Susanna Kearsley Books In Order

Publication Order of Slains Books

Publication Order of The ScottishBooks

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

A highly-acclaimed Canadian novelist born and bred where she still currently resides to this day, Susanna Kearsley is well known for her combination of history, the paranormal and romance. Offering her readers suspense and intrigue, she also goes by the name of Emma Cole when writing classic thriller novels.

Early and Personal Life

Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Susanna Kearsley originally studied politics and international development, from which she graduated before going onto become a museum curator. Although this wasn’t the most conventional of beginnings for a writer, it was to successfully help inform her on much of her writing career that was to follow.

Being brought up within a family that read heavily, she had a head-start on the career which would consume much of her adult life. Her mother, a self-avowed fan of Mary Stewart, was to pass on her love of the author to her daughter, as her writing has played a huge part in inspiring Kearsley’s work.

Writing continually as a child and throughout her teenage years, it wasn’t until she was twenty-two that Susanna Kearsley completed her first book. This was the same year that she became a curator, a job which she left shortly after to become a writer, as she kept herself afloat as a waitress during the transition.

After this she finished her second novel, Mariana, which was to win the Catherine Cookson Fiction award, along with £10,000 and a publishing deal. Now a full time writer, she continues to write to this very day, a job which she loves as she still currently resides in Canada as a successful author.

Writing Career

First published in 1993 with the novel ‘Undertow’, Susanna Kearsley went onto pen eight more novels. It was only in 1995 that she gained international acclaim with her second novel (although ‘The Gemini Game’ was published in 1994) ‘Mariana’, which was awarded the Catherine Cookson Fiction award, which was under the sponsorship of Transworld publishers.

During this time she has also gone by the name of Emma Cole, under which she wrote the crime novel ‘Every Secret Thing’. This thriller was to also gain her much acclaim, both critically and commercially. Published in 2007, this decision was made as it was a slight departure from her usual fare of paranormal romance novels. It also went on to be shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award for best novel, another trophy to her now varied repertoire of genres.

Her most recent book published in 2013, ‘The Firebird’, was published both in paperback and hardback to an extremely warm reception. In 2015 her much anticipated novel ‘A Desperate Fortune’ is set to be released during the Spring. Expected within, Susanna Kearsley has hinted that there will be elements of time-travel featuring a woman sharing a house with a gentleman from the 1700’s.

Having had her book ‘Mariana’ republished, it has also been put into audio-book format along with a cinematic trailer. Talk of a film has also been rumored, but this has only been speculation up until this point. Susanna Kearsley continues to write with an exciting set of literary projects waiting on the horizon.

Mariana

The first novel from Susanna Kearsley features a time-traveling heroine named Julia Beckett as its lead protagonist. After setting her sights upon the home of Greyweathers at the age of five, she understands from then on that this is to be her future home. Once she acquires it for herself, she quickly comes to believe that she may have been destined to own this particular property, as events begin to unfold that cause her to question everything.

Once she’s living within the Greyweathers estate, she finds that she’s been transported back into sixteenth century England, as she takes on the role of Mariana. With her own struggles against both treachery and danger, Mariana finds that she’s battling a forbidden love. Thrust into the center of all this as she assumes her new identity, Julia finds that she may be a little out of her depth, as everything happens so fast.

As time goes on, Julia finds herself frequenting the past more and more, as she undertakes the role of Mariana more willingly than ever. This is a problem for her own identity as she starts to lose herself within the life of Mariana, whilst forgetting who she really is. After a while this begins to cause problems as she needs to confront the past and leave it behind her once and for all before it’s too late. Will she be able to put the past behind her and lay it to rest? Can she overcome the torment of the forbidden love of another? What will happen to the identity of one Julia Beckett or will she lose it forever to Mariana?

The Splendour Falls

Immersing itself in the world of English and French history, this novel is situated around Chinon; the chateau of legend. It is here that the protagonist Emily finds herself after her cousin, Harry, invites her there for a meeting with him in the infamous chateau. When she arrives though, he’s nowhere to be found, as she quickly discovers he’s disappeared upon arrival at her hotel.

With a view to them both exploring the chateau together, the ever-unreliable Harry had hoped that Emily could take a much needed break as they’d visit it together. This was where the child bride of King John, Queen Isabelle, had hidden her jewels during the siege upon Chinon many years ago. Another mystery is soon discovered by Emily as well, this time involving yet another Isabelle, a chambermaid from the second world war, who had fallen for a German soldier. Following in the wake of what became a tragedy, Emily decides to investigate for herself.

Becoming embroiled in the past, Emily discovers the truth behind Chinon as she explores the chateau, ancient dungeons and the surrounding town learning the many secrets it has to offer. Will she ever find out the truth of Chinon and what happened to the Isabelles? What exactly did happen to Harry and just where did he disappear to? Can Emily put everything together and find out what she needs in time or will it all be too late?