Sarah Hall Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Anthologies

About Sarah Hall

A British author of science-fiction and fantasy, Sarah Hall is well known for her imaginative and intelligent genre novels. Providing readers with a real sense of scope and scale, she definitely knows and understands how to capture their attention. Allowing her stories to come alive, she immerses her audience in her world, seeing them lose themselves deeply within it all. Letting her work ostensibly speak for itself, it delivers on every single level, offering an extremely creative perspective and outlook.

Saying something unique through her work too, she offers a clear message that underlies all of her work, writing, and fiction. This approach to the format has successfully achieved for her a huge worldwide following of her work, as they eagerly await each release with anticipation. Making sure her readers feel as though they’re a part of her worlds that she creates, she offers a unique experience through her work. Paying attention to every single detail, she leaves nothing out, making sure it’s well laid out every single step of the way.

Another key aspect of her work and writing is that of her characters and the fully fleshed out personalities that she creates for them. It really is a testament to her success and skill as a writer that she fully establishes actual real, living and breathing people in her fiction. Setting herself apart from other writers truly, she really is in a league all of her very own, as she’s unsurpassed in her genre and field. Her output wont be slowing down any time soon either, as her writing career carries on growing at an ever expanding rate.

Early and Personal Life

Born in Carlisle, Cumbria, in England, in 1974 on the 1st of January, she would grow with a strong interest in the written word. Over time this fascination of hers developed, as she would go on to find her own voice and distinctive approach to writing. Continuing it throughout her education as well, she would come to refine and hone her own style, while also being inspired by own environment and other writers.

Attending Aberystwyth University she’d gain an English and Art History degree before going on to take an MLitt for Creative Writing from the University of St Andrews. Teaching creative writing herself, she would lecture at the Arvon Foundation, where she would regularly provide courses there. Starting out as a poet there, she would publish numerous poems in a variety of different literary magazines, as she continues to write to this day.

Writing Career

The first novel that Sarah Hall would write and publish was titled ‘Haweswater,’ which would come out in 2002. Making a name for herself it would win the 2003 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize the following year as the ‘Overall Winner’ and ‘Best First Book.’ Following this up with her second book, ‘The Electric Michelangelo,’ it would be shortlisted for the ‘Man Booker Prize’ in 2004, including other awards as well.

In 2007 she would go on to publish her third book titled ‘The Carhullan Army,’ which won the ‘John Llewellyn Rhys Prize’ that very same year. Many other prizes have been won as well, and she also works in numerous creative writing workshops, offering her assistance to others. Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2016, she remains a key member of the literary establishment with her stories and poems to this day.

The Electric Michelangelo

First published on the 18th of March in 2004, this would be a stand-alone novel that would go on to win multiple awards. Well-written, the story is not a part of any series as such, and is easily accessible, with it having some lyrical prose the really flows. Taking place between the 1910s to the 1940s, it’s a period piece with it being a historical novel grounded in reality.

Following Cy Parks from his childhood in a seaside guest house with his mother who was a consumptive, it sees him grow up to become a tattoo-artist. Apprentice to Eliot Riley, he soon departs for America hoping to test out skills and gain some real experience with his art. Setting up business as ‘The Electric Michelangelo,’ he finds himself in a carnival environment surrounded by freak-shows and roller-coasters. Then he becomes enraptured by Grave, an Eastern European circus performer there, as she commissions him to cover her body with eyes.

It’s definitely a unique and intriguing premise, capturing a snapshot in time from the past, bringing it to life once more. A lot of research has clearly gone into it, and it’s beautifully written, giving it a really interesting perspective that’s different. The characters themselves all feel real and authentic, as the reader becomes really invested in the protagonist and his outcome overall.

How to Paint a Dead Man

Another historical novel, this would initially come out through ‘FaberFaber’ in 2009 on the 4th of June to critical acclaim again. Not a part of any series, it moves through from the 1960s to present day, capturing a variety of events throughout its narrative. With a strong cast of characters, it’s also a lyrically written book with a lot of prose that’s not only beautiful, but easy to follow.

Taking place across almost five decades in total, this sees the lives of four individuals intertwine, as they all come together. There’s the blind girl, the dying painter, the art curator, and the landscape artist, as their paths all cross with one another. Starting in Italy in the 1960s, it sees the painter considering the many losses of his past, and a blind girl later tends to his grave. Moving to England sometime later, it sees a painter in Cumbria, along with his daughter living in modern day London dealing with the death of her twin brother.

The novel itself has a lot of scope and ambition to it, and is a story with a lot of weight and power to it, giving it some considerable heft. With characters that really capture the imagination from the outset, it’s easy to keep reading, finding what come next in the story. As a journey itself it’s hugely engaging, and it deals with a number of weighty ideas and themes, which it manages in a sensitive and sincere manner making it a must.