Susan Higginbotham is an American

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

author and attorney. She has written on the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

Personal life

Susan Higginbotham earned her

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

degree from

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

, and her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in English literature from Hunter College in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. She received her Juris Doctor degree from

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc.n ...

law school, and began working for a legal publisher, a position she still holds today. Higginbotham is married, with two children. They live in

Brunswick, Maryland Brunswick is a city in southwestern Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The city is located on the north bank of the Potomac River; Loudoun County, Virginia occupies the opposite shore. The population of Brunswick was 7,762 at the 2020 c ...

Publishing career

Higginbotham began working on her first novel, ''The Traitor's Wife'' in 2003, and after reading some articles on self-publishing, she self-published in 2005. It won ''ForeWord'' magazine's 2005 Silver Award for historical fiction and the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards' Gold Medal for Historical/Military Fiction. According to

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

, the book is held in 252 libraries. WorldCat identities record
/ref> It is a fictional account of the life of

Eleanor de Clare Eleanor de Clare, suo jure 6th Lady of Glamorgan (3 October 1292 – 30 June 1337) was a Anglo-Welsh noblewoman who married Hugh Despenser the Younger and was a granddaughter of Edward I of England.Lewis, M. E. (2008). A traitor's death? The id ...

, wife of

Hugh le Despenser the Younger Hugh le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despenser (c. 1287/1289 – 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the Younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the Elder Despenser), by his wife Isabella de Beauchamp, ...

Sourcebooks Sourcebooks, Inc., is an independent book publisher located in Naperville, Illinois. The company publishes books, ebooks, and digital products, and is one of the 20 largest publishers in the United States. History The company was founded in 1 ...

contacted her in 2008, and offered to republish it, resulting in it reaching number 8 in ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''s list of fiction best sellers. Her next novel was ''Hugh and Bess'' (2007), a sequel to her first novel, depicting the life of Eleanor and Hugh's eldest son,

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

. It was reissued in August 2009. Her next book, ''The Stolen Crown'', was published in 2010 and is a fictional depiction of Catherine Woodville, Duchess of Buckingham. Her 2011 novel, ''The Queen of Last Hopes'', features Margaret of Anjou. Higginbotham's most recent works, ''Hanging Mary'', ''The First Lady and the Rebel,'' and ''John Brown's Women,'' are set in 19th-century America.

List of works

* ''The Traitor's Wife'' (2005) * ''Hugh and Bess'' (2007) * ''The Stolen Crown'' (2010) * ''The Queen of Last Hopes'' (2011) * ''Her Highness, the Traitor'' (2012) * ''The Woodvilles: The Wars of the Roses and England's Most Infamous Family ''(2013) * ''Margaret Pole: The Countess in the Tower'' (2015) * ''Hanging Mary'' (2016) * ''The First Lady and the Rebel'' (2019) * ''John Brown’s Women'' (2021)

References

External links

Higginbotham's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higginbotham, Susan Living people 21st-century American novelists American historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Virginia Commonwealth University alumni American women novelists Hunter College alumni Campbell University alumni Women historical novelists People from Apex, North Carolina Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women writers