Barbara Erskine was born in 1944
She went to Edinburgh University where she studied 'Medieval Scottish History' and gained a degree.

As a History Graduate, Barbara is well versed in the brutality of the 'Middle Ages'. It was a time when noblewomen underwent arranged marriages and were traded both for their dowries and to cement the precarious political alliances of their male relatives.
Despite their delicate social standing, women did hold power with their husbands away in Parliament or at war. More sinister was the manipulation of those who became involved in illicit romances - the dangerous truth would be concealed until it could be used to advantage.

One of Barbara's best-sellers, 'Child of the Phoenix', is set in the 13th century, and tells of Eleyne, a Welsh princess, whose life becomes inextricably linked with the destinies of the English, Welsh and Scottish crowns.
The story is partly based on 'lore' passed down through Barbara's family - Eleyne is one of her distant ancestors!   But, as Barbara herself points out:
"Eleyne is a composite, based on family legend of the type which converts dingy oil paintings into Rembrandt's and Victorian paste beads into Aquamarines."

Barbara admits that some writers have had a greater influence on her, more so than others. She includes Daphne Du Maurier, Jean Plaidy, John Buchan, Walter Scott and the poet John Keats. She quotes:
"I'd always wanted to be a writer from being a very small child - before I could actually physically write, I used to fold up bits of paper and make them into 'books'. But I didn't really start writing to earn money until well after I'd graduated, and then I began with short stories. Because I wanted to make some money, I took a very business-like approach - I was writing to get published. So I went out, bought heaps of magazines, read them and found out what people wanted to read. So I was very, very commercial about those early stories."

She has since gone on to become an Internationally best-selling author, whose novels have been translated into twenty three languages.

Novels to date:

1986 Lady of Hay

1988 Kingdom of Shadows

1992 Child of the Phoenix

1994 Midnight is a Lonely Place

1996 House of Echoes

1998 On the Edge of Darkness

2000 Whispers in the Sand

2002 Hiding From the Light

1990 Encounters

1996 Distant Voices

2003 Sands of Time

Although I haven't read every single one (yet!) - I have read quite a few, and loved them all....But I have to admit to having two particular favourites - 'Lady of Hay' and 'Child of the Phoenix'. I first read 'Lady of Hay' many years ago, and it was this that got me interested in 'past lives' and regression through hypnosis. In fact, I was so intrigued by the whole idea, that I actually went to a hypnotist for regression. It turned out that during one of my past lives, I lived in the thirteenth century (but that's another story...!) Anyway, I often wonder if that has anything to do with my fascination of history from around those times.....makes you think - doesn't it?