Kate Summerscale

Kate Summerscale (born 2 September 1965)^[1] is an English writer and journalist.

Kate Summerscale
Born	(1965-09-02) 2 September 1965 (age 58) London, England
Occupation	Writer and journalist
Alma mater	Stanford University
Notable works	The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House
Website
www.katesummerscale.com

Biography edit

Summerscale was brought up in Japan, England and Chile. After attending Bedales School (1978–1983), she took a double-first at Oxford University and an MA in journalism from Stanford University.^[2] She lives in London with her son.^[3]

She is the author of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House,^[4] based on a real-life crime committed by Constance Kent and investigated by Jack Whicher, a book described in Literary Review as an altogether "deft 21st-century piece of cultural detection" which won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction in 2008.^[5] Summerscale also wrote the bestselling The Queen of Whale Cay, about Joe Carstairs, "fastest woman on water", which won a Somerset Maugham Award in 1998 and was shortlisted for the 1997 Whitbread Awards for biography. Her book on Whicher inspired the 2011–2014 ITV drama series, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, written by Helen Edmundson.^[6]

She worked for The Independent and from 1995 to 1996 she wrote and edited obituaries for The Daily Telegraph.^[7] She also worked as literary editor of The Daily Telegraph.^[8]^[9] Her articles have appeared in The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.^[10]

She has also judged various literary competitions including the Booker Prize in 2001.^[11]

1997 Whitbread Award (for biography), shortlist, The Queen of Whale Cay^[12]
1998 Somerset Maugham Award, winner, The Queen of Whale Cay^[12]
2008 Samuel Johnson Prize, winner, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House^[12]
2009 Anthony Awards (Best Critical / Non-fiction Work), shortlist, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House^[13]
2010 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature^[14]
2017 Edgar Awards (Best Fact Crime), winner, The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer^[15]
2020 Baillie Gifford Prize, shortlist, The Haunting of Alma Fielding^[16]

The Queen of Whale Cay, Fourth Estate, August 1997
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House, Bloomsbury, April 2008
Mrs Robinson's Disgrace (2012)
The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer (29 Apr 2016)
The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story (2020)
The Book of Phobias and Manias, Profile Books, October 2022^[17]

^ "Birthdays". Journal. The Guardian. 2 September 2023. p. 9.
^ Whalecay.net 28 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ . Bloomsbury.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
^ , The Daily Telegraph, Sarah Crompton, 21 July 2008
^ Lycett, Andrew (April 2008). "Day of the Detective". Literary Review.
^ "Press Releases".
^ "Harperperennial.co.uk". Harperperennial.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
^ Kate Summerscale wins Samuel Johnson Prize^{[dead link]}
^ "Q & A with Kate Summerscale". Blogs.raincoast.com. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
^ . Journalisted.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
^ "The Man Booker Prize 2001". themanbookerprize.com. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Samuel Johnson Prize 2008". thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
^ . Bouchercon.info. 2 October 2003. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
^ . Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
^ "Edgar Allan Poe winners" (PDF). theedgars.com. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
^ "The Baillie Gifford Prize 2020 shortlist announced". The Baillie Gifford Prize.
^ "The Book of Phobias and Manias - Profile Books".