Susan Kay (born 1952) is a British writer, the author of two award-winning novels: ''Legacy'' and '' Phantom''.

Biography

Kay was born on 1952 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, England. She worked as a primary school teacher until leaving to bring up a family, and now lives with her husband and two children in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

Works

Kay’s first novel was ''Legacy'' (1985), about the life of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

and won a Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize and a

Betty Trask Award The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the ...

in 1985. Her second novel, '' Phantom'' (1991), expands upon the history of Erik, the hideous, brilliant character from

Gaston Leroux Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (6 May 186815 April 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction. In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel '' The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, ...

's ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

'', in an episodic format of seven chapters from different characters' points of view – first Erik's mother, immediately revolted by her own son; then Erik as a boy being exhibited as a circus freak; then Giovanni, a character of Kay's creation, who takes him in; then Nadir, known in Leroux's novel as the Persian, who is greatly expanded upon and gives an account of Erik in the bloodiest days of his life; then Erik, describing how he settled into his role as Phantom of the Opera; then a back-and-forth narrative between Erik and

Christine Daaé Christine Daaé is a fictional character and the female protagonist of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel ''The Phantom of the Opera'' and of the various adaptations of the work. Erik, the Phantom of the Opera and Viscount Raoul de Chagny both fall in ...

, whom he loves obsessively; and lastly, Raoul de Chagny, Erik's rival, giving the denouement. She did not travel to Iran to research the novel, although she did research in person at the Paris Opera House. The novel won the

Romantic Novel of the Year Award The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year (now RoNA Rose Award). In 2018, awards were given t ...

by the Romantic Novelists' Association in 1991.

Bibliography

* ''Legacy'' (1985) * '' Phantom'' (1990)

References and sources

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Susan 1952 births Living people British women novelists 20th-century English novelists Writers from Manchester British historical novelists 20th-century British women writers Women historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period