Jessie Burton Popular Books

Jessie Burton Biography & Facts

Jessica Kathryn Burton (born 17 August 1982) is an English author; As of 2022, she has published four novels, The Miniaturist, The Muse, The Confession, The House of Fortune and two books for children, The Restless Girls and Medusa. All four adult novels were Sunday Times best-sellers, with The Miniaturist, The Muse and The House of Fortune reaching no. 1, and both The Miniaturist and The Muse were New York Times best-sellers, and Radio 4's Books at Bedtime. Collectively her novels have been published in almost 40 languages. Her short stories have been published in Harpers Bazaar US and Stylist.Burton is also a non-fiction writer. Her essays have been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, Vogue, Elle, Red, Grazia, Lonely Planet Traveller and The Spectator. Early life and career Burton studied at Lady Margaret School, Brasenose College, Oxford, and the Central School of Speech and Drama.A former stage actress, Burton's work in theatre includes The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other at the National Theatre, London in 2008. Having aimed to be "a successful stage actress", by the age of 28 she had stalled in this career, and "could see the writing on the wall - the dream to be the next Kate Winslet wasn’t going to happen. I never fell out of love with acting, it fell out of love with me"; difficulty in getting auditions meant she worked temp jobs, including as a personal assistant in the City of London. Writing career Burton's 2014 debut novel The Miniaturist is set in 17th-century Amsterdam. The novel is inspired by Petronella Oortman's dollhouse now at the Rijksmuseum, although it does not otherwise attempt to be a biographical novel. The Miniaturist took over four years to write. It was the subject of a bidding war at the April 2013 London Book Fair. It was adapted as a two-part miniseries for the BBC and PBS Masterpiece in 2017. Burton's second novel, The Muse, was published in 2016 and is set in a dual time-frame, during the Spanish Civil War and 30 years later in 1960s London. It was nominated for the 2016 Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards.Burton's first novel for children, The Restless Girls, was published in September 2018. The story is based on the Brothers Grimm tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses.Her third novel for adults, The Confession, was published in 2019. Medusa, her second book for children, was published in 2021.The House of Fortune, a sequel to The Miniaturist, was published in 2022. Works Adult novelsThe Miniaturist (Picador, 2014) The Muse (Picador, 2016) The Confession (Picador, 2019) The House of Fortune (Picador, 2022)Children's booksThe Restless Girls (Bloomsbury, 2018) Medusa (Bloomsbury, 2021)Awards and recognitions 2014 Waterstones "Book of the Year" winner for The Miniaturist 2014 Specsavers National Book Awards: New Writer of the Year for The Miniaturist 2014 Specsavers National Book Awards: Book of the Year for The Miniaturist 2023 Carnegie Medal: Shortlisted for MedusaReferences External links Official website. Discover the Jessie Burton popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jessie Burton books.

Best Seller Jessie Burton Books of 2024

  • The Gaze synopsis, comments

    The Gaze

    Elif Shafak

    A beautiful and compelling novel, Elif Shafak's The Gaze considers the damage which can be inflicted by our simple desire to look at others"I didn't say anything. I didn't return h...

  • The Smallest Man synopsis, comments

    The Smallest Man

    Frances Quinn

    ‘I want you to remember something, Nat. You’re small on the outside. But inside you’re as big as everyone else. You show people that and you won’t go far wrong in life.’  A co...

  • The Wild Air synopsis, comments

    The Wild Air

    Rebecca Mascull

    In Edwardian England, aeroplanes are a new, magical invention, while female pilots are rare indeed. When shy Della Dobbs meets her mother's aunt, her life changes forever. Great Au...

  • The Enchanted April synopsis, comments

    The Enchanted April

    Elizabeth Von Arnim

    'This delicious confection will work its magic on all' Daily TelegraphThe discreet advertisement in The Times, addressed 'To Those who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine', offers a ...

  • Crime and Punishment synopsis, comments

    Crime and Punishment

    Fyodor Dostoyevsky & Oliver Ready

    'A truly great translation . . . This English version really is better' A. N. Wilson, The SpectatorTIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2014This acclaimed new translation o...

  • Paris By Starlight synopsis, comments

    Paris By Starlight

    Robert Dinsdale

    A magical new novel from the acclaimed author of THE TOYMAKERS, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Erin Morgenstern.'A spellbinding tale of nocturnal life and magic in the streets...

  • Sin Eater synopsis, comments

    Sin Eater

    Megan Campisi

    “For fans of The Handmaid’s Tale...a debut novel with a dark setting and an unforgettable heroine...is a riveting depiction of hardwon female empowerment” (The Washington Post).The...

