Claire Messud, "a novelist of unnerving talent" according to the New York Times, published her debut novel, When the World Was Steady, in 1995. That was followed by The Last Life in 1999 and The Hunters in 2001. In 2006 she released her most commercially successful and critically debated novel, the comedy of manners The Emperor’s Children. Her next book, The Woman Upstairs (2013), was named a New York Times Notable Book, a Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book, and graced best book of the year lists for several other notable publications. Messud studied at Yale and Cambridge universities and is currently a senior lecturer at Harvard University. Her latest book, The Burning Girl, traces the diverging friendship of two adolescent girls.

At Home With Claire Messud and James Wood in Vulture

Interview with Publishers Weekly