Geraldine Brooks at a Glance

Full Name: Geraldine Brooks

How to Pronounce: JER-uhl-deen BROOKS

Born: September 14, 1955

Nationality: Australia, United States

Education:

• University of Sydney (BA, Government and Fine Arts)
• Columbia University (MA, Journalism)

Genres:

• Historical fiction
• Literary fiction

Biography & Background

Geraldine Brooks Biography

Geraldine Brooks is an acclaimed Australian American writer and journalist. Raised in Sydney, she began her career writing for her hometown paper, The Sydney Morning Herald, before a scholarship brought her to study and work in the United States. There, she became an international correspondent for The Wall Street Journal; her experiences in the Middle East and the Balkans would inform later works like 2008’s People of the Book and 1994’s Nine Parts of Desire, a work of nonfiction about women’s experiences in Muslim societies. It was while working as a journalist that Brooks met her husband, Tony Horwitz (1958-2019), with whom she had two sons. She currently lives in Martha’s Vineyard but visits Australia frequently.

Brooks published her debut novel, Year of Wonders, in 2001; she had a young child at the time and was searching for a project that would not require her to be away from home for long stretches of time (Daqqa, Hanna. “The Courage to Fictionalize History: Conversation with Geraldine Brooks.” Fairfax County Times, 24 Oct. 2019). Since then, she has published an additional five novels, all of which were New York Times bestsellers and enjoyed critical success, including nominations for various awards. Brooks largely writes historical fiction, although the subject matter varies widely, with settings ranging from biblical Israel and Judah to 19th-century America. In 2025, she published a memoir entitled Memorial Days about the sudden loss of her husband.

Fun Facts About Geraldine Brooks

• Brooks began horseback riding in her fifties and credited her horse, Valentine, as a source of inspiration while writing her 2022 novel Horse. (“Horse: Q&A with Geraldine Brooks.” Geraldine Brooks).
• Brooks was a contributor to the 2017 book Kingdom of Olives and Ash, a compilation of essays about the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.
• While reporting on protests against Shell oil company in Nigeria, Brooks was imprisoned for three days (Green, Penelope. “At Home With: Geraldine Brooks, on Martha’s Vineyard.” The New York Times, 7 Jun. 2022).

Geraldine Brooks’s Awards & Honors

• 2006 — Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (March)
• 2016 — Order of Australia appointee
• 2023 — Indie Book Award (Horse)

Interviews & Podcasts

Hear from Geraldine Brooks in her own words.

Interviews with Geraldine Brooks

_{PBS NEWS HOUR}

Author Geraldine Brooks Delves into an Untold Story of a Racehorse and His Caretaker (July 8, 2022)

Brooks discusses Horse, which reimagines the story of Lexington, a forgotten racehorse from the 1850s, and the Black horsemen who helped shape his legacy. The conversation touches on race, history, and the importance of undoing the erasure of Black individuals from the historical record by telling their stories.

_{THE NEW YORK TIMES}

By the Book: Geraldine Brooks Had an Unpleasant Surprise When She Taught at Harvard (June 16, 2022)

In this lighthearted Q&A, Brooks shares her literary influences, favorite books, and her experiences teaching at Harvard. Readers will enjoy her candid reflections on reading, writing, and the unexpected challenges of academia.

Podcasts with Geraldine Brooks

_{READ THIS}

How Geraldine Brooks Became a Novelist (July 27, 2024)

Brooks recounts her transition from journalism to fiction writing, detailing how her upbringing and reporting experiences shape her storytelling.

_{CONVERSATIONS}

How Geraldine Brooks Learned to Live Again Through Grief (March 5, 2025)

In this deeply personal discussion with Richard Fidler of the Conversations podcast, Brooks reflects on the loss of her husband, fellow writer Tony Horwitz, and how writing her first memoir, Memorial Day, helped her process grief. A moving episode that highlights the intersection of personal experience and creative expression.