  • You Are My Sunshine synopsis, comments

    You Are My Sunshine

    Katie Flynn

    Kay Duffield's fiancé is about to leave the country, and her own duty with the WAAF is imminent when she becomes a bride. The precious few days she spends with her new husband ...

  • The House at the Edge of the World synopsis, comments

    The House at the Edge of the World

    Julia Rochester

    LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION AND SHORTLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE 2016Part mystery, part psychological drama, Julia Rochester's The House at the Ed...

  • The Lost Storyteller synopsis, comments

    The Lost Storyteller

    Amanda Block

    'A powerful novel about the bond between fathers and daughters, and how stories connect us all. I loved it' Jenny Colgan THE LOST STORYTELLER is the heartwarming and evocative debu...

  • Cunning Women synopsis, comments

    Cunning Women

    Elizabeth Lee

    ONE OF GRAZIA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2021'I loved it. Atmospheric and so good' MARIAN KEYES 'A dark, bewitching and captivating read that had my heart in my mouth by the ending' JENNIFER ...

  • Once Upon a River synopsis, comments

    Once Upon a River

    Diane Setterfield

    From the instant #1 New York Times bestselling author of the “eerie and fascinating” (USA TODAY) The Thirteenth Tale comes a “swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful” (Madelin...

  • Protection synopsis, comments

    Protection

    Helen Dunmore

    Penguin Specials are designed to fill a gap. Written to be read over a long commute or a short journey, they are original and exclusively in digital form. This is a chilling tale...

  • Bright Morning synopsis, comments

    Bright Morning

    Don Haworth

    A sequel to "Figures in a Bygone Landscape", which traced the author's childhood in the 1920s, this volume recaptures the world of the 1930s in Lancashire. Don Haworth ...

  • All Visitors Ashore synopsis, comments

    All Visitors Ashore

    C. K. Stead

    As their freinds leave for Europe and the government gets tough with the unions, a bohemian community is enjoying the euphoria of youth.It was their dreamtime. The wider world beck...

  • The Forsyte Saga synopsis, comments

    The Forsyte Saga

    John Galsworthy

    In this second part of John Galworthy's trilogy of love, power, money and family feuding, a new generation has arrived to divide the Forsyte clan with society scandals and conflict...

  • The Flea Palace synopsis, comments

    The Flea Palace

    Elif Shafak

    By turns comic and tragic, Elif Shafak's The Flea Palace is an outstandingly original novel driven by an overriding sense of social justice.Bonbon Palace was once a stately apartme...

  • Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, 1892-1895 synopsis, comments

    Ward No. 6 and Other Stories, 1892-1895

    Anton Chekhov & Ronald Wilks

    These stories from the middle period of Chekhov's career show him exploring complex, ambiguous and often extreme emotions. Influenced by his own experiences as a doctor, 'Ward No. ...

  • The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini synopsis, comments

    The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini

    Benvenuto Cellini

    Benvenuto Cellini was a celebrated Renaissance sculptor and goldsmith a passionate craftsman who was admired and resented by the most powerful political and artistic personalities...

  • The Princesse De Cleves synopsis, comments

    The Princesse De Cleves

    Madame Lafayette

    Set towards the end of the reign of Henry II of France, The Princesse de Clèves (1678) tells of the unspoken, unrequited love between the fair, noble Mme de Clèves, who is married ...

  • The Warden synopsis, comments

    The Warden

    Anthony Trollope

    The first book in Anthony Trollope's Barchester Chronicles is a moving, insightful exploration of moral dilemmas fought in public and private. ...

  • The Mango Orchard synopsis, comments

    The Mango Orchard

    Robin Bayley

    As a child, Robin Bayley was enchanted by his grandmother's stories of Mexican adventures: of bandits, wild jungle journeys, hidden bags of silver and a narrow escape from the bloo...

  • The Vanishing synopsis, comments

    The Vanishing

    Sophia Tobin

    'Think Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, but ten times darker, and you have The Vanishing … as dark and eerie and gothic as the Yorkshire Moors it is set on. One ...

  • The Tenderness of Wolves synopsis, comments

    The Tenderness of Wolves

    Stef Penney

    10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION FEATURES READING GROUP QUESTIONS AND NEW MATERIAL FROM STEF'S UPCOMING EPIC NOVEL, UNDER A POLE STARCOSTA AWARD WINNER and WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER. A brea...

  • The Hound of the Baskervilles synopsis, comments

    The Hound of the Baskervilles

    Arthur Conan Doyle

    "Mr Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"The terrible spectacle of the beast, the fog of the moor, the discovery of a body: this classic horror story pits detectiv...

