Margaret George

The Confessions of Young Nero (2017) and its continuation, The Splendor Before the Dark (2018) tell the story of the artist-emperor' brief but legendary life, from A.D. 37-68.

Elizabeth I (2011) focuses on the later years of her life, a period neglected by most popular novels, although it showcases the enigmatic queen's personality very strongly. It begins with the Armada in 1588 and ends with her death in 1603.

Helen of Troy (2006) incorporates the whole myth cycle of the Trojan War and its aftermath, weaving together all the different strands of the story.

She has also co-authored an illustrated children's book about tortoises with Christopher Murphy, DVM, titled Lucille Lost (2006).

Mary, Called Magdalene (2002) was published a year before Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and was based on the historic facts as far as we know them. Both books struck a chord with a public eager to know more about the enigmatic Mary of Magdala, a close companion of Jesus.

Several of these novels were New York Times bestsellers and the Cleopatra novel was made into an Emmy-nominated ABC-TV miniseries in 1999. Altogether the novels have been published in 21 languages. She is ranked at the forefront of historical novelists writing today.

Because of the detailed and accurate research behind her books, she has been a featured interviewee on A & E Biography (Henry VIII: Scandals of a King, 1996, and Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen, 1996) and a special on Alexandria (Cleopatra's World: Alexandria Revealed, 1999). She has also spoken at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Hampton Court the Tower of London, and twice at the Library of Congress's National Book Festival (2011, 2019).

Her first published novel, The Autobiography of Henry VIII (1986), set the pattern. It drew a sympathetic portrait of the notorious king without whitewashing the dishonorable episodes of his life. Almost thirty years after its publication, it is still influential and was at the top of the fans' recommended Henry VIII fiction list for "The Tudors" miniseries.

Margaret George (born 1943) is an American historical novelist specializing in epic fictional biographies. She is known for her meticulous research and the large scale of her books. She is the author of the bestselling novels The Autobiography of Henry VIII (1986), Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles (1992), The Memoirs of Cleopatra (1997), Mary, Called Magdalene (2002), Helen of Troy (2006), Elizabeth I (2011), The Confessions of Young Nero (2017), and The Splendor Before the Dark (2018).

Margaret George was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1943. Her father joined the U.S. Foreign Service when she was four, and she lived overseas – Taiwan, Israel, and Germany – before she was thirteen. So she was exposed early to historical sites and learned that legends might have historical bases.