Pamela Gordon Hoad

The author

Pamela Gordon Hoad read history at Oxford University, which she enjoyed, but, despite the more austere approaches of her learned tutors, she continued also to love the drama and romance of characters and plot in historical fiction. She tried her hand at such creative writing over the years but, due to the exigencies of her career, she mainly wrote committee reports, policy papers and occasional articles for publication. After working for the Greater London Council, she held the positions of Chief Executive of the London Borough of Hackney and then Chief Executive of the City of Sheffield. Later she held public appointments, including that of Electoral Commissioner when the Electoral Commission was established.

Since ‘retiring’, Pamela has been active in the voluntary sector and for three years chaired the national board of Relationships Scotland. Importantly, during the last few years, she has also been able to pursue her aim of writing historical fiction and she published her first novel, The Devil’s Stain in 2016. This introduced the young physician, Harry Somers, whose story is continued in The Angel’s Wing and will be developed further in The Cherub’s Smile which is due for publication in 2017.

Pamela has also published short stories with historical backgrounds in anthologies published by the Borders Writers Forum (which she chaired for three years). She is currently President of the Melrose Literary Society and is also a member of the Melrose Historical and Archaeological Association.