Confessions of a Duchess

Nicola Cornick

Originally from the North of England, Nicola Cornick now lives in the Oxfordshire countryside with her husband and a menagerie of cats and dogs.

She has been a published author since 1998 and started her career writing historical romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon. This was a dream come true for her as she had always loved Mills & Boon Historicals and still has an extensive collection of them on her keeper shelves. Her books have reached the bestseller lists in the UK, sold around the world and have received great acclaim in the US. Publishers Weekly described her as "a rising star of the Regency arena" and Booklist described her 2008 Regency novel, Unmasked, as "a beguiling blend of danger and desire." Her books have also won various awards and have been shortlisted twice for both the UK Romantic Novelists' Association Prize and the US Romance Writers of America RITA award.

She developed a passion for history at an early age and nurtured it through reading and watching BBC costume dramas with her grandmother. She went on to study Medieval History, graduated from London University with an honours degree and worked for many years in university administration, her final job being as an Assistant Academic Registrar and Operations Manager before she gave it all up to be a full-time author. Later, she returned to college in Oxford to study for a Masters degree at Ruskin College. Her dissertation was on heroes and she graduated in 2006 with a Distinction.

She now has a "second life" working for the National Trust at the fabulous stately home Ashdown House.

She is also Membership Secretary for the Romantic Novelists' Association and critiques manuscripts for aspiring authors via their New Writers' Scheme and also for the Romance Writers of America Beau Monde mentor scheme. She has run several courses and workshops on creative writing and was Wiltshire Libraries Writer in Residence in 2008. She is also a speaker on the history of Ashdown House and the Craven Family.

Author photo © Andrew Cornick