Paula Hawkins (born 26 August 1972) is a British author best known for her top-selling psychological thriller novel The Girl on the Train (2015), which deals with themes of domestic violence, alcohol, and drug abuse.[1][2] The novel was adapted into a film starring Emily Blunt in 2016.[3] Hawkins' second thriller novel, Into the Water, was released in 2017.[4]
Paula Hawkins | |
|---|---|
 Hawkins at Gothenburg Book Fair in 2015 | |
| Born | 26 August 1972 Salisbury, Rhodesia |
| Pen name |
|
| Occupation | Novelist, journalist |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Keble College, Oxford |
| Notable works | |
| Website | |
| paulahawkinsbooks | |
Life and career
editHawkins was born and raised in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), the daughter of Anthony "Tony" Hawkins and his wife Glynne.[5] Her father was an economics professor and financial journalist. Before moving to London in 1989 aged 17, Hawkins attended Arundel School, Harare, Zimbabwe then studied for her A-Levels at Collingham College, an independent college in Kensington, West London.[6] Hawkins read philosophy, politics and economics at Keble College, University of Oxford.[6][7] She worked as a journalist for The Times, reporting on business. She then worked for a number of publications on a freelance basis, and wrote a financial-advice book for women, The Money Goddess.[2]
She did not achieve a commercial breakthrough until she challenged herself to write a darker, more serious story.[6] Her best-selling novel The Girl on the Train (2015) is a complex thriller, with themes of domestic violence, alcohol, and drug abuse.[2] The novel took her six months, writing full-time, to complete, at a time when she was in a difficult financial situation and had to borrow from her father. The novel was adapted into a film in 2016.[1] In November 2016, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.[8] Paula's second thriller Into The Water was published in May 2017 and went on to become a Sunday Times and NYT bestseller. Her novel A Slow Fire Burning was published on 31 August 2021.
Around 2009, Hawkins began to write romantic comedy fiction under the name Amy Silver, writing four novels including Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista.
Bibliography
edit- The Money Goddess: The Complete Financial Makeover (2006) (Paula Hawkins)
- Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School (2001) (with co-author Grace Llewellyn) (ISBN 978-0-471-34960-0)
- Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista (2009) (Amy Silver) ISBN 9780099543558[9]
- All I Want for Christmas (2010) (Amy Silver) ISBN 9780099553229[10]
- One Minute to Midnight (2011) (Amy Silver) ISBN 9780099564638[11]
- The Reunion (2013) (Amy Silver) ISBN 9780099574491[12]
- The Girl on the Train (2015) (Paula Hawkins) ISBN 9781594634024[13]
- Into the Water (2017) (Paula Hawkins) ISBN 9780735211209
- A Slow Fire Burning (2021) (Paula Hawkins) ISBN 9780735211230
- Blind Spot (2022) (Paula Hawkins) ISBN 9781529176636
- The Blue Hour (2024) (Paula Hawkins) ISBN 9781529938074
References
edit- ^ a b Saner, Emine (21 April 2015). "The Girl on the Train: how Paula Hawkins wrote 'the new Gone Girl'". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ a b c Alter, Alexandra (30 January 2015). "Welcoming the Dark Twist in Her Career". New York Times. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (5 October 2016). "Review: In 'The Girl on the Train,' a Boozy Emily Blunt Never Winks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
- ^ Hawkins, Paula (2 May 2017). Into the Water: The addictive Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller. Transworld. ISBN 978-1-4735-4221-1.
- ^ a b c Runaway success: Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train. Portraits by Pal Hansen Evening Standard
- ^ "Twitter post". Twitter. Keble College, Oxford. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- ^ "BBC 100 Women 2016: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista by Amy Silver
- ^ All I Want for Christmas by Amy Silver
- ^ One Minute to Midnight by Amy Silver
- ^ The Reunion by Amy Silver
- ^ The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins