Michelle Paver | |
|---|---|
 Paver in 2005 | |
| Born | 7 September 1960 Blantyre, Nyasaland |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford |
| Period | 2000–present |
| Genre | Children's historical fantasy, horror |
| Notable works | Chronicles of Ancient Darkness |
| Notable awards | Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010 |
| Website | |
| michellepaver | |
Michelle Paver (born 7 September 1960) is a British novelist and children's writer, best known for the children's historical fantasy series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, set in prehistoric Europe.[1] For the sixth book of the series, Ghost Hunter (2009) she won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a book award judged by a panel of British children's writers.[2] She is also the author of two other series: Daughters of Eden and Gods and Warriors, as well as several standalone novels.
Michelle Paver was born on 7 September 1960, in Blantyre, Nyasaland (now Malawi),[3] to a Belgian mother and South African father. Her father ran a newspaper, the Nyasaland Times. Her family moved to Wimbledon, England, in 1963. After reading biochemistry at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, where she attained a first-class degree, she became a solicitor, then after five years a partner, in a City of London law firm.[4]
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.[5] Her 2010 ghost novel Dark Matter was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award for best novel.[6]
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Main article: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness |
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness tell the story of Torak, a twelve-year-old boy who is clanless, 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 prehistoric Europe during the New Stone Age.
The first of the series, Wolf Brother[7] was published in 2004 and as a whole the books have sold over 1 million copies in the UK.[8] Paver was paid a reported £2.8 million advance for the first book.[9]
Michelle Paver's second series Gods and Warriors is set during the Bronze Age. It tells the story of Hylas, a 12-year-old goatherd, whose adventures take him to Ancient Crete and Ancient Egypt, and Pirra, the daughter of a high priestess with a crescent shaped scar on her cheek. The story crucially features animals in the plot – a lion, a falcon, and a dolphin; the dolphin from the first book, the lion from the second book onwards, and the falcon from the third book onwards.
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Main article: Chronicles of Ancient Darkness |
