Samantha Shannon was born in west London in 1991. In 2013 she published The Bone Season, the first in a seven-book series. The Mime Order followed in 2015 and The Song Rising in 2017. The series is internationally bestselling, and her books have been translated into twenty-six languages. The film rights have been optioned by the Imaginarium Studios. The Priory of the Orange Tree is her fourth novel.