Kate Quinn is an American writer, known for her works of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

Early life and education

Quinn was born and raised in

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, California. She graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

with a BA (2004) and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

(2006) in classical voice.

Career

Quinn's novels often focus on women's unexpected roles in history such as military snipers, spies, and code breakers. Her works have been set in several historical eras, including five novels that take place during the Roman Empire, two books about the Borgias in the Italian Renaissance, and most recently a series of novels set in the 1940s and 1950s, centering on the events during and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Her 2017 historical fiction novel, '' The Alice Network'', was a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' bestseller. Her 2019 follow-up (and eighth novel), ''The Huntress'', earned positive reviews in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' and ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

,'' and was also a ''

'' bestseller. Her novels ''The Rose Code'' and ''The Diamond Eye were also

bestsellers.'' She has also contributed to a series of historical novels that were collaboratively written with 5-6 other authors, in which each author wrote a separate chapter presenting a different character's voice, which together make up a single overlapping story. The first of these, ''A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii'' is in development for a limited series from

Amazon studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...

Personal life

Quinn resides with her husband in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Bibliography

Novels

The Empress of Rome Series

*''Mistress of Rome'' (2010) *''Daughters of Rome'' (2011) *''Empress of the Seven Hills'' (2012) *''The Three Fates'' (2015) *''Lady of the Eternal City'' (2015)

The Borgia Chronicles

*''The Serpent and the Pearl'' (2013) *''The Lion and the Rose'' (2014)

Other novels

*'' The Alice Network'' (2017) * ''The Huntress'' (2019) *''The Rose Code'' (2021) *''The Diamond Eye'' (2022) *''The Phoenix Crown'' (2024) (with Janie Chang) *''The Briar Club'' (2024) Rob Merrill. “Book Review: Kate Quinn returns with ‘The Briar Club,’ a murder mystery during the 1950’s Red Scare.” AP News. July 8, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/briar-club-kate-quinn-book-review-f1207a935e0a1562721a00e091491b6c

Collaboratively written novels

*''A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii'' (with Stephanie Dray, Sophie Perinot, Ben Kane and Vicky Alvear Shecter) (2014) ISBN 978-0990324577 *''A Year of Ravens: A Novel of Boudica's Rebellion'' (with Ruth Downie, Stephanie Dray, E Knight, Vicky Alvear Shecter, S. J. A. Turney and Russell Whitfield) (2015) ISBN 978-1517635411 *''A Song of War: A Novel of Troy'' (with Christian Cameron, Libbie Hawker, Vicky Alvear Shecter, S. J. A. Turney, Stephanie Thornton and Russell Whitfield) (2016) ISBN 978-1536931853 *''Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution's Women'' (with Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, E Knight, Heather Webb and Sophie Perinot)(2019) ISBN 978-0062952196

External Links

Author’s website

Kate Quinn’s Instagram

References

Living people 21st-century American writers American historical fiction writers American women historical novelists American historical novelists 21st-century American women writers Writers from Long Beach, California Boston University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-novelist-stub