Welcome to the official website of late Angela Carter, novelist, poet, short story writer & one of the most original voices in the 20th century English literature.

This website is aimed at the general reader.   It contains information on her books, her publishers, how to contact the Estate as well as news about forthcoming reissues, other books and links to interviews and articles.


Eileen Cooper on illustrating Nights at the Circus

The acclaimed British artist talks illustrating her first novel , as The Folio Society releases a new edition of a 20th-century classic resplendent with Eileen’s art.

A tale of love, magic, circuses and lies, Nights at the Circus is now available in a glorious new edition from distinguished publishers The Folio Society. With illustrations by celebrated printmaker Eileen Cooper, the release marks the novel’s first-ever illustrated edition. The book also comes accompanied by an exhibition of Cooper’s work, with an introduction by renowned novelist Sarah Waters.

In our interview, we learn more about Eileen Cooper’s work and vision for the book, including nine original colour lino-cut collages and a monoprint title page spread. All of the pieces perfectly suit Angela Carter’s wildly original storytelling and gorgeously slippery language, and what Waters describes as the author’s unique power to ‘unsettle as well as to inspire and console.’

A Royal Academician, Eileen has credited fairy tales, mythology and the female figure as core inspirations for her work, making her the perfect artist to bring the late Carter’s lush imagery to life. Each illustration is bold, striking, impossible to look away from. The chapter headings feature the ordinary and extraordinary totems of the life story of the half-woman, half-swan Sophie Fevvers. The tale recounts journalist Jack Walser’s quest to expose Sophie as a fraud, but who instead finds himself captivated by her beauty and strangeness, in a book widely regarded as a classic of British literature. (read more)


Recent News

Nights at the Circus Online Exhibition
Angela Carter’s novel Nights at the Circus formed the point of departure for Eileen Cooper’s forthcoming exhibition at Sims Reed
Illustrated edition of Nights at the Circus
The Folio Society are issuing a lavish, illustrated edition of Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus, with dazzling artwork by
Eileen Cooper on illustrating Angela Carter
The acclaimed British artist talks illustrating her first novel in a Creative Boom exclusive, as The Folio Society releases a
Fairy Tale Day 2021: short stories from Grimm to Angela Carter
Delve back into your childhood or discover a brand-new book with our selection of tomes (from the Independent) Whether it

Selected Works

Burning Your Boats

book cover: Burning Your Boats
 This volume presents Carter's considerable legacy of short fiction gathered from published books, and includes early and previously unpublished stories ...

American Ghosts…

book cover: American Ghosts and Old World Wonders
A collection of short stories which tear through the archives of cinema, of art and of the subconscious. A young ...

Black Venus

book cover: Black Venus
Black Venus (also published as Saints and Strangers), is an anthology of short fiction. Angela Carter takes real people and ...

Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces

book cover for Fireworks Nine Profane Pieces
In this collection of nine short stories, Carter pinpoints the symbolism of city streets and weaves allegories around forests and ...