Evans, Harriet 1974-

PERSONAL:

Born 1974, in London, England; father and mother both in publishing business. Education: Attended University of Bristol.

ADDRESSES:

Home—England.

CAREER:

Writer. Worked for Lady magazine in London, England; Penguin (publisher), London, secretary for seven years; Headline (publisher), London, staff member, 2003—.

WRITINGS:

Going Home (novel), Downtown Books (New York, NY), 2006.

A Hopeless Romantic (novel), HarperCollins (London, England), 2006, Downtown Press (New York, NY), 2007.

The Love of Her Life, HarperCollins (London, England), 2008.

Contributor to a magazine as a high school student.

SIDELIGHTS:

Harriet Evans was born 1974, in London, England. She has worked various jobs in the publishing industry, including as a secretary and as a publisher, and is the author of a number of novels, including Going Home, A Hopeless Romantic, and The Love of Her Life.

In Going Home, Lizzy Walker heads home for the holidays, only to discover that her parents have decided that they must sell the family homestead, a choice that will put an end to a lifetime of memories that Lizzy has of growing up and spending time there with her loved ones. Unwilling to give up her childhood home so easily, Lizzy sets out to find a way to save the property. Lynne Welch, writing for Booklist, found the book to be "an engaging first-person recounting of a watershed six months in one young woman's life." Stephanie Schneider, reviewing for the Romantic Times Online, commented that "Evans takes her time revealing both the plot and her characters' places in it."

A Hopeless Romantic spawned a contest for readers shortly before it was published, for which people were encouraged to send in postcards with their own hopeless romantic stories on them. One postcard writer would be chosen as the contest winner and receive a set of lovely prizes, including tickets to the musical version of Dirty Dancing. The book itself follows the trials and tribulations of Laura Foster, a young woman who swears off her search for the perfect man when she manages to not only lose her job, but also send her friends and family rushing to keep away from her as a result of her behavior. Despite her misery, she agrees to go with her parents on a trip to visit a great English estate, one of the last in the country to remain intact. As she wanders around the property, bored, she comes across Nick, the estate manager. He's good looking and easy to talk to, but she is not in the market for a man, so none of that really matters. Nick, however, finds her charming and down to earth, and decides to ask her out. It is only after several meetings that Laura discovers her initial mistake in thinking Nick was merely the manager of the estate. In reality, he is a marquis who has every marriageable woman in England after him. Horrified, and determined not to succumb to her growing attraction and feelings for Nick, Laura runs back to London to hide. But is she letting her fear stand in the way of what could actually be the most positive relationship of her life? In a review for Booklist, contributor Maria Hatton remarked: "Wonderfully written, this tragicomic contemporary Cinderella tale will totally enthrall readers."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 15, 2006, Lynne Welch, review of Going Home, p. 27; October 15, 2007, Maria Hatton, review of A Hopeless Romantic, p. 38.

ONLINE

Romantic Times Online,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (September 22, 2008), Stephanie Schneider, review of Going Home.