Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 3, 2026

Bella Bathurst

Bella Bathurst is an English writer, photojournalist, and furniture maker. Her book The Lighthouse Stevensons won the 2000 Somerset Maugham Award.

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Jul 3, 2026
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Bella Bathurst (born in 1969 in London)1 is an English writer, photojournalist, and furniture maker. Her book The Lighthouse Stevensons won the 2000 Somerset Maugham Award.23

Biography

Bathurst was born in London and presently lives in Scotland.45 She lost "her hearing in her twenties and then unexpectedly regaining it twelve years later," which she explores in her 2017 book Sound.678

Aside from writing, Bathurst has worked as a freelance journalist, photographer, and illustrator.1 Her writing has appeared in such publications as The Guardian,9 The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Observer, The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday, The Sunday Times, and The Washington Post.

Awards

The Lighthouse Stevensons won the 2000 Somerset Maugham Award23 and was nominated for the 1999 Guardian First Book Award.510 List Magazine named it one of the "100 Best Scottish Books of all time."5 Booklist and Publishers Weekly gave the book starred reviews.1112

Special was longlisted for the Orange Prize6 and was generally well-received among British press.

Sound received starred reviews from Shelf Awareness.13

Publications

  • The Lighthouse Stevensons (1999)
  • Special (2002)
  • The Wreckers: A Story of Killing Seas and Plundered Shipwrecks, from the 18th-Century to the Present Day (2005)
  • The Bicycle Book (2011)
  • The Omega Point: The search for the secret of human consciousness (2015)
  • Sound: A Story of Hearing Lost and Found (2017)
  • Field Work: What Land Does to People What People Do to Land (2021)
References

References

  1. "Bathurst, Bella 1969–". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  2. "The Wreckers: A Story of Killing Seas and Plundered Shipwrecks, from the 18th Century to the Present Day by Bella Bathurst". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  3. "Somerset Maugham Awards". The Society of Authors. 2020-05-08. Archived from the original on 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  4. "Bella Bathurst". Granta. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  5. "Bella Bathurst - Literature". British Council. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  6. "Bella Bathurst". AM Heath Literary Agents. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  7. Kim, Stefani (2017-12-15). "Greystone Books to Publish 'Sound,' a Story of 'Silence and Noise,' by Bella Bathurst". The Hearing Review. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  8. Shulman, Nicola. "All ears: 'Stories of Hearing Lost and Found' by Bella Bathurst reviewed by Nicola Shulman". The Oldie. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  9. "Bella Bathurst". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  10. "Guardian first book award: all the winners". The Guardian. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  11. "The Lighthouse Stevensons: The Extraordinary Story of the Building of the Scottish Lighthouses by the Ancestors of Robert Louis Stevenson". Booklist. 1999-09-01. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  12. "The Lighthouse Stevensons: The Extraordinary Story of the Building of the Scottish Lighthouses by the Ancestors of Robert Louis Stevenson". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  13. "Sound: A Memoir of Hearing Lost and Found". Shelf Awareness. November 2, 2018. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
External links