Hilary Thayer Hamann Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Random House Reader's Circle Books

Hilary Thayer Hamann is a well known American writer, who likes to write novels and stories based on fiction and young adult genres. She is particularly famous for writing her debut book, Anthropology of an American Girl. This book tells the story of a teenage protagonist named Eveline Auerbach, who searches for authenticity in her life. Author Hamann has described the story in first person voice of the lead character. This book is more of a semi-autobiographical literary book containing the examination of cultural and social pressures that cause hindrances in the life of individuals in living a meaningful life. The book was self-published by author Hamann in 2003. It was edited and re-published in 2010 by an imprint of the Random House called Spiegel & Grau. During both the publications the book received critical praise from one and all and was highly appreciated. Many critics often compare the book to The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger. Besides this bestselling book, author Hamann has edited, co-written, and released a nonfiction, art and science book, which was also praised by the critics. Even the educators and scientists liked the book very much. This 2006 book called Categories is seen as a multi-disciplinary educational tool that makes use of literature and art for broadening the understanding of the readers about challenging material. The writer of Einstein’s Dreams, Alan Lightman, has described Categories as a beautiful synthesis of art & science that pleases the mind and eye. Several other science writers labeled the book as a wonderful work that will help provoke thoughts in arts & science lovers alike, and such thought will help to inspire to preserve life’s beauty on Earth.

Author Hamann’s birth took place in New York City. Her parents divorced each other when she was very small, and so she had to divide her time between her father’s and other family members’ home in Bronx and the home of her mother in Manhattan. Later, Hamann’s mother shifted to Long Island after taking a job at the East Hampton High School as a biology teacher. Because of this, author Hamann had to again divide her time between Long Island and Bronx, spending summers with her father and winters with her mother in Hamptons. Being a young girl living in Hamptons, author Hamann got involved in the community theater. Between her ages of nine and nineteen, she had taken part in more than 30 plays. Some of the plays she was involved in were produced by the Guild Hall of East Hampton. Her roles in the plays ranged from a female lead to property mistress to director and writer. Author Hamann likes to credit her theater experience as a young and enthusiastic person with having given a proper direction to her life. Hamann studied at the New York University and obtained her BFA degree in Dramatic Writing and Film and Television Production from the Tisch Arts School. She also earned her MA degree in the subject of Cinema Studies from Graduate School of Arts and Science. Author Hamann also holds a post graduate certificate in the Ethnographic Filmmaking. Hamann was later accepted into a graduate program of film-making at Tisch School, but she declined to take up this program due to some personal reasons. Hamann is one of the founding members of the Tisch Alumni Council of NYU. Author Hamann started her career as an assistant to the former principal dancer of NYC named Jacques d’Ambroise, who is the founder of the NDI. She has dedicated her book on education and arts to Jacques. When Hamann was at NDI, she oversaw the project and script development and also produced her own short film called We Real Cool. This short film was directed by the winner of an Academy Award named Emile Ardolino. Author Hamann has set the story on the poem of Gwendolyn Brooks with the same name. She started writing while being involved with freelance jobs in the publishing of New York, television industries, and independent films. Author Hamann is the co-owner of a print, graphic design, product, and production company in Solo, NYC. The experience of owning the company inspired her to begin a publishing company called Vernacular Press. This press focuses on book packaging and content development.

The debut novel written by Hilary Thayer Hamann is entitled ‘Anthropology of an American Girl’. This book features the lead character in the role of Eveline Auerbach. She is depicted as a teenage girl, who looks for authenticity. Author Hamann wrote this coming of age story revolving around Eveline as a semi-autobiographical description. Eveline is shown as a young lady living at the time of the Reagan era. Hamann gained inspiration to write this book after taking up anthropology courses. Initially, the book was released by Hamann’s Vernacular Press in 2003. She had not given the manuscript to any publisher or agent for publication. But, after her publishing company was shut down in 2007, Hamann allowed the book to be purchased by other publishing houses. Eventually, Spiegel Grau bought the publication rights and released it 2 months later. Its paperback version was published in 2011. Several versions of this book have also been released in Italy, Australia, and the United Kingdom. In spite of receiving overwhelming responses, some critics criticized the novel for being lengthy. The Philadelphia City Paper described the book as analytic and lyrical. It also stated that the character examination’s depth generates the sympathetic and powerful backbone of the novel and propels a coming-of-age story for the new generation. However, the paper also hinted at the novel being overly lengthy.

The Newcity Lit said that the novel gives a vocabulary of a new age in the contemporary world, but it also felt that the book was a bit too lengthy. Several other literary magazines like Washington Post and New Zealand Listener labeled the book as an honest, vivid, and remarkable achievement. Author Hamann was praised for bringing the voice of a woman that seems fresh and filled with feeling. They added that after a long and unnecessary description of the high school days the novel goes on to attain a gravitas, which seems quite unexpected. The character of Eveline Auerbach begins to appear like Jane Austen and George Eliot towards the climax of the story. Anthropology was also mentioned as ambitious and vast like the country. The long description of the story of the book seems like an exegesis on the significances of true love and first, which appear to be 2 different phenomena in Hamann’s book. Some critics have compared the novel with ‘War and Peace’ because of its extensive characters and many pages. Overall, the book became a success and motivated author Hamann to move ahead in her career with confidence and begin work on her next book.