A Shilling for a Wife is Emma Hornby’s debut novel. Before pursuing a writing career she had a variety of jobs, from care assistant for the elderly, to working in a Blackpool rock factory.
She was inspired to write because of her lifelong love of sagas and after researching her family history. Like the characters in her books, many generations of her family eked out life amidst the squalor and poverty of Lancashire’s slums.
Emma lives on a tight-knit working-class estate in Bolton with her family.