Born Clatterbridge, Liverpool 1960
Wycombe Abbey School, High Wycombe
Howell’s School, Denbigh
Culcheth Hall School, Altrincham
1978-80 Munich business school and one year employment in the Deutsche Bank
Bristol University: German and History of Art (Joint Honours) 1984
Courtauld Institute of Art: Medieval Architecture 1985
Royal Academy of Arts, London 1986-89, secretary to Norman Rosenthal, then exhibition assistant in the Department of Exhibitions
Henry Moore Foundation 1989-1996, Deputy Curator
Freelance Exhibition Organiser 1996-2000
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 2000 to 2004, Head of Exhibitions
Full time author since 2004
Comment on my CV: hated school, loved Munich, adored university.
My twenty year career in the art world took me all over the world, setting up exhibitions, looking at works of art, advising on questions about sculpture. It was a difficult decision to give up such a lovely life but the combination of a growing family that I wanted to be at home to enjoy, and a burning desire to write, won over. My choice of subject matter for my books has meant that travel is often possible and I have been lucky enough to have some exciting adventures in Thailand, Sri Lanka and Australia. Who knows where next?
