Esther Freud author page

Esther Freud biography

Esther Freud was born in London in 1963. She studied drama in London from 1979 and worked as an actress in theatre and television before becoming known as a novelist.

Her first novel, Hideous Kinky, was published in 1992, was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was adapted into a film starring Kate Winslet. After her second novel, Peerless Flats, she was chosen as one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists in 1993.

Her novels include The Sea House, Mr Mac and Me, I Couldn’t Love You More, Love Falls, Lucky Break, My Sister and Other Lovers, Peerless Flats, Summer at Gaglow and The Wild. She has also narrated audiobook editions of Hideous Kinky and My Sister and Other Lovers.

Freud’s first full-length play, Stitchers, was produced in London in 2018. Her first book for children, Enchanted Beach, was scheduled for publication in summer 2025.