View source for Rose Tremain

{{Short description|English writer}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
| honorific_prefix = [[Dame]]
| name = Rose Tremain
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DBE|FRSL}} 
| image =
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1943|08|02}}
| birth_place = [[London]], England
| birth_name  = Rosemary Jane Thomson
| occupation = Novelist
| language = English
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| education = 
| alma_mater = [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]]<br>[[University of East Anglia]] <small>(BA)</small>
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| influences = 
| awards = [[Orange Prize]] (2008)<br/>[[1999 Whitbread Awards|Whitbread Award]] (1999)<br>[[Prix Femina Étranger]] (1994)<br>[[James Tait Black Memorial Prize]] (1992)<br>[[Sunday Express Book of the Year]] (1989)<br>[[Giles Cooper Award]] (1984)
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'''Dame Rose Tremain''' (born 2 August 1943) is an English novelist, short story writer, and former Chancellor of the [[University of East Anglia]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-22142504|title=Writer is new university chancellor|date=14 April 2013|work=BBC News|access-date=24 November 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Life==
Rose Tremain was born '''Rosemary Jane Thomson''' on 2 August 1943 in [[London]] to Viola Mabel Thomson and Keith Nicholas Home Thomson.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Tremain, Dame Rose, (born 2 Aug. 1943), novelist and playwright|url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-38001|access-date=2 August 2021|website=WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO|language=en|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U38001|isbn=978-0-19-954088-4}}</ref> Her paternal great-grandfather is [[William Thomson (bishop)|William Thomson]], who was [[Archbishop of York]] from 1862 to 1890.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|title=Thomson, William (1819–1890), archbishop of York |year= 2004|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-27330|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/27330}}</ref>

She was educated at [[Francis Holland School]], Crofton Grange School, the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] (1961–1962) and the [[University of East Anglia]] (BA, English Literature).<ref name="Rustin">{{cite news|last=Rustin|first=Susanna|title=Costume dramatist|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/may/10/featuresreviews.guardianreview5|newspaper=The Guardian|date=9 May 2003}}</ref> She later went on to teach creative writing at the [[University of East Anglia]] from 1988 to 1995, and was appointed [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-22142504 |title=Novelist Rose Tremain appointed as new UEA chancellor |work=BBC News |date=14 April 2013 |access-date=9 May 2014}}</ref>

She married Jon Tremain in 1971 and they had one daughter. The marriage lasted about five years. Her second marriage, to theatre director Jonathan Dudley, in 1982, lasted about nine years; and she has been in a relationship with [[Richard Holmes (biographer)|Richard Holmes]] since 1992.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/may/10/featuresreviews.guardianreview5|title=Profile: Rose Tremain|last=Rustin|first=Susanna|date=10 May 2003|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=24 November 2018}}</ref> She lives in [[Thorpe St Andrew]] near [[Norwich]] in [[Norfolk]].<ref>Author Notes from 2002 [[Vintage Books|Vintage]] edition of ''Sacred County''.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/journeys-home-rose-tremain-reflects-on-the-past-and-her-present-life-writing-in-the-south-of-france-1916174.html |first=Boyd|last=Tonkin|author-link=Boyd Tonkin|title=Journeys home: Rose Tremain reflects on the past and her present life writing in the south of France |newspaper=The Independent |date=5 March 2010 |access-date=9 May 2014}}</ref><ref>[https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/rose-tremain-receives-damehood-from-the-queen-1510364 Norfolk novelist Rose Tremain receives damehood from Queen] Retrieved 24/6/22.</ref>

==Writing==
Her influences include [[William Golding]], author of ''[[Lord of the Flies]]'', and [[Gabriel García Márquez]]'s 1967 novel ''[[100 Years of Solitude]]'' and the [[magical realism]] style.<ref name=":0" />

She is a historical novelist who approaches her subjects "from unexpected angles, concentrating her attention on unglamorous outsiders".<ref name="Rustin"/>

