Carroll, Claudia 1970(?)–

PERSONAL:

Born in Dublin, Leinster, Ireland, c. 1970. Education: Graduated from University College Dublin, the College of Music, and the Gaiety School of Acting, Dublin, Ireland.

ADDRESSES:

Home— Dublin, Ireland.

CAREER:

Actress, writer. Fair City, Irish soap opera, Dublin, Ireland, starring as Nicola Prendergast, 1990-2005; previously appeared in various programs, including Chasing Dreams,1982, and Sightings of Bono,2000.

WRITINGS:

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, Bantam Books (London, England), 2004.

Last of the Great Romantics, Bantam Books (London, England), 2005.

Remind Me Again Why I Need a Man, Bantam Books (London, England), 2006.

I Never Fancied Him Anyway, Bantam Books (London, England), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Claudia Carroll was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and works there still as an actress and a writer. She has performed in various films and television programs, but she is best known for her role on the popular Irish television soap opera,Fair City, on which she played Nicola Prendergast for well over a decade. Carroll started writing later in the course of her career, though she had the idea for her first novel in mind for fifteen years before she began to work on it. The result was He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. The original inspiration came when Carroll was working as a young actress at the ancestral home of the project's director, which was being used as a set for part of the film. The home was actually a castle, and at that dramatic location, it occurred to Carroll that much of what was going on behind the cameras was far more intriguing than the story being filmed. The concept of a story about a film crew working at a stately country home followed naturally. Reviewing the book for the RTE Entertainment Web site, Linda McGee noted that "the book is filled with energy from the off and brimming over with enthusiasm in each new chapter." Sarah Broadhurst, writing for the Love Reading Web site, dubbed the book a "totally delicious romp."

Carroll's follow-up books include Last of the Great Romantics, Remind Me Again Why I Need a Man, and I Never Fancied Him Anyway. Remind Me Again Why I Need a Man, set in Dublin and heavily influenced by Carroll's upbringing, tells the story of a thirty-seven-year-old, single television producer called Amelia Lockwood, who is trying to find a man. Feeling desperate, she signs up to take a class designed to help women in her situation. The majority of the book looks back at her past relationships, often humorously, as Amelia struggles to see where she has been going wrong. Anika Fajardo, in a review for Library Journal, remarked that "with its older heroine, it may [appeal to] readers outgrowing … chick lit but not yet ready for mom lit." Kristine Huntley, reviewing for Booklist, praised the good pacing, finding the book "buoyed by a charming cast of characters." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly favored Carroll's strong voice and characterization, also remarking that "Carroll works the work vs. love trade-off with outrageous comic detours."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 2007, Kristine Huntley, review of Remind Me Again Why I Need a Man, p. 21.

Library Journal, May 1, 2007, Anika Fajardo, review of Remind Me Again Why I Need a Man, p. 69.

Publishers Weekly, April 30, 2007, review of Remind Me Again Why I Need a Man, p. 140.

ONLINE

Books at Transworld Web site,http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/ (November 11, 2007), author interview.

Fantastic Fiction Web site,http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/ (November 11, 2007), author profile.

Internet Movie Database,http://www.imdb.com/ (November 11, 2007), author biography.

Love Reading Web site,http://www.lovereading.co.uk/ (November 11, 2007), Sarah Broadhurst, review of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.

RTE Entertainment Web site,http://www.rte.ie/ (November 11, 2007), review of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.

Sarah Webb Web site,http://www.sarahwebb.info/ (November 11, 2007), "My Writing Life: Claudia Carroll."