Alison is a historian with a passionate interest in the lives of ordinary people, especially the forgotten stories she finds in the newspaper archive. She worked in educational publishing and the charity sector before returning to full time study to complete an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. She went on to gain a PhD in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes, and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Alison lives in Oxford, where she volunteers for the Home Library service and is a trustee of Asylum Welcome, a local charity that supports refugees and asylum seekers. She has always loved to travel and began her working life as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language. She was lucky enough to be living in the New Hebrides when they gained their independence and became the Pacific nation of Vanuatu. These days she’s travelling less, but keeps busy researching and writing, as well as looking after her large garden and helping take care of her granddaughter.