Norah Lofts, one of England’s most renowned historical writers, was born in Norfolk in 1904, part of a long line of farmers. She taught English and History at a girls' school before turning to writing full time. Her father taught her to read before she went to school and she wrote stories as soon as she could write at all. During her writing career, she wrote more than 50 books of fiction, non-fiction and short stories, but was best known and best loved for her historical novels, which were renowned for their meticulous research and authentic use of period detail. She also wrote under the pen name "Peter Curtis", which she used to distinguish her mystery novels. She died in 1983 as a best-selling author in both the UK and US.
