Suzanne Berne (born January 17, 1961, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

) is an American novelist known for her foreboding character studies involving unexpected domestic and psychological drama in bucolic suburban settings. Berne's debut novel, '' A Crime in the Neighborhood'', won the 1999

Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

Life

Berne attended

Georgetown Day School Georgetown Day School (GDS) is an independent coeducational PK-12 school located in Washington, D.C. The school educates 1,075 elementary, middle, and high school students in northwestern Washington, D.C. Russell Shaw is the current Head of Sch ...

. She was educated at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

and the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

, and received a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

fellowship. Berne has taught at both

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

. She is an associate English professor at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

. Berne currently lives in Boston with her husband and two daughters.

Career

Berne's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, '' A Crime in the Neighborhood'', won the

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

. The novel, set in 1972, is told through the eyes of ten-year-old Marsha, and chronicles the murder of a young boy in a quiet suburb of

, against the backdrop of the unfolding

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...

scandal. ''The Ghost at the Table'' explores the dramatic territory between two sisters' differing versions of their shared history. ''A Perfect Arrangement'' tells of the complex and increasingly disturbing relationship between a normal suburban family and their exceptionally perfect nanny.

Works

*''Ladies, Gentlemen, Friends and Relations'', University of Iowa, 1985 *''A Crime in the Neighborhood: A Novel'', Algonquin Books, 1997, *''The Ghost at the Table'', Algonquin Books, 1997, (reprint 2007, ) *''A Perfect Arrangement: A Novel'', Algonquin Books, 2001, *''Missing Lucile: Memories of the Grandmother I Never Knew'', Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2010, *

References

External links

Suzanneberne.net
20th-century American novelists American women novelists Living people Novelists from Washington, D.C. Wesleyan University alumni Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Harvard University faculty Wesleyan University faculty Boston College faculty 1961 births 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Massachusetts Novelists from Connecticut Georgetown Day School alumni American women academics {{US-novelist-1960s-stub