Kate Morton
Kate Morton is an Australian author. She is known for her best-selling novels, including The House at Riverton, The Forgotten Garden, and The Distant Hours. Her seventh book, Homecoming, was published in April 2023.
Kate Morton

Rhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Kate Morton
- Birthplace
- Berri, South Australia
- Occupation
- Author
- Education
- Trinity College London Royal Academy of Dramatic Art University of Queensland
- Spouse
- Davin Patterson
- Born
- 1976 · Berri.
- Nationality
- Australia
- Fields
- literary activity · prose
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q465890 · wikipedia · Kate Morton
In this article
Biography
Biography
Kate Morton studied at University of Queensland, Trinity College London and Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is literary activity and prose. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are historical fiction. Places of work recorded in the authority are Brisbane. Residence is recorded at London.

Kate Morton firmando libros el Día de San Jordi, Barcelona (La fotografía está hecha el 23.04.2013)
Isabel Vazquez

Kate Morton firmando libros el Día de San Jordi, Barcelona (La fotografía está hecha el 23.04.2013)
Isabel Vazquez
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kate Morton • Birthplace — Berri, South Australia • Occupation — Author • Education — Trinity College London Royal Academy of Dramatic Art University of Queensland • Genres — General fiction • Spouse — Davin Patterson • Years Active — 2006–present • Website — http: www.katemorton.com/
Early life and education
Early life and education
• Illustration — Morton at a book signing in Barcelona, April 2013 Morton is the oldest of three sisters. Her family moved several times before settling on Tamborine Mountain where she attended a small country school. She enjoyed reading books from an early age, her favourites being those by Enid Blyton. She completed a Licentiate in Speech and in Drama from Trinity College London and then a summer Shakespeare course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Later she earned first-class honours in English Literature at the University of Queensland (1999) and won a scholarship to complete a master's degree focussing on tragedy in Victorian literature.
Writing career
Writing career
During her undergraduate studies she wrote two full-length manuscripts (which are unpublished) before writing The House at Riverton (The Shifting Fog), which was published in 2006. Her first published novel, The House at Riverton, was listed on Richard and Judy's 2007 Summer Read list in the UK, and sold 63,128 copies in its first week. This made Morton the second biggest-selling author in the UK after JK Rowling. As of October 2015, Morton had sold more than 16 million books in 42 countries, making her one of Australia's "biggest publishing exports".
Novels
Novels
• The House at Riverton (2006; also known as The Shifting Fog) Sunday Times #1 bestseller, New York Times bestseller, Winner - Richard and Judy Best Read of the Year 2007, General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2007 Australian Book Industry Awards, and nominated for Most Popular Book at the British Book Awards in 2008. Sainsbury's Popular Fiction Award Best Novel nominee (2008), Nielsen Gold Book Award 2010, Golden Pan Award UK 1,000,000 copies sold, Indie Next Outstanding Debut Winter 2009. • The Forgotten Garden (2008): New York Times bestseller, Sunday Times #1 bestseller, #1 bestseller Spain, Spiegel bestseller, winner of the ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year (2009), longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (2010) • The Distant Hours (2010): New York Times bestseller, #1 bestseller Spain, #1 bestseller Ireland Spiegel bestseller, commended in the Christina Stead Award, Fellowship of Australian Writers National Literary Awards (2010) • The Secret Keeper (2012): Sunday Times bestseller, New York Times bestseller, Spiegel bestseller, El País bestseller, winner of the General Fiction Book of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards (2013), winner of the Christina Stead Award, Fellowship of Australian Writers National Literary Awards (2012), winner of The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year (2013), finalist of the Best Translated Honkaku Mystery of the Decade (2010-2019). • The Lake House (2015): New York Times bestseller, Sunday Times bestseller, #1 bestseller in Australia, #1 bestseller in Canada, Der Spiegel bestseller, El País bestseller. • The Clockmaker's Daughter (2018): New York Times bestseller, Sunday Times bestseller, #1 bestseller in Australia, #1 bestseller in Canada • Homecoming (April 2023)
Personal life
Personal life
Morton is married to Davin Patterson, a jazz musician and composer. They have three children and live in London.
Identity
Identity
Kate Morton is recorded as writer and novelist.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1976
Kate Morton born at Berri.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- London
Named but not plotted · 1
Berri.
Birth place
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Kate Morton, revision 1371899167 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Kate Morton answers readers' questions. 14 January 2019.
- 2.A Writer's Life - Alumni and Community - The University of Queensland, Australia. www.alumni.uq.edu.au.
- 3.Crown, Sarah. Richard and Judy unveil their 2008 Book Club. The Guardian. 27 December 2007.
- 4.Author Kate Morton cracks sales of 10 million books worldwide. The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 October 2015.
- 5.Sorensen, Rosemary. Gothic delight. TheAustralian. The Australian.
- 6.Kobunsha. 2010年代海外本格ミステリ ベスト作品選考座談会. Giallo. 23 July 2021.
- 7.New York Times.
- 8.Have you read #TheLakeHouse yet? Allen & Unwin, via Instagram, 5 November 2015
- 9.National Library of Australia. The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton.
- 10.New York Times.
- 11.Kate Morton – Contact Katemorton.com
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q465890: Kate MortonWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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