C.W. Gortner is an American author of historical fiction, including the novels ''The Last Queen'', ''The Confessions of Catherine de Medici'', and the ''Spymaster Trilogy''. His novels are translated in over 25 languages. ''The Queen’s Vow'' was an international bestseller in Poland. ''Mademoiselle Chanel'' was a USA Today best-seller, an American Booksellers Association bestseller, and both ''The Last Queen'' and ''Marlene'' were Marin Independent Journal best-sellers. He was named one of the top ten historical novelists by The Washington Independent Review of Books and has delivered keynote speeches as a Guest of Honor at the Historical Novel Society Conferences in the United States and the United Kingdom. For ten years before he was published and became a full-time writer, he was a public health administrative analyst. Previously, he worked as a fashion executive.

Personal life

Gortner was raised in Málaga,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and is half-Spanish by birth. His family moved back to the U.S. when he was in his teens. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco and

Masters of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in Writing with a concentration in Renaissance Studies from the

New College of California New College of California was a college founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President John Leary. It ceased operations in early 2008. New College's main campus was housed in several buildings in the Mission ...

. He lives in Northern California.

Books

*''The Last Queen: A Novel'' Ballantine Books, , (2006) *''The Confessions of Catherine De Medici: A Novel'' Ballantine Books, , (2010) *''The Queen's Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile'' Ballantine Books, , (2012) *''Mademoiselle Chanel: A Novel'' William Morrow and Company, , (2015) *''The Vatican Princess:'' ''A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia'' Ballantine Books, (2016) *''Marlene: A Novel of Marlene Dietrich '' William Morrow and Company (2016) *''The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna'' Ballantine Books (2018) * ''The First Actress. A Novel of Sarah Bernhardt'' Ballantine Books (2020). The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles * ''The Secret Lion'' (''The Tudor Secret'' St. Martin's Press, ), (2004) *''The Tudor Conspiracy'' St. Martin's Press, , (2013) *''The Tudor Vendetta'' St. Martin's Press, (2014)

External links

* http://www.cwgortner.com/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gortner, C.W. Living people American historical novelists Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) People from Málaga New College of California alumni Writers from California 21st-century American novelists