S J Haxton

An historian specialising in 16th and 17th century British history and Cornish history in particular, I live near Penzance. I have been a teacher, living history consultant, heritage education manager and am a lapsed re-enactor. Add a Tudor castle as one of my workplaces, and you have the 'ingredients' of this author!

History needn't be dull; the past is his (-or her) story...a narrative. It can be brought to life in the pages of a novel. That's my task as an author. The historian in me just has to advise on the setting!

Although the story of Pendennis Castle in Cornwall drove my first book, the characters then developed an agenda of their own. 'A Cord of Three Strands' was as much a response to them as to readers who said 'What happened to Mary, Grace and Hester?' I never had any intention of writing a trilogy ... but then many writers will agree, it isn't about what you as an author intend, the protagonists in the tales tend to tell you what they want!

So, perhaps there's a point at which I can say, 'The End' to the Pendennis trilogy. But what next? Astute and curious readers have already spotted that one character in particular has an intriguing past; let's see where that takes us!

With Book I nominated for a prestigious Holyer an Gof Award for Literature by the Cornish Gorsedh in 2015 and Book II nominated in 2017 it seems I'm on working on the right lines! No pun intended!