It started with a battered trunk in the attic. My great-aunt Maud had passed away, and among the boxes and dust was this old tin box tied with twine, filled with faded photographs, brittle letters, cracked leather diaries, and a family tree handwritten on stiff creamy parchment paper, the ink still clear. I remember sitting cross-legged on the floor, running my fingers over the softly worn pages and feeling something stir—a whisper from the past.
I’ve always loved history. I’ve spent years in archives, leafing through centuries-old documents, deciphering wills and court records, and tracing the journeys of people long gone. I’ve tramped through ruined castles and searched for headstones in forgotten churchyards. But it wasn’t until I opened that trunk and began to piece together the lives of my own ancestors—the St.Johns—that I truly understood how deeply personal history can be. And realised the legacy that my great aunt, who I never met, had left for someone to find.
“St.John’s writing makes you feel like you’re walking beside her ancestors, witnessing history as it unfolds.”
—Amazon Review
Inside that trunk were clues: names I’d heard at family gatherings but never understood, crests I’d seen on hatchments in churches, half-told stories about royal connections and prisoners in the Tower of London. I indexed the materials, ordered books from libraries, went online and searched and discovered more—real people whose lives were filled with drama, loss, love, betrayal, and courage. People history had largely forgotten.
That was the beginning of The Lydiard Chronicles, The Godmother’s Secret and The King’s Intelligencer—books inspired by the lives of women like Lucy Apsley, Luce Hutchinson, Elysabeth St.John and Frances Apsley. Women who fought to protect their families, their faith, and their legacies. Women whose stories were waiting to be told.
“Who knew family history could be so gripping?”
—Amazon Review
For me, genealogy became more than a chart or a list of names. It became a quest for truth, for connection, and for reclaiming the voices of those women history overlooked. Every reader who writes to say they’ve started researching their own family tree after finishing one of my novels—that’s the real gift. Because our stories don’t end with us. They begin long before we arrive.
There’s a special kind of magic in discovering you’re part of something bigger—a legacy that shaped your family in quiet, remarkable ways. And sometimes, all it takes to unlock that magic is an old trunk, a forgotten letter, and a heart open to the past.
Because history—especially personal history—has the power to transform how we see ourselves.
Enjoyed your book “The Godmother’s Secret” very much. I too am an obsessive family researcher and also share St John ancestry going way back into the past so it was really interesting to read your interpretation of their life. Look forward to reading more of your books.
Hi Patricia – thanks for your kind words and I’m delighted you enjoyed spending time with Elysabeth – she was probably your ancestress too! You might like “The King’s Intelligencer”, which picks up Elysabeth’s story in the 17th Century, when the princes’ bones are declared discovered in the Tower. And how fun that you share St.John ancestry. Here’s a link to The Lydiard Archives, which has all kinds of historical information about the family, and to The Friends of Lydiard Park, which also has a huge family tree as part of its membership benefits. Hope to hear from you again!
http://www.thelydiardarchives.org.uk
http://www.friendsoflydiardpark.org.uk