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Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Ep. 154 - Anne O'Brien on the importance of research and accuracy in historical fiction

Season 16, Ep. 9

Sunday Times Bestselling author Anne O’Brien was born in West Yorkshire. After gaining a BA Honours degree in History at Manchester University and a Master’s in Education at Hull, she lived in East Yorkshire for many years as a teacher of history. Today she has sold over a million copies of her books in the UK and internationally. She lives with her husband in an eighteenth-century timber-framed cottage in the depths of the Welsh Marches in Herefordshire. The area provides endless inspiration for her novels about the forgotten women of medieval history. Anne's new book, A Marriage of Fortune, is the sequel to The Royal Game, the exciting story of the women of the famous letter-writing Paston family.


We had a really interesting chat with Anne about what sort of research she does for her novels, and hear her talk about why historical accuracy is so important for her when writing. We also learn how she finds and picks the women who will be the focal point of her novels, and the careful process she goes through to bring them to life.


Links:


Buy A Marriage of Fortune and Anne's other novels

Visit Anne's website

Follow Anne on Twitter


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