Cynthia Sally Haggard was born and reared in Surrey, England. About 30 years ago she surfaced in the United States, settling in the Mid-Atlantic region as she wound her way through four careers: violinist, cognitive scientist, medical writer, and novelist.
In June, 2015, Cynthia graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University, Cambridge MA.
Her first novel, "Thwarted Queen," a frustrating tale (hence the title) of a woman who was nearly crowned Queen of England, was shortlisted for many awards, including the 2012 Eric Hoffer New Horizon Award for debut authors. To date, sales have surpassed 38,000 copies.
Her second novel, "Farewell My Life," a Cinderella-ish tale with not-so-charming princes who inhabit the edgy setting of 1920s and 1930s Berlin during the rise of the Nazis, won a Pinnacle Award for Historical Fiction (2019) and was a Distinguished Favorite for the 2019 New York City Big Book Awards.
“So you do not actually have a degree.” He exhaled so that smoke curled out from his mouth and nostrils. “Not actually. No.” I gazed at him for a long moment expecting […]
Our cast of characters – Brother Peter the suspicious priest, Luca Vero the Inquirer for a shadowy order (Order of Darkness) headed by a shadowy individual (Milord), Isolde the dispossessed noblewoman, her […]
At the center of this tale, set in Italy in the mid-fifteenth century, a natural disaster sends the local people into a tizzy, and they blame the young women (whom we met […]
THE CHANGELING is the first of four novels in the ORDER OF DARKNESS series. It concerns a shadowy order of church authorities who are dedicated to finding the darkest most blasphemous things […]
Miriam exploded into a peal of laughter. “Robert!” She nudged him with her elbow, then turned to me. “We haven’t made plans yet.” “We?” My eyebrows rose. But Miriam ignored me. “I’m […]
I know Elizabeth Gilbert as the author of EAT, PRAY, LOVE. This novel is completely different. Set in New York City in the 1940s, amongst flamboyant theatrical types, I honestly didn’t expect […]
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started listening to this audiobook, but narrator Anne Marie Gideon helped to ensure a vivid experience with her command of suitably plummy accents. THE […]
Philippa Gregory has done it again, found a compelling, forgotten woman, in the shape of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, and woven a whole tale around this character. Margaret of Salisbury had an […]
“Ah! Here it is!” She picked up Walter Pater’s Renaissance. “Miriam, dear,” I interposed. “Why don’t you sit down and take off your hat? I haven’t heard anything about your journey, or […]
All I knew about Aaron Burr, before I picked up this novel, was that he was the person who shot Alexander Hamilton. Imagine my astonishment to be taken to Pondicherry, India in […]
This was such an interesting novel about a forgotten founding mother. I had no idea that Eliza Schuyler Hamilton was the daughter of a well-respected general, or that she spent her girlhood […]
I have never heard of Lauren Willig before, so when I picked up THE SUMMER COUNTRY, I honestly thought I was reading a tale about an Anglo-Saxon person’s journey to the afterlife. […]
“Edward, I want you to meet my new friend.” I looked up. A tall youth with dark auburn hair and fierce blue eyes stood beside her. “Robert Allan Nicol at your service, […]
Barbara Ehrenreich’s DANCING IN THE STREETS is both a celebration of dancing and a condemnation of the authorities who are trying to prevent large groups of people from running amok in the […]
Barbara Ehrenreich’s BLOOD RITES is an investigation into the origins of war. Drawing parallels between ancient religions with their blood-soaked rituals, and the fact that for thousands of years a small band […]
Author Suzanne Collins mentions that the idea for THE HUNGER GAMES came from channel surfing between reality TV games and the Iraq war. While the reality game show element is really obvious, […]
But Miriam’s condition persisted. When I pressed her, she reluctantly complained of burning sensations down there. Every summer she visited Edinburgh to “take the air,” as we told all of our acquaintances. […]
I don’t think anyone would describe Frank McCourt’s ANGELA’S ASHES, his account of growing up poor and starving in Ireland, as funny. Nevertheless, the many tragedies in his story are leavened by […]
