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Helen Fitzgerald Books In Order

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Publication Order of Helen Fitzgerald Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Helen FitzGerald is a popular Australian-born English author and screenwriter. She is known for writing mystery, thriller, and young adult stories and has achieved international bestselling status. Some of her most popular works include Dead Lovely, Bloody Women, hot Flush, The Exit, The Donor, The Devil’s Staircase, The Duplicate, Viral, My Last Confession, and a few others. FitzGerald made her debut in 2007 with the novel called Dead Lovely. Her books have been published by Allen & Unwin and Faber & Faber publications. FitzGerald’s 2013 novel, The Cry, was adapted into a BBC serial in 2018 that starred Ewen Leslie and Jenna Colman in the lead roles. Author FitzGerald was born on September 21, 1966, in Shepparton, Australia. She was the 2nd youngest among the 13 children of her parents and was brought up in a small county town called Kilmore in Victoria, Australia.

FitzGerald studied History and English at Melbourne University. Following this, she took trips to London and India and finally arrived in Glasgow to obtain her master’s degree and a diploma in Social Work from Glasgow University. Following her graduation, FitzGerald took up the work of a criminal justice social worker on a full-time basis. At the same time, she also started writing and dreaming about becoming an established novelist someday. For a brief period, FitzGerald was involved in working with the serious sex offenders in the Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow. After a while, she quit her social work job and began focusing on her writing career solely. However, she later returned to work as a part-timer. FitzGerald claims that her experience in the field of social work has inspired her to come with different subjects to write her novels. She even tried her hand at writing scripts for several education dramas for children for BBC Scotland.

When none of the subsequent screenplays penned by her were produced, FitzGerald got frustrated with screenwriting and decided to move back to novel writing again. FitzGerald believes that the screenwriting rules are quite stringent, but agrees that they have helped her to learn a lot and improve as a writer. Though most of the books written by her are thrillers, she likes to describe them as ‘Domestic Noir’, a term coined by a fellow author named Julia Crouch. Several critics noted that the first book of the author, which was generally labeled as a crime fiction novel, didn’t follow the genre’s traditional rules. They also argued that the novel belonged to a more psychologically complex and different tradition. The plot was characterized by flawed anti-heroines and dark humor, which are generally seen in the works of authors like Fay Weldon and Tama Janowitz.

Various critics such as Sally Murphy, novelist Cath Kenneally, and writer Mark Abernethy have given critical reactions to FitzGerald’s first novel and have labeled it as appalling, compelling, and intriguing. Out of all the novels that FitzGerald has penned so far, the one that achieved the widest critical acclaim is The Cry. Many critics have described it as astonishingly good, completely plausible, harrowing, remarkable, and constant nerve-shredding. The novel plays on the darkest, deepest fears of the parents about their kids. FitzGerald’s excellent works have helped her receive nominations of a few prestigious awards in her career. She has been nominated for the Spinetingler Award and the Davitt Award for The Devil’s Staircase in 2010. FitzGerald received another Davitt Award nomination for The Donor in 2012. In 2014, she received two nominations for her book The Cry, namely, the Davitt Award and the Theakstons Old Peculiar Crime Book of the Year Award. FitzGerald is married to a screenwriter named Sergio Casci and has two children. She lives with her family in Glasgow.

A well-known book written by author Helen FitzGerald is entitled ‘The Donor’. It was released in 2011 by the Faber & Faber publication. FitzGerald has mentioned the lead characters in this book in the form of Will Marion, Kay Marion, Georgie Marion, and a few others. The book opens by showing that Will Marion has twin daughters, Kay and Georgie. His wife left him when the kids were just months-old. So, Will looked after his daughters and raised them. He reaches his later forties when his daughters turn 16. For raising Kay and Georgie and earning for the family, Will worked in a boring job. One day, Georgie falls sick and Will learns that she has suffered kidney failure. She urgently needs a kidney transplant or else she might not live to see her adulthood. But the problem is that her type is very rare.

Seeing her daughter suffering daily and undergoing painful dialysis, Will decides to donate one of his kidneys to her. However, more problems befall on the family when Kay also suffers from kidney failure. Her type is also quite rare. Will Marion finds himself in a dilemma as he doesn’t know what to do. He loves both his daughters and wants both of them to live. But, with only one kidney left with him, he prays to God to help save his daughters. Will is not willing to lose either one of them and wants to live too. A different solution comes to mind, but that too looks quite terrible.

Another interesting novel penned by FitzGerald is called ‘Deviant’. It was published by the Soho Teen publication in 2013. The important characters depicted in this novel include Abigail, Becky, and a few others. Initially, it is mentioned that the mother of 16-year-old Abigail dies at her home in Scotland. She leaves a cryptic letter, a faded picture, and a ticket to the US to go find her real mother. Abigail questions herself as to why she should search the woman who left her when she was small and forced her to live in foster homes. But, when she looks at the letter, it appears to be a surprise to her. Abigail learns that her father resides in California and she has an 18-year-old sister named Becky. What’s more surprising for her is that they know her existence and are expecting her to come and live with them. It takes Abigail some time to get rid of her natural suspicions and start loving her new found sister. The story takes a shocking turn when Becky dies due to a drug overdose. Losing her sister, whom she had recently grown close to, breaks Abigail’s heart. She struggles with her feelings and sits down to compile a book of remembrance of the short life of her sister. Soon after, she ends up uncovering a horrifying plot that was prepared to control teen behavior and had vast implications. This global plot was also responsible for the deaths of her mother and her sister.

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