Tracey Warr’s historical novels are set in early medieval Europe. Her first novel Almodis was shortlisted for the Impress Prize and the Rome Film Festival Book Initiative, and received a Santander Research Award. It is based on the life of Almodis de La Marche, countess of Toulouse and Barcelona, who was described by William of Malmesbury as being ‘afflicted with a Godless female itch’. Her second novel, The Viking Hostage, topped the Amazon Australia historical fiction chart and is based on the true story of a French noblewoman who was kidnapped by Vikings. Warr’s trilogy Conquest follows the tumultuous life of the medieval Welsh princess, Nest ferch Rhys and the 12th century struggle between the Normans and the Welsh. It was supported by a Literature Wales Writer’s Bursary. Warr draws on historical artefacts, medieval literature, and ancient maps in her writing. Her next historical project, Three Female Lords, has received an Author’s Foundation Award and is a biography of three sisters who lived in 11thcentury southern France and Catalonia.
She is Head of Research at The Dartington Trust and teaches on the MA Poetics of Imagination at Dartington Arts School.
