna Clarke born?
Born November 1, 1959 (age 66).
Where is Susanna Clarke from?
Susanna Clarke is from Nottingham, United Kingdom.
What does Susanna Clarke do?
Susanna Clarke works as novelist, writer, science fiction writer, editor, language teacher.
What is Susanna Clarke known for?
Notable works include Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
Novelist — see all → · Writer — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-20
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.