Photo: Jon Drori / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Tracy Chevalier won me over completely with Girl with a Pearl Earring, a novel that conjures an entire human drama out of a single painting. A Washington-born American-British writer educated at Oberlin, she has earned a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature and an honorary doctorate, yet what stays with me is her restraint. Even after Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth carried the 2003 film adaptation, I still prefer the original's hushed tension. Chevalier writes through glances and silences rather than declarations, and her willingness to imagine the unrecorded lives hidden inside artworks earns my lasting respect.
Overview
Tracy Rose Chevalier (born 19 October 1962) is an American-British novelist. She is best known for her second novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring, which was adapted as a 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Tracy Chevalier
- Name (Japanese)
- トレイシー・シュヴァリエ
- Reading
- とれいしー・しゅゔぁりえ
- Born
- October 19, 1962 (age 63)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Tiger
- Origin
- Washington, D.C., United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- writer / novelist / screenwriter / literary editor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
- University
- Oberlin College
Awards & achievements
- 2008 Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
- 2013 honorary doctorate
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Girl with a Pearl Earring | — |
6. Links
Writer — see all → · Novelist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
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.