  • The Forsyte Saga synopsis, comments

    The Forsyte Saga

    John Galsworthy

    In this final volume of The Forsyte Saga Galsworthy writes about the lives and loves of the Cherrell family, cousins of the Forsytes. For centuries, the Cherrell sons have left the...

  • Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw synopsis, comments

    Daisy Miller and The Turn of the Screw

    Henry James

    "I'm a fearful, frightful flirt! Did you ever hear of a nice girl that was not?"This edition contains two of Henry James's most popular short works. Travelling in Europe with her f...

  • Postcards to Europe synopsis, comments

    Postcards to Europe

    Various Authors

    This is not a book about politics. It is a book about what makes us British, and what makes us European.Spend time with some of your favourite writers and artists in this truly uni...

  • Snow synopsis, comments

    Snow

    Ellen Mattson & Sarah Death

    'The sky was now a block of darkness, punctured only by driving snow. The stars had gone out, the king was dead. And the wound on his arm refused to heal.' So begins Snow, the firs...

  • The Lark synopsis, comments

    The Lark

    Edith Nesbit

    'A charming and brilliantly entertaining novel... shot through with the lighthearted Nesbit touch' Penelope Lively, from the introduction"When did two girls of our age have such a ...

  • Kill All Enemies synopsis, comments

    Kill All Enemies

    Melvin Burgess

    Everyone says fourteenyearold BILLIE is nothing but trouble. A fighter. A danger to her family and friends.But her care worker sees someone different. Her classmate ROB is big, str...

  • That Bonesetter Woman synopsis, comments

    That Bonesetter Woman

    Frances Quinn

    ‘What a heroine Endurance Proudfoot is! I loved her from the start. An unconventional woman who takes us on a fascinating if bumpy ride through a man’s world. I laughed, cried an...

  • The English Girl synopsis, comments

    The English Girl

    Katherine Webb

    From Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author, Katherine Webb, The English Girl is perfect for fans of Dinah Jefferies, Kate Morton and Santa Montefiore.In a land full of secrets, y...

  • Without a Trace synopsis, comments

    Without a Trace

    Mari Hannah

    'Involving, sophisticated, intelligent and suspenseful' Lee Child'A gripping, twisty police procedural' Shari Lapena'Sets off at a cracking pace from page one and never slows down'...

  • Monsieur Ka synopsis, comments

    Monsieur Ka

    Vesna Goldsworthy

    'A beautiful haunting novel… looking at a familiar London through a frosty, snowy lens. Wonderful' Caryl PhillipsThe London winter of 1947 is as cold as St Petersburg during the Re...

  • The Toymakers synopsis, comments

    The Toymakers

    Robert Dinsdale

    An enchanting, magical novel set in a mysterious toyshop perfect for fans of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus and Stephanie Garber's Caraval by way of Jessie Burton's The Minia...

  • The House of Ulloa synopsis, comments

    The House of Ulloa

    Emilia Pardo Bazán & Paul O'Prey

    This rich and unforgettable story of sexual intrigue and political scheming, written by the Spanish feminist and intellectual Emilia Pardo Bazan, deserves recognition as one of the...

  • Kipps synopsis, comments

    Kipps

    H.G. Wells & Professor Simon James

    Orphaned at an early age, raised by his aunt and uncle, and apprenticed for seven years to a draper, Artie Kipps is stunned to discover upon reading a newspaper advertisement that ...

  • Get Started in Writing Young Adult Fiction synopsis, comments

    Get Started in Writing Young Adult Fiction

    Juliet Mushens

    Learn how to write young adult fiction with imagination and verve.This is an authoritative and engaging introduction to writing young adult fiction for the complete beginner. It w...

  • A Shadow on the Lens synopsis, comments

    A Shadow on the Lens

    Sam Hurcom

    'Gothic, claustrophobic and wonderfully dark' GUARDIAN1904. Thomas Bexley, one of the first forensic photographers, is called to the sleepy Welsh village of Dinas Powys. A yound gi...

  • The Honey and the Sting synopsis, comments

    The Honey and the Sting

    Elizabeth Fremantle

    'A lush, thrilling pageturner humming with its own exquisite dark beauty. I loved it!' Eve Chase, author of The Glass House'Fremantle builds the tension with delicious skill in thi...

  • Cousin Bette synopsis, comments

    Cousin Bette

    Honoré de Balzac & Marion Crawford

    Poor, plain spinster Bette is compelled to survive on the condescending patronage of her socially superior relatives in Paris: her beautiful, saintly cousin Adeline, the philanderi...