Susanna Calkins is an accomplished author with a deep interest in Seventeenth-Century England. She has written several historical mysteries, including the award-winning Lucy Campion series. Calkins's writing is informed by her academic background, as she holds a PhD in history and teaches at the college level. Her novels, which are set in seventeenth-century England, have been well-received by critics and readers alike.
Calkins's Lucy Campion series has been nominated for several prestigious awards, including the Mary Higgins Clark and Agatha awards. In fact, her novel The Masque of a Murderer received a Macavity award. The series follows the protagonist Lucy Campion, who is a maid in the household of a local magistrate in seventeenth-century England. Through her work, Lucy becomes involved in various mysteries and intrigues, which she must solve with her keen intellect and sharp wit.
Prior to becoming a writer, Calkins had a varied career that included working on a museum replica of Sir Frances Drake's ship, the Golden Hinde, which was once docked in the Thames. This experience no doubt contributed to her fascination with history and her ability to bring the past to life in her writing. Calkins was born in Philadelphia but now resides in the Chicago area with her husband and two sons. The Murder at Rosamund's Gate is her debut novel and the first in the Lucy Campion series.