Why I write cosy Tudor mysteries
Like many people, I used to find Tudor history intimidating – a blur of dates, dynasties, and dry facts. Then something clicked. What if those dates were just the skeleton? What if the real story lived in the spaces between; the emotions, the betrayals, the mysteries that history never quite explains?
That’s how the Predestination series was born.
I love darker Tudor fiction, C.J. Sansom’s Shardlake and Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall are masterworks. But I wanted to create something different. Something that captures all the intrigue of Tudor England without the grimness. Think puzzles to solve rather than atrocities to endure. Adventure with a dash of humour. History that feels like a page-turner rather than a textbook.
Dr John Dee – mathematician, astrologer, and reluctant detective – turned out to be the perfect guide. A real historical figure who lived through some of Tudor England’s most turbulent decades, Dee gives me a brilliant, flawed, entirely human lens through which to explore a world that still fascinates me deeply.
My goal is simple: to make Tudor history memorable, thrilling, and fun. If that sounds like your kind of read, start with Divination – it’s free, it’s short, and if you don’t enjoy it you’ve lost nothing.
Want to understand what makes a great Tudor mystery? → Read my thoughts on the topic
