Julie Anderson writes historical crime fiction. Her latest series is set in south London immediately post World War Two, in Clapham where she lives. The first book, ‘The Midnight Man‘ focuses on events in and around the South London Hospital for Women and Children, a real and highly unusual hospital run by women for women. The second ‘A Death in the Afternoon‘ is set two years later. The Welfare State is being put in place and the HMS Empire Windrush arrives at Tilbury. It and the third book in the series ‘Festival Days’ use real locations and explore the changes in British society post-war, with particular emphasis on the role of women. They are also page-turning crime thrillers, published by Hobeck Books.
Historical writing was her first love and in 2016 ‘Reconquista‘ her adventure story for young teenagers set in 13th century Al Andalus, now part of modern Spain, was listed for the Mslexia Children’s Book of the Year 2016. ‘The Silver Rings‘, its sequel was published two years later. Julie lives for part of the year in Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain, where both books are set.
In addition Julie has written a contemporary trilogy of political thrillers set in Whitehall and Westminster, including ‘Plague‘, ‘Oracle’ and ‘Opera‘ which was listed for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2023. Julie is Chair of Trustees of the charity responsible for delivering the annual Clapham Book Festival, a celebration of books and reading in south London. She also reviews for Time & Leisure magazine on books and the arts. Quite a lot of her life centres on books and bookish pursuits. This year, however, she has been historical consultant for St Paul’s Opera’s production of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, set in the South London Hospital.