Lesley Gray

Lesley’s first novel 'The King's Jockey' was published in 2013 to commemorate the 1913 ‘Suffragette Derby’. It charts the story of the sporting hero Bertie Jones, and the tragic events that took place in the fight to achieve votes for women.

In 2019, Lesley was awarded a PhD at the University of Kent for her thesis investigating Franz Anton Mesmer’s animal magnetism, considering its effect on science and medicine, as well as social, political and geographical boundaries.

Lesley has also written a number of introductions to classic works by Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells and Emmeline Pankhurst. In addition, she has written articles and presented papers on topics as diverse as Ada Lovelace, Spanish science, suffragette literature, the work of Noel Streatfeild, as well as the role of theatre and dance in medical humanities, and the issues surrounding palliative care.

Lesley was brought up in rural Oxfordshire, a place that still holds a very special place in her heart. She now lives in Kent with her husband where she combines her job in educational and academic publishing with pursuing her writing career. Lesley is also a keen artist.