Natalia Richards
As a curator and historian for over 30 years, I have worked in many museums in Derbyshire and later in London. Over the years I specialised in everything from Victorian toys and memorabilia, to Royal Crown Derby and Militaria. I also worked free-lance for the History Channel USA as researcher, co-ordinator and interviewer on the award winning production 'Secrets of War.' However, my personal passion since a very early age has been the study of the Tudors, particularly Anne Boleyn and the court of King Henry VIII.
I did not begin writing seriously until around 2008, and originally wanted to write about Anne Boleyn at the English court. However, a great deal had already been written about this period, and I began to look at her earlier life from around 1500 to 1514. Since research as a curator has always been my passion, I wanted to write as factual a novel as I could and spent years visiting sites such as Blickling in Norfolk, Hever Castle, Rochford Manor and the palace of Margaret of Austria, in Mechelen, just outside Brussels. It was here that Anne was sent as a young maid-of-honour, and I was honoured to gain access to rooms not normally open to the public. The result of my research was ‘The Falcon's Rise.’ It is my first book and I am following it up with part two ‘The Falcon's Flight' which will be published in 2019/20. This second book covers Anne’s time spent at the French court, and ends as she is about to return to England.
In my spare time, I love travelling, rambling and visiting historic houses, as well as constantly reading and researching the Tudor period. I spend my time between Derbyshire and Chelsea, in London.