Hilary Spurling

Hilary Spurling is an acclaimed English biographer and journalist renowned for her meticulously researched works. She gained widespread recognition for her two-volume biography of Henri Matisse, the second installment of which earned her the Whitbread Prize (now the Costa Book Award) in January 2006. Her other notable work includes "Burying The Bones: Pearl Buck in China," published in March 2010, which explores the life of the Nobel Prize-winning author against the backdrop of early 20th-century China.

Spurling's writing is distinguished by its depth of insight and vivid storytelling, often illuminating lesser-known aspects of her subjects' lives. Her biographies combine rigorous scholarship with narrative flair, making complex historical figures accessible to a broad audience. Beyond her literary achievements, she is married to playwright John Spurling and is the mother of three children, Amy, Nathaniel, and Gilbert, as well as a grandmother of two.