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Harriet Evans

Goodreads author profile

url

http://www.goodreads.com/HarrietEvans

born

London, The United Kingdom

gender

female

website

http://www.harriet-evans.com/

twitter username

HarrietEvans

member since

June 2011

About this author

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Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/harrietevansb...

I was born in London in 1974 and grew up on the mean streets of Chiswick, where I went to school. I was a completely undistinguished pupil in every way, except I absolutely loved reading and drama. My only achievements from the age of 5 to 18 were, a) winning a doodling competition at primary school (of a witch flying in the sky with balloons in her hand), b) I was head chorister of the church choir, which believe me is not something that wins you cool points with anyone you know apart from your granny.

After school I went to Bristol University and did Classical Studies, which was great, I absolutely loved Bristol and I liked being a student and being with people who didn’t know my shame...more Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/harrietevansb...

I was born in London in 1974 and grew up on the mean streets of Chiswick, where I went to school. I was a completely undistinguished pupil in every way, except I absolutely loved reading and drama. My only achievements from the age of 5 to 18 were, a) winning a doodling competition at primary school (of a witch flying in the sky with balloons in her hand), b) I was head chorister of the church choir, which believe me is not something that wins you cool points with anyone you know apart from your granny.

After school I went to Bristol University and did Classical Studies, which was great, I absolutely loved Bristol and I liked being a student and being with people who didn’t know my shameful head chorister past. I left university and adventurously headed straight back down the motorway to London again.

I wanted to get into magazines, but the only place that would employ me was the Lady magazine, which turned out to be one of those awful first jobs where you think your working life will always be like this: I was wholly unequipped for office life, its politics, its mundanity, its tensions. I did, however, learn how one polishes chandeliers and a lot about interesting road signs in Devon.

A couple of months later I was lucky enough to get into publishing, first at Penguin, where I worked for seven years, progressing from secretary to editorial director, publishing mainly women’s fiction. I left in 2003 and went to another publisher, Headline, where I worked until May 2009.

In the meantime, I started writing in the mornings before work, and in 2003 I sent the first few pages of my book to an agent under a pseudonym. Eventually, to my great joy, this led to a publishing deal with HarperCollins in the UK and Simon and Schuster in the US, who have now published all five of my novels. FIVE books, that’s crazy!

In 2008 I left my job to write full time. I was extremely happy at Headline, working with authors such as Penny Vincenzi, Emily Barr, and Louise Bagshawe, and coming up with initiatives like rejacketing Jane Austen’s novels to appeal to a younger female audience. But it became harder to balance the two jobs, and writing won out, and I know I’m very fortunate to be in a position to write full time, though I missed the office something chronic the first year after I left. It’s awful going to work on a rainy Monday morning, but there’s something great about walking down the road with your iPod in and your coffee in your hand ready to attach another day. When you’re inside all day wearing loose clothing and glasses you don’t feel quite the same…!

I am passionate about commercial fiction, especially commercial women’s fiction, which seems to me to come in for an extraordinary amount of bile and patronising comment, in contrast to the same kind of books by men, which get reviewed, discussed, accepted into the canon with far greater ease. Books about young women’s lives, their jobs, romances, nights out, what they like doing, are seen as frippery and silly; books about young men’s lives covering exactly the same topics are discussed and debated, often accepted as valid and interesting contributions to the current social and media scene.

Last year my boyfriend and I bought a place together in Angel. I am getting used to living in North / East London - it’s strange being able to walk to Brick Lane when I’ve always been no more than 5 minutes from the M4 but I love it round here. I have my own study which is great - previously I was writing in bed or on the sofa, which is not conducive to knuckling down. It is conducive to having a quick nap though… I miss it.

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Harriet Evans's Blog

Hello!

