Henrietta Heald

Henrietta Heald is the author of Magnificent Women and Their Revolutionary Machines – the gripping story of Britain's trailblazing, boundary-breaking first female engineers, marking the centenary of the Women's Engineering Society:

'A fascinating social history.' Ann Kennedy Smith, Times Literary Supplement

'Deeply researched and lucidly told.' David Kynaston

'A sensational book ... both a reminder of how far women have come and a source of inspiration for how far we still need to go.' Jess Wade

Magician of the North, Henrietta's biography of the great Victorian engineer and industrialist William Armstrong, was shortlisted for the H. W. Fisher Best First Biography Prize and the Portico Prize for non-fiction. She has also written a National Trust guide to Cragside, Northumberland.

Among her other books are Coastal Living, La Vie Est Belle, and Amazing and Extraordinary Facts about Jane Austen.

A graduate of Durham University, Henrietta had a long and successful career in book publishing before taking up the pen herself. She was chief editor of the historical encyclopedia Chronicle of Britain and Ireland and has edited and project-managed books on architecture, interiors and the British countryside, including Illustrated Guide to Britain's Coast and Country Walks and Scenic Drives, both published by Reader's Digest. Among her publishing triumphs was the first British edition of The Periodic Table by Primo Levi.