Her work is a subversion of both the historical and documentary voice which she believes operates under the pretense of being factual and only reflects what we want to see. In subverting these voices, she forces us to look at another reality, a deeper reality which is rooted in something archetypical. Her interest in freaks, in the gothic, in the apocalyptic, are all ways of lending a narration to contemporary myths."
– Alberto Manguel, critic and novelist

Fiction by Swan has been published in 16 countries, nominated in Canada and abroad for numerous prestigious literary awards, been optioned or made into feature films that have premiered at Sundance and Berlin film festivals and been shown in local theatres around the world.

Swan's latest novel is WHAT CASANOVA TOLD ME which was a finalist for
the 2004 Canada Caribbean Commonwealth Regional Prize and picked as one
of The Globe and Mail's top books of 2004, as well as selected as one of
top ten books of the year by Canada's Sun-Times, the Calgary Herald and
Toronto's NOW magazine. The December edition of Macleans, Canada's
national magazine, named the novel's protagonist Asked For Adams as one
of the five best fictional characters for 2004 and said she was "the
utterly charming core of Susan Swan's parallel-track historical novel,
What Casanova Told Me."

What Casanova Told Me was just published this June 2005 by Bloomsbsury
US and also came out in paperback with Vintage Canada June 2005. Foreign
rights have been sold to France, Russia and Spain.

Alberto Manguel, critic and author of The History of Reading, says:

"Susan Swan has given us a great romantic novel. What Casanova Told Me
is a graceful and literate meditation on the uneasy relationship between
the New World and the Old, on the gossip of history, and on the nature
of love. This is a sentimental education for our oblivious times."

What Casanova Told Me has enjoyed rave reviews. Articles and most
reviews are available in the author page on www.bloomsburyusa.com

Here's a sample of what reviewers in leading Canadian newspapers have to
say about What Casanova Told Me:


 "In its inventive range, its playful engagement and tantalizing
mystery, What Casanova Told Me is breathtaking, a tour de force that
detonates echoes of the past within the present...utterly seductive...the
lesson learned here is simple: Leave home, fall in love and believe in
the accidents of pleasure and freedom."

       The Globe and Mail


 "Elegantly sensual... Swan has created an exotic romance, a rollicking
adventure, a work of prose that could almost be poetry... This
magnificently sad and funny and exciting trip is, indeed, one you'd be
very sad you missed."

        Calgary Herald



 "Swan explores travel, home, love, sex, culture and communications in
this splendid book. You will probably want to read it more than once,
for the suspense of the story and the beauty of the language."

       Vancouver Sun



"Susan Swan gets all romantic on us in her new novel, What Casanova Told
Me. But with is historical base and crafty parallel structure, it turns
out to be a winner. One of Swan's best."

       Now magazine


"This bawdy, fun intelligent novel combines the feel of a trashy
historical romance with the sophistication of novels such as The Hours
and Possession. What Casanova Told Me is a natural for its own feature
film."

       Flare


"Part travelogue, part bodice-ripper, there is something both
titillating and fantastical about this type of historical fiction, and
Swan is adept at spinning facts into vividly imagined scenes and
characters."

       Quill and Quire


"By the end of the novel, we are in a position to take to heart to
Casanova's -- and Swan's-- insights into travel, and the treasures it
has in store for those with the openness to otherness it
demands. Casanova is Swan's The Volcano Lover."

        Centre for Feminist Research, York University



American reviews have come in:

"Alluring...the stories (of the two protagonists) weave together well, and
Asked For, in particular, has a bright, engaging voice."

       Publishers Weekly


"Swan uses dual narratives as an effective page-turning device in
exploring the women's sexual awakenings. Her prose is often poetic, the
characters charming. Recommended for most public libraries."

       Library Journal


"Engaging. nice historical color and a raft of exotic settings."

        Kirkus


"Rich in interesting digressions into subjects as diverse as Minoan
goddess worship and Western Orientalist stereotypes. Swan ...has much to
say about the emotional risks required to live a fulfilled life."

       Washington Post


"Swan writes with thoughtful, inviting prose that promises intrigue for
all fiction readers, and she fills the story with the historical and cultural details that will surely give fans of historical fiction the experience they desire."

       Booklist


Swan's last novel, The Wives of Bath, about a murder in a girls' boarding school, was a finalist for the Guardian Fiction award and Ontario's Trillium and shown as the feature film Lost and Delirious in 32 countries around the world. Her first novel, The Biggest Modern Woman of the World, was a finalist for the Governor General's fiction award and Smith Books best first novel award and is the story of a Nova Scotian giantess who exhibited with P.T. Barnum. Another novel, The Last of the Golden Girls, broke new ground in the treatment of female sexuality. Some readers sent flowers while others tried to file obscenity charges. Stories from her last collection, Stupid Boys Are Good to Relax With have appeared in Granta and Ms. magazine.

Her poetry has been the basis of live performance such as Queen of the Silver Blades (about Swan's fixation with figure-skating heroine, Barbara Ann Scott), and Down and In, a theatrical essay on self-pity. Her poems have appeared in Descant, Toronto Life, Hard Times, Exile, Taddock Review, Canadian Woman Studies. (For more complete information see Swan resume.)

A complete bibliography is included in her Curriculum Vitae, available for download from the section titled About Susan Swan.