Philosopher William Godwin was a force to be reckoned with in the intellectual life of late 18th and early 19th century London. What’s more, he looms larger-than-life in my new release, Maggie Almond and the Scandalous Sister.

When I first began my research for The Hummingbird and the Sea, I didn’t know much at all about New England Puritans. Over the next few months I traversed a very steep learning curve. Much of what I thought I knew was wrong - ideas and stereotypes borne from American cartoons.