Elizabeth Macneal writes:

 

I am a Scottish author and potter based in London. My bestselling novels, The Doll Factory and Circus of Wonders are out now.

My second novel, Circus of Wonders is about a girl who is kidnapped by a travelling circus, and who must find her voice in this dark and spectacular world. Moving from the pleasure gardens of Victorian London to the battle-scarred plains of the Crimea, Circus of Wonders is a story about power and ownership, fame and the threat of invisibility. It was a Sunday Times bestseller, Sunday Times ‘book of the month’, and was reviewed by The Guardian as ‘glittering’ and a work of ‘subtlety and originality.’

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My first novel, The Doll Factory, has been translated into 29 languages. It is set in 1850s London, and it is about a young woman who aspires to be an artist, and the man whose obsession may destroy her world forever. It was a Sunday Times bestseller, a Radio 2 Book Club pick, a Radio 4 Book at Bedtime and a Waterstones Book of the Month. It is currently being adapted for a major TV series.

To hear more about my writing, I was interviewed in the Sunday Times, Radio 4’s Front Row and The Observer.

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As well as writing, I make my ceramics in a small studio at the bottom of my garden, where I have a wheel and kiln. I am a one-woman ceramics business, and I've deliberately resisted growing beyond this: I enjoy the flexibility of being small-scale, and being able to put so much time and effort into each piece. As such, I only update open my webshop 2-3 times a year. I use high-fire stoneware so everything is durable and dish-washer proof - everything you see I use in my own home. My ceramics have appeared on Mary Berry’s Britain’s Best Home Cook on BBC1, have been acquired by The Museum of London for their permanent collection, and the Evening Standard named me as one of '5 British ceramicists you should know about.'