Sarah Austin

Welcome to my website where I love to share all things medieval whether it be my fiction writing, my visits to various sites, or articles about different aspects of medieval history. Come and explore one of the most fascinating periods in history (well, I think it is). 

I have always loved history and grew up devouring Jean Plaidy novels - they introduced me to European history from medieval times to the Tudors alongside the scheming de Medicis and Borgias and the tumult of the French Revolution, and on into Victorian times. History was exciting with so many stories to tell. Now I have settled on the medieval period from 1066 to 1330 and have studied this period for nearly thirty years - I don't know why but this time fascinates me. 

Where did it all start? In 1995 to be precise during a cold wet week on holiday in Tenby, South Wales. We took our four year old daughter to Pembroke Castle instead of huddling behind a wind break pretending to enjoy making sandcastles. Expectations were low but we were desperate. The trip became one of those forks in the road - what a wonderful time we had with wall walks, spiral stone stairways and huge chambers to run around and explore. The castle is huge. From then on daytrips and holidays always included castles, even now - these were the places where some lived their lives in their great homes experiencing love, loss, power and the myriad of emotions that humans feel no matter the time period.

I went onto study part-time for a degree at Nottingham University, specialising in medieval history and achieved a 1st class Honours (I don't mean to show off but I was incredibly proud of myself for this). Since then I have continued my passion for this period - each new bit of information adds to the giant jigsaw puzzle of trying to recreate the medieval world in my mind that is not just two dimensional. This is a period as alive as is our time today.

I have always loved writing from short stories as a child, to angst ridden teenage poems that are best left undiscovered, and onto historical romances. There are some decades when family and work commitments hindered any writing ambitions but now I find I have more time to enjoy writing. My academic background provides me with the skills for detailed research as well as ideas for fiction writing. I don't fictionalise historical figures as many excellent novels do. Instead I prefer to create a story with fictional characters in an imagined setting but with an accurate historical timeline and the odd guest appearance by once living people.