Geraldine Brooks Quotes

In journalism, you often know more than you can write. You have an instinct, but you can’t use it. But in a novel, that instinct is the story. You get to the line of fact and you can take a swan dive into “it might have been like this.”

— from an interview with The New York Times (At Home With: Geraldine Brooks, on Martha’s Vineyard, 2022)

For to know a man’s library is, in some measure, to know his mind.

— March (2005)

Book burnings. Always the forerunners. Heralds of the stake, the ovens, the mass graves.

— People of the Book (2008)

I borrowed his brightness and used it to see my way, and then gradually, from the habit of looking at the world as he illuminated it, the light in my own mind rekindled.

— Year of Wonders (2001)

We are not the only animal that mourns; apes do, and elephants, and dogs. Yet we are the only one that tortures. […] Even the classics that we read to our young children are full of wolves’ fangs and burning ovens and bloody feet and ice shards piercing hearts.

— from an interview with Slate (Marinated in Cruelty, 2002)

Notable Books by Geraldine Brooks

People of the Book (2008)

Inspired by the true story of the Sarajevo Haggadah, People of the Book traces the journey of a Jewish manuscript across centuries of war, exile, and cultural preservation. The novel follows rare book expert Hanna Heath as she uncovers the secrets hidden in the book’s pages, revealing the lives of those who protected it. Brooks blends historical fiction with mystery to explore themes of religious tolerance, identity, and resilience.

Check out SuperSummary’s study guide.

March (2005)

This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel reimagines Little Women from the perspective of the girls’ absent father, an idealistic chaplain serving in the Civil War. The novel offers a harrowing look at the moral complexities of war, the abolitionist movement, and the cost of personal convictions. Brooks gives voice to a character only briefly mentioned in Louisa May Alcott’s novel, delivering a deeply researched and emotionally resonant retelling.

Check out SuperSummary’s study guide.

Caleb’s Crossing (2011)

Set in 17th-century colonial America, Caleb’s Crossing fictionalizes the story of Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, the first Indigenous American to graduate from Harvard. Narrated by Bethia Mayfield, who meets and befriends Caleb when she is 12 years old, the novel examines the intersection of indigenous and Puritan cultures, the costs of assimilation, and the power of education. Rich historical detail and lyrical prose make this an insightful exploration of identity and survival.

Check out SuperSummary’s study guide.

Authors Like Geraldine Brooks

Hilary Mantel

Recommended Read: Wolf Hall (2009)

Like Brooks, Hilary Mantel masterfully reconstructs history with vivid detail and psychological depth. Wolf Hall, the first book in a trilogy, reimagines the rise of King Henry VIII’s powerful advisor, Thomas Cromwell. Mantel’s immersive storytelling, attention to historical accuracy, and nuanced character development will appeal to readers who enjoy Brooks’s approach to bringing historical figures to life.

Explore the full breakdown with SuperSummary’s study guide.

Percival Everett

Recommended Read: James (2024)

Everett, like Brooks, reshapes classic narratives through a fresh lens. James reinterprets The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man at the heart of Mark Twain’s classic novel. The book interrogates race, freedom, and storytelling itself, much like Brooks’s March reimagines Little Women through the lens of war and abolitionism.

Uncover more about this novel with SuperSummary’s study guide.

Abraham Verghese

Recommended Read: The Covenant of Water (2023)

Brooks fans who appreciate sprawling, multigenerational historical fiction will find much to love in Verghese’s The Covenant of Water. Set in Kerala, India, the novel explores themes of medicine, faith, and family over a century, bringing history alive with a deeply researched narrative and evocative prose.

Ready to dig in? Check out SuperSummary’s study guide.

Follow Geraldine Brooks

Connect with Geraldine Brooks on the following platforms:

• Website: geraldinebrooks.com
• Facebook: Geraldine Brooks
• Instagram: @ozbrooks
• Threads: @ozbrooks
• X: @geraldinebrooks