Atkinson, Kate. (b. 1951).

L i f e

- born in England, currently resident in Edinburgh

W o r k

- magic realism: blends everyday life with fantastic events

- introduces an anti-Family Saga: a tragi-comic parody of the traditional family chronicle

- preoccupied with revealing dark family secrets: infidelity, illegitimacy, violence, abuse, even incest

- plays with chronology, juxtaposes past and present, and easily moves characters about in space and time

Behind the Scenes at the Museum (1995):

- a novel following four generations of women in a middle-class English family

- concerned with the impact of the two World Wars, failing marriages, and tragic deaths of children

Human Croquet (1997):

- a novel set in mid-20^th and 16^th centuries

- follows an adolescent girl's search in her mother's love history and her own youthful yearning for love

Emotionally Weird (2000):

- a novel set on a desolate and lonely island off the coast of Scotland

- narrated by a mother and daughter who reflect on their past

- the daughter recalls her high times during university studies > includes farcical episodes featuring idiosyncratic professor and student types

Abandonment (2000):

- a theatre play

Not the End of the World (2002):

- a short story collection

Case Histories (2004) and One Good Turn (2006):

- her latest novels