Muir, Kate 1964-

PERSONAL:

Born 1964; married Ben MacIntyre (a writer); children: three. Education: Graduate of Glasgow University and Cardiff University.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Times, 1 Virginia St., London E98 1SY, England.

CAREER:

Journalist and writer. Times, London, England, "Dark Ages" columnist, previously worked as a foreign correspondent in Paris, New York, and Washington, DC.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Amnesty International Award for feature writing.

WRITINGS:

Arms and the Woman, Sinclair-Stevenson (London, England), 1992.

The Insider's Guide to Paris, Robson (London, England), 1999.

Suffragette City, Macmillan (London, England), 1999.

Left Bank (novel), Viking (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

A journalist and travel writer, Kate Muir has also written nonfiction books and a novel. In Arms and the Woman, Muir examines the relatively recent phenomenon of women entering the military. Denise Perry Donavin, writing in Booklist, noted that Arms and the Woman "can offer guidance on dismantling the remaining barriers" to women playing important roles in the military. Muir's novel Left Bank tells of the gifted Olivier, a Parisian, and his American wife, Madison Malin. Olivier is a well-known intellectual in Paris and Madison a beautiful, former model whose life together appears to be the epitome of sophistication and happiness. However, their lives take a drastic turn when their daughter disappears from PlayWorld Paris. "From that moment, the shiny veneer of their bliss reveals itself to be as brittle as the caramelized gloss on a creme brulee," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Lisa Schwarzbaum, writing in Entertainment Weekly, referred to Left Bank as a "delicious comedy of manners" and a "sharp debut novel." In a review in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Karen Heller wrote: "In a world filled with unfunny trifles, Left Bank is that rare comic novel of manners, sparkling satire of a most deserving tribe." A Publishers Weekly contributor commented that Left Bank "is enriched by perceptions about culture, politics and the doomed love affair between America and France."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 1994, Denise Perry Donavin, review of Arms and the Woman, p. 1566; May 15, 2006, Mark Knoblauch, review of Left Bank, p. 25.

Entertainment Weekly, July 28, 2006, Lisa Schwarzbaum, review of Left Bank, p. 70.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2006, review of Left Bank, p. 433.

Philadelphia Inquirer, August 9, 2006, Karen Heller, review of Left Bank.

Publishers Weekly, May 29, 2006, review of Left Bank, p. 36.

ONLINE

Girlguiding Scotland Web site,http://www.girlguidingscotland.org.uk/ (November 27, 2006), "Kate Muir—Author/Columnist," interview with author.