Vanessa Wiggins

I’m inspired by the Victorian era, by glorious gardens, and by tales of the heart.

It was a chance discovery that led to my falling in love with the Victorian Aesthetic Movement – the paintings, the artworks and buildings, and the glorious works of artists, from Watts to Waterhouse, and designers such as Burges and de Morgan.

My new novel, 'Captured in Art', is set among Victorian artists and those who supported and inspired them in the 1850s and 1870s. From the sun-drenched shores of Sicily to the bohemian art world of London's Aesthetic salons, it’s an emotional mystery about the secrets we bury and heartfelt searches for hope and love.

'The Colour of Secrets' was my first novel. It's set where I live, in a small village in a rural shires county of hills and vale, during the 1950s and 60s; a nostalgic and bitter-sweet story of childhood in a world that's now disappeared, and of the mystery of a strange and burdened child.

It was only a few years ago that I learned that this is also where generations of my family came from - a curious kind of full circle.

And so, on to the next story ...