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Fran Dorf Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Fran Dorf

Fran Dorf

Fran Dorf Biography

Fran Dorf was born in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1953. As a teenager, she read voraciously, wrote poetry and stories, and began working on a novel at the age of sixteen. She graduated from high school in 1971. She attended Boston University's School of Public Communication, which she credits with instilling in her the basics of good, crisp writing, and from which she graduated cum laude in 1975.

After giving birth to her daughter, she went back to graduate school to study psychology. During this time, she began to write fiction for the first time as an adult. It quickly captivated her and overtook her intent to pursue a career as a psychologist. In 1985, she received a master's degree in psychology from New York University, and in 1990, published her first novel, A Reasonable Madness, a story about a psychiatrist and his patient. She followed this with Flight, in 1992. Both novels were Literary Guild book club selections, and received critical acclaim, in America, Germany, and internationally. A Reasonable Madness has been translated into nine foreign languages. While both of these novels explore human passions and combine elements of the thriller or mystery with magical or supernatural touches, they are primarily thrillers. Saving Elijah, being published in June, 2000, represents a departure. The tragic death of her son in 1994 has had a profound effect on her life, which she hopes has had a transforming and deepening effect on her work. Part family drama and part ghost story, Saving Elijah represents the culmination of that transformation to date.

Fran Dorf lives near New York City with her husband.

Fran Dorf's website

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Books by this Author

Books by Fran Dorf at BookBrowse
Saving Elijah jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Fran Dorf but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Joan Didion

    Joan Didion

    Joan Didion (1934-2021) was born in Sacramento, CA, the daughter of an officer in the Army Air Corps. A shy, bookish child, Didion spent her teenage years typing out Ernest Hemingway stories to learn how sentences work. She ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Saving Elijah

    Try:
    The Year of Magical Thinking
    by Joan Didion

  • Jodi Picoult

    Jodi Picoult

    Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five novels, including Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Saving Elijah

    Try:
    My Sister's Keeper
    by Jodi Picoult

We recommend 5 similar authors

View all 5 Read-Alikes

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