ClaireThornton.com
About Claire
I was born and grew up in the Sussex countryside. History was all around me as child, but in an everyday, understated fashion. Our village was situated on the old Roman road from Chichester to London. I knew from a very early age that Romans had once marched along the route of our village high street. I've been fascinated by Romans ever since. One day I'd love to write a book set in Roman England.
St Mary's Church is probably the oldest building in the village, parts of it date back to the 13th century, though most of it was built in the 14th century. I was lucky enough to be walking through the churchyard with my camera one day when there was a beautiful sky, so I took a photograph. When I was researching 17th century Sussex for a story, I discovered that in the 1630s they'd had problems with ivy and shrubs growing in the steeple wall, and hogs squeezing through the fencing into the churchyard. Perhaps the pigs were in the same part of the churchyard we can see in the picture?
As a child I loved reading. By the time I was eleven I'd managed to acquire the library tickets of every member of my family. Instead of being limited to only two books every time I visited the library, I was able to borrow up to eight. I worked my way steadily through the adult fiction section. Books are still an important part of my life, but now I write them as well as read them.
I also developed a practical streak - or perhaps just a curiosity about how things work. We lived about fifteen miles from Worthing and we used to go to the seaside in the summer. Worthing is sometimes identified in Regency-set romances as being full of dowagers. I can't comment on the dowagers, but I can say it has a very pebbly beach. Once I'd negotiated the pebbles to reach the sand I always started my castle by digging the drains first. Not very romantic, I'm afraid - but I hope the mythical inhabitants of my sand constructions were grateful for my practicality!
I studied history at the University of York. By the time I graduated I knew I wanted to write, but in the meantime I had to earn a living. I ended up working as a secretary at St Thomas's Hospital in London. St Thomas's is situated on the South bank of the River Thames, immediately opposite the Houses of Parliament. For years I could see Big Ben from my office. I didn't have a clock in my room - when I wanted to tell the time I just looked out of my window.
I used to go for a walk beside the Thames every lunchtime. It was fun to see the river and the city in all their changing moods and seasons. I enjoyed imagining previous generations of Londoners, all the way back to the Romans. The House of Commons burned down in 1834. I remember hearing that the Duke of Wellington insisted it should be rebuilt right on the edge of the Thames, so it could never be completely surrounded by an angry mob. I used to look out of my window and imagine M.P.s taking to the river in an emergency.
I started writing seriously a couple of years after I started working at St Thomas's and my first book, Ten Guineas on Love, was published in 1992. Not surprisingly it's a historical romance set in Sussex. My first three books were published under the name of Alice Thornton. I took a break from writing for a while, and my subsequent books have been published under the name of Claire Thornton.
When I worked in London I didn't write any stories that were set in the city, but I always knew that one day I would, and THE CITY OF FLAMES TRILOGY is centred around London.