Claire Messud

Claire Messud (born 1966) is an American novelist and literary critic. She is known for her sophisticated prose, intricate character studies, and explorations of identity, particularly focusing on the experiences of women, exiles, and immigrants.

Messud was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, to a French-Canadian mother and an Algerian-French father. This multicultural background significantly informs her writing, which often engages with themes of cultural displacement and the complexities of heritage. She was educated at Yale University and Cambridge University.

Her novels include:

• When the World Was Steady (1994)
• The Last Life (1999)
• The Emperor's Children (2006), a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Man Booker Prize.
• The Woman Upstairs (2013)
• The Burning Girl (2017)
• A Dream Life (2022)

In addition to her novels, Messud has published a collection of essays, Kant's Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write (2017). She has also contributed essays and reviews to publications such as The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Book Review, and The Guardian.

Messud is currently a professor of creative writing at Harvard University. Her work is often praised for its intelligence, psychological depth, and unflinching examination of human flaws and vulnerabilities.