Novels
- Dancing Lessons (2014)
Collections
- Summer Lightning (1986)
- Arrival of the Snake-woman (1989)
- Quartet of Stories (1993)
- Discerner of Hearts (1995)
- The Pain Tree (2015)
Picture Books
Non fiction
Novels Book Covers
Collections Book Covers
Picture Books Book Covers
Non fiction Book Covers
Olive Senior Books Overview
Summer Lightning
Written in vivid, colourful detail, these rich, compelling stories recreate with sensitivity and wit a whole range of emotions, from childhood hope to brooding melancholy.
Arrival of the Snake-woman
The second collection from Olive Senior, winner of the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 1987 for ‘Summer Lightning’. Set again in Jamaica, these new stories continue to explore the child as an isolated individual coming to terms with the strange, harsh ways of the adult world.
Quartet of Stories
Offers challenging and original perspectives on relationships, societies and cultures. These are stories of people, especially black women, making their voices heard as they endure, survive, create and laugh together. Stories include: ‘Incident in the Yard, Names and Visit to the Dentist by Maya Angelou; Nineteen Fifty Five, The Flowers and to Hell with Dying by Alice Walker; Love Orange, Do Angels Wear Brassieres? And the Boy Who Loved Ice Cream by Olive Senior; The Dolly Funeral, I Come Through, I Don’t Want to Go Home in the Dark, The King of Swords and Bella Makes a Life by Lorna Goodison. ‘