Valerie Martin (born 1948, Missouri) is an American novelist and short story writer. She has also taught at Mount Holyoke College, The University of New Orleans, The University of Alabama, and Sarah Lawrence College, among other institutions.

Her novel, Property (2003) won the prestigious Orange Prize. Her other works include Set in Motion (1978), Alexandra (1979), A Recent Martyr (1987), The Great Divorce (1993), and Italian Fever (1999).

Her 1990 novel, Mary Reilly, a retelling of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from the point of view of a servant in the doctor's house, was released in 1996 as the Columbia TriStar Pictures film, Mary Reilly. It is directed by Stephen Frears and stars John Malkovich as Dr. Jekyll and Julia Roberts as Mary.

In 2001, the film Surface Calm was released, based upon her story.

External links

• 1990 audio interview of Valerie Martin by Don Swaim

1948 births | Living people | American novelists | Mount Holyoke College faculty | Sarah Lawrence College faculty