This book is a work of fiction, but some elements have been borrowed from real life. Shoes and other objects, including mummified cats, have indeed been hidden in old houses as a form of magical protection for centuries. If you’re interested in finding out more, or if you make a discovery of your own, The Concealed Revealed Project, which can be found online, and Brian Hoggard’s website Apotropaios are both excellent places to start.

The museum Nell and the others visit is based on Whitby Museum, which houses a fascinating collection of local and seafaring artefacts. Sadly, since I started work on The Hiding Place, real life has overtaken fiction, and while many of the objects I describe are on display, the comb, complete with runic inscription, is currently on loan to English Heritage and can be seen at Whitby Abbey, where it was originally found. Maybe it’s safer there.

I’d like to thank Katrina Naomi and The Brisons Veor Trust for awarding me a Writer’s Residency way back in 2017, where I began working on the first draft of this novel. It was offered at a particularly difficult period in my life and provided much-needed time and space to regroup and focus. I greatly enjoyed my visit, and I hope to return some day.

I’d also like to thank The Society of Authors and The Authors’ Foundation who in 2019 awarded me one of their generous grants to support a work in progress, essentially buying me time to write. The support they have offered over the past couple of years – both financially and creatively – has been invaluable.

And as for everyone else – well, it’s been quite a year. My agent, Julia Silk, who has the unenviable job of reading the first and worst draft, has been as brilliant as ever; she helped shape this book, letting me see what I wanted to do with it, and she sends excellent care packages when the going gets tough.

Everyone at Zaffre has been similarly wonderful, working with passion and commitment in the most difficult of circumstances, particularly Sophie Orme, who is a voice in my head in the nicest possible way, and Katie Lumsden, who edits with such care and precision.

I need to thank my family and friends for their love and support; my sister, Deborah, and my brother, Andrew. Tracy Kuhn, for her advice on schools and teenagers in general, and Laura and Poppy, for their willingness to offer clarification as to what girls do and don’t say these days. Ian Havelock, who told me a tall tale about a witch, and Lauren Gigg, who told me a true story about magic with mirrors.

And lastly, to the usual suspects – I hope you know who you are – to Bidi, who continues to live in inspiring places, and to Wendy, who continues to insist that I am a writer, my thanks and all my love.

About the Author

About the Author