In 2009, she donated the short story ''The Jester of Astapovo'' to Oxfam's "[[Ox-Tales]]" project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the "Earth" collection.<ref>[http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/content/books/books_oxtales.html Oxfam: Ox-Tales] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090520182004/http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/content/books/books_oxtales.html |date=20 May 2009 }}</ref>

She became a Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Literature]] in 1983.<ref name=":1" /> Already [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE), Tremain was appointed [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (DBE) in the [[2020 New Year Honours]] for services to writing.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=62866|supp=y|page=N8|date=28 December 2019}}</ref>

==Awards and honours==
*1984 [[Dylan Thomas Prize]]<ref name=":1" />
*1984 [[Giles Cooper Award]], ''Temporary Shelter'' (play)
*1989 [[Sunday Express Book of the Year]], ''[[Restoration (Tremain novel)|Restoration]]''<ref name=":1" />
*1989 [[Booker Prize]], shortlist, ''Restoration''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://themanbookerprize.com/1989|title=1989 {{!}} The Man Booker Prizes|website=themanbookerprize.com|access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref>
*1992 [[James Tait Black Memorial Prize]], ''[[Sacred Country]]''<ref name=":1" />
*1994 [[Prix Femina Étranger]], ''Sacred Country''<ref name=":1" />
*1999 [[1999 Whitbread Awards|Whitbread Award]], ''[[Music and Silence]]''<ref name=":1" />
*2008 [[Women's Prize for Fiction|Orange Prize]], ''[[The Road Home (novel)|The Road Home]]''<ref>{{Cite news|last=Aspden|first=Peter|date=5 June 2008|title=Tremain novel on plight of a migrant wins Orange prize|work=[[Irish Times]]|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/tremain-novel-on-plight-of-a-migrant-wins-orange-prize-1.1216824}}</ref>
*2012 [[Wellcome Book Prize]], shortlist, ''[[Merivel: A Man of His Time]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/random-house-gets-four-nods-wellcome-trust-book-prize.html |title=Random House gets four nods for Wellcome Trust Book Prize |work=The Bookseller |first=Charlotte |last=Williams |date=15 October 2012 |access-date=9 November 2012}}</ref>
*2013 [[Walter Scott Prize]], shortlist, ''[[Merivel: A Man of His Time]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bordersbookfestival.org/walter-scott-prize/item/208-shortlist-2013-walter-scott-prize-announced |title=Shortlist for 2013 Walter Scott Prize Announced |publisher=Borders Book Festival |access-date=15 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607073644/http://www.bordersbookfestival.org/walter-scott-prize/item/208-shortlist-2013-walter-scott-prize-announced |archive-date=7 June 2013  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bordersbookfestival.org/walter-scott-prize/item/249-tan-twan-eng-wins-walter-scott-prize |title=Tan Twan Eng wins The Walter Scott Prize |publisher=Borders Book Festival |date=14 June 2013 |access-date=15 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908015806/http://www.bordersbookfestival.org/walter-scott-prize/item/249-tan-twan-eng-wins-walter-scott-prize |archive-date=8 September 2013  }}</ref>
*2016 [[National Jewish Book Award]] for ''The Gustav Sonata''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30754|title=Past Winners – Fiction|website=Jewish Book Council|language=en|access-date=20 January 2020}}</ref>
*2016 [[Costa Book Awards]] (novel), shortlist, ''The Gustav Sonata''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/22/costa-book-award-2016-shortlists-dominated-by-female-writers-rose-tremain-maggie-o-farrell-sarah-perry|title=Costa book award 2016 shortlists dominated by female writers|last=Cain|first=Sian|date=22 November 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=11 May 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
*2017 [[Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction]], longlist, ''The Gustav Sonata''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk/reading-room/news/announcing-2017-longlist|title=Announcing the 2017 longlist...|date=6 March 2017|website=Women's Prize for Fiction|access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref>
*2017 [[Ribalow Prize]] for ''[[The Gustav Sonata]]''<ref name="2017Fiction">{{cite news |title=Rose Tremain's 'Gustav Sonata' wins Ribalow Prize for Jewish fiction |url=https://www.jta.org/2018/01/25/culture/rose-tremains-gustav-sonata-wins-ribalow-prize-for-jewish-fiction |access-date=11 June 2019 |publisher=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |date=25 January 2018}}</ref>
*2024 [[Walter Scott Prize]], shortlist, ''Absolutely and Forever<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-02 |title=Walter Scott Prize 2024 shortlist announced |url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2024/05/02/251309/walter-scott-prize-2024-shortlist-announced/ |access-date=2024-05-10 |publisher=Books+Publishing}}</ref>''

