Valerie Martin

Valerie Martin (née Metcalf; born March 14, 1948) is an American novelist and short story writer. Her novel Property won the Orange Prize for Fiction. In 2012, The Observer named Property as one of "The 10 best historical novels".

Early life Martin was born in Sedalia, Missouri, to John Roger Metcalf and Valerie Fleischer Metcalf. Her father was a sea captain She was raised in New Orleans from the age of three, attending public elementary school and a Catholic high school She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Orleans in 1970 and graduated from the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1974.

While at the University of Alabama, Martin lived a few blocks away from novelist Margaret Atwood and they became friends. Martin was the first person to read the completed manuscript of Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, claiming she told Atwood that the book would make her rich. Atwood returned the favor and read some of Martin's then-unpublished works, and liked them enough to send them to editor and publisher Nan A. Talese, who has remained Martin's editor ever since. The short film Surface Calm (2001), directed by Michael Miley, is based on her short story of the same title from her first book, Love (1977).

With her niece, poet Lisa Martin, she has written a trilogy of children's books about cats named Anton and Cecil.

Her historical fiction novel The Ghost of the Mary Celeste, was published in 2014, and Sea Lovers: Selected Stories appeared in 2016. In a 2016 interview, Martin described how Sea Lovers: Selected Stories was greatly inspired by her fear of the sea and the increasing effects of climate change on the natural world.

Martin's 2024 historical fiction novel, Mrs. Gulliver, was published to mixed reviews. One review called the novel "irresistible", but another wrote that it "lacks the punch of Martin's earlier works".

Personal life She was married to artist Robert M. Martin from 1970 until their divorce in 1984. They had one daughter, Adrienne, She enjoys gardening.

Works

Novels Set in Motion (1978) Alexandra (1979) A Recent Martyr (1987) Mary Reilly (1990) The Great Divorce (1994) Italian Fever (1999) Property (2003) Trespass (2007) The Confessions of Edward Day (2009) The Ghost of the Mary Celeste (2014) I Give It To You (2020) Mrs. Gulliver (2024)

Collections Love: Short Stories (1977) The Consolation of Nature, and Other Stories (1988) The Unfinished Novel and Other Stories (2006) Sea Lovers (2015)

Anthologies "Nemesis" in A Darker Shade of Noir: New Stories of Body Horror by Women Writers (2023)

Non-fiction Salvation: Scenes from the Life of St. Francis (2001)

Children's Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea (2013) Anton and Cecil: Cats on Track (2015) Anton and Cecil: Cats Aloft (2016)

Awards and honors Louisiana Endowment for the Arts grant (1983) Nebula Best Novel nominee (1991): Mary Reilly Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction Best Book winner (2003): Property Louisiana Writer Award (2010) Guggenheim Fellowship (2011)