About the Author

Valerie Mendes wrote her first short story when she was six years old. It was published in her school magazine. Reading it that night, she decided she wanted to be a writer. After North London Collegiate School, where she was awarded a State Scholarship in English and History, she went to Reading University and gained an Honours Degree in English and Philosophy. She began a long career in publishing, initially as a journalist and then in book publishing itself.

The publication of two of her short stories in Puffin Post encouraged her developing passion in writing for children. Two picture books followed: Tomasina’s First Dance and Look at Me, Grandma! Then, several years later, four critically acclaimed novels for young adults allowed her to explore in powerful story form many of the current issues that affect the lives of teenagers today: Girl in the Attic, Coming of Age, Lost and Found and The Drowning.

Larkswood is Valerie’s first historical novel for the adult marketplace. It is a gripping family saga about the Hamilton clan, set in 1897 and 1939.

Valerie lives and works in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. She is proudly the mother of the theatre and film director Sam Mendes CBE, and Granny Vowel to Mia and to Joe.

You can visit her website www.valeriemendes.com