==Selected bibliography==

===Novels===
* ''[[Sadler's Birthday]]'' (1976), {{ISBN|0-356-08387-X}}
* ''Letter to Sister Benedicta'' (1978), {{ISBN|0-354-04353-6}}
* ''The Cupboard'' (1981), {{ISBN|0-354-04769-8}}
* ''Journey to the Volcano'' (1985), {{ISBN|0-241-11651-1}}
* ''The Swimming Pool Season'' (1985), {{ISBN|0-241-11496-9}}
* ''[[Restoration (Tremain novel)|Restoration]]'' (1989), {{ISBN|0-241-12695-9}}
* ''[[Sacred Country]]'' (1992), {{ISBN|1-85619-118-4}}
* ''The Way I Found Her'' (1997), {{ISBN|1-85619-409-4}}
* ''[[Music and Silence]]'' (1999), {{ISBN|1-86056-027-X}}
* ''[[The Colour (novel)|The Colour]]'' (2003), {{ISBN|0-7011-7296-7}}
* ''[[The Road Home (novel)|The Road Home]]'' (2008), {{ISBN|978-0-09-947846-1}}
* ''[[Trespass (novel)|Trespass]]'' (2010 [[W.W. Norton]]), {{ISBN|978-0-099-47845-4}}
* ''[[Merivel: A Man of His Time]]'' (2012), {{ISBN|978-0701185206}}
* ''[[The Gustav Sonata]]'' (2016), {{ISBN|9781784740030}}
* ''Islands of Mercy'' (2020), {{ISBN|9781784743314}}
* ''Lily: A Tale of Revenge'' (2021), {{ISBN|9781784744564}}
* ''Absolutely & Forever'' (2023), {{ISBN|978-1784745202}}

===Collections of short stories===
* ''The Colonel's Daughter and other stories'' (1983)
* ''The Garden of the Villa Mollini and other stories'' (1987)
* ''[[Evangelista's Fan and Other Stories]]'' (1994)
* ''The Darkness of Wallis Simpson and other stories'' (2006)
* ''The American Lover'' (2014)

===For children===
* '' Journey to the Volcano'' (1985)

===Memoir===
* ''Rosie: Scenes from a Vanished Life'' (2018)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* Susanna Rustin, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/may/10/featuresreviews.guardianreview5 "Costume dramatist"], ''The Guardian'', 10 May 2003.
* Blake Wilson, [http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/stray-questions-for-rose-tremain/ "Stray Questions for: Rose Tremain"] (interview), ''The New York Times'', 15 May 2009.
* Sian Cain, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/22/costa-book-award-2016-shortlists-dominated-by-female-writers-rose-tremain-maggie-o-farrell-sarah-perry "Costa book award 2016 shortlists dominated by female writers"], ''The Guardian'', 22 November 2016.

{{Chancellors of the University of East Anglia}}
{{Women's Prize for Fiction}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tremain, Rose}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People educated at Francis Holland School]]
[[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century English novelists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of East Anglia]]
[[Category:Chancellors of the University of East Anglia]]
[[Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Costa Book Award winners]]
[[Category:English women novelists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature]]
[[Category:James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients]]
[[Category:Prix Femina Étranger winners]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:21st-century English women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century English women writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Norfolk]]
[[Category:People from Thorpe St Andrew]]
[[Category:Women's Prize for Fiction winners]]
[[Category:20th-century British women novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century British women novelists]]