Hi everyone, this is my first post for a lonnnnng while (ever? not sure). I love goodreads - it's not so big in the UK yet so I first heard about it in the US and now I am addicted to it. I am reading a lot more these days (had a baby girl last year which curtailed my reading style somewhat...) and in 2013 am on a roll - three books so far which is nothing much compared to what it used to be bu... Read more of this blog post »

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Published on February 19, 2013 03:14 • 85 views

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Harriet Evans's Books

Average rating: 3.67 · 9,688 ratings · 927 reviews · 15 distinct works · Similar authors

	A Hopeless Romantic 3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 3,255 ratings — published 2006 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Love of Her Life 3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 2,218 ratings — published 2008 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Going Home 3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 1,409 ratings — published 2005 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Remember You 3.41 of 5 stars 3.41 avg rating — 1,216 ratings — published 2009 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Love Always 3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 749 ratings — published 2011 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Happily Ever After 3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 817 ratings — published 2012 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Not Without You 3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Harriet Evans Boxed Set: Going Home, A Hopeless Romantic, The Love of Her Life, and an excerpt from Love Always 4.6 of 5 stars 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2011	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Subject of Gender: Daughters and Mothers in Urban China 4.5 of 5 stars 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2007 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bij ons thuis 3.0 of 5 stars 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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October 2009, Harriet Evans
" Quick Start SS: How would you describe your life in only 8 words? HE: Coffee, sunshine, London, flowers, books, too much TV... SS: What is your motto or maxim? HE: Do some work, you lazy cow. Get more on Harriet Evans at SimonandSchuster.com..." ...More

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Harriet Evans rated a book 5 of 5 stars

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by Rosamunde Pilcher

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Feb 11, 2013 01:02pm

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Harriet Evans is now friends with Ishani Vithanage
Jun 12, 2013 01:15pm · like
Harriet Evans wants to read Then Again by Diane Keaton	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 15, 2013 02:12pm
Harriet Evans and 27 other people liked Trish's review of Life After Life: " “There is a fine line between living and dying,” a character observes in Kate Atkinson’s new novel. And it does certainly seem to be the case here, in the midst of two world wars, during the Great Influenza, at the beginning of the twentieth centu... " Read more of this review »
Apr 18, 2013 03:03am · see review
Harriet Evans rated a book 4 of 5 stars Life After Life by Kate Atkinson read in April, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Amazing. Gah what a read. The only reason I didn't give this five stars is there are a couple of places where I feel the dazzling structure gets in the way of the actual development of the character and your investment in Ursula and the devastating e...more
Apr 18, 2013 03:02am · see review
Harriet Evans wants to read The Pinecone: The Story of Sarah Losh, Forgotten Romantic Heroine--Antiquarian, Architect, and Visionary by Jenny Uglow	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 21, 2013 03:14pm
Harriet Evans rated a book 5 of 5 stars September by Rosamunde Pilcher	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 11, 2013 01:02pm
Harriet Evans rated a book 5 of 5 stars The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard read in February, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 11, 2013 12:28pm
Harriet Evans rated a book 4 of 5 stars Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher read in January, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I LOVE Rosamunde Pilcher, nothing bad can EVER happen when I'm reading one of her books. Only half way through but loving this, even though it's still practically summer. Making me long for winter, nice.
Jan 21, 2013 03:59pm · see review
Harriet Evans rated a book 4 of 5 stars Death in a White Tie (Roderick Alleyn, #7) by Ngaio Marsh	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I love a bit of 30s high society crime a la Dorothy L Sayers and I hadn't read Ngaio Marsh for ages. Found a battered old green penguin in a 2nd hand bookshop and devoured it over a weekend. Brilliant, very much of its time, a beautiful, sinister and...more
May 12, 2012 01:47am · see review

More of Harriet's books…

Quotes by Harriet Evans

“You don't fall in love with someone because it's convenient.”
― Harriet Evans, A Hopeless Romantic

tags: love, timing, truth

50 people liked it

“Darling, you fall in love all the time. You can't run away just because it doesn't fit into your exact romantic dreamworld, you know.”
― Harriet Evans, A Hopeless Romantic

21 people liked it

“People don't fall in love with each other because it's convenient. They fall in love because they fall in love, and that's it.”
― Harriet Evans, A Hopeless Romantic

tags: love

17 people liked it

See all Harriet Evans's quotes »

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