Norah Lofts was one of the best-known and best-loved of all historical novelists, known for her authentic application of period detail to all her books. She was a bestselling author on both sides of the Atlantic. She was born in Norfolk and taught English and History at a girls' school before turning to writing full time in 1936. Her passion for old houses and their continuing history sparked off her much-praised Suffolk trilogy, "The Town House", "The House at Old Vine" and "The House at Sunset". These were followed by the best-selling "The Concubine", "The King's Pleasure", a novel about the life of Katharine of Aragon and "Eleanor the Queen", a novel about the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Lofts wrote more than 50 books, including historical non-fiction and short stories.