I am a writer of Historical Fiction based in London. I was born and brought up in Darlington and read Russian and German at Cambridge. Before becoming a writer I was a TV director.
I look like this:
Follow @RobertsonImogenI am a writer of Historical Fiction based in London. I was born and brought up in Darlington and read Russian and German at Cambridge. Before becoming a writer I was a TV director.
I look like this:
Follow @RobertsonImogen
I am well into Instruments of Darkness and am very impressed. Your dialog is sharp, and your orchestration of the flashbacks is flawless. I look forward to reading your other novels.
P.S. I am a painter by passion, but I have an M.A. in English lit and therefore fancy myself a critic of rare taste and discernment. No one else seems to agree.
I do! I think you are obviously an extremely perceptive and intelligent opinion leader in the arts. Hope you like the other books too.
Nice to meet you, last night. (smoking kills!!)
Good to meet you too! (Yes, horrible habit)
I have just finished reading “Island of Bones.” It is most excellent as were both “Instruments of Darkness” and “Anatomy of Murder.” I have always had a fascination with British history and a love for a good mystery. Thank you for sharing your wonderful expertise in both! Now I must wait patiently for the publication of the next book in this series–unfortunately, patience is not my strong suit! Thanks again! Kay
Thank you, Kay! Very glad you liked it. I shall write as fast as I can, I promise.
I just finished reading Island of bones and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed this book. Excellent story, characters, I just did not want this book to end. I feel as if I know these characters having read your other two books. When I read your books I read every word, you really are an amazing and talented writer. I’m just sad that I have to wait for your next book so long. Thank you so much for a wonderful story. best wishes, Irene
Thank you, Irene! It really makes a difference to know people are enjoying the books. Thank you for getting in touch, and I hope you like Circle of Shadows when it reaches you.
I discovered Instruments of Darkness while on a trip to London this past June. Since then, I’m happy to see that all your books have made it to the States in one form or another. I’ve read all your books and have just finished Circle of Shadows. I thought the way you handled the relationship between Harriet and Manzarotti was very believable and clever. It seems like you will continue to have him appear in future books. I hope you do. While all your characters are complex, well-fleshed out and very likable, I especially enjoy the scenes with M. I can’t wait for your next book to be published.
Thank you so much! Yes, I’m sure he’ll be back. I dread to think what he is up to in France in the meantime.
Dear Ms. Robertson,
Your editors are letting you down, I think. There are a lot of silly historical errors and inconsistencies that are distracting to any reader who knows the period. And you do have a tendency to go off on descriptive frolics that may or may not advance the plot but almost always contain mixed metaphors and cliches. All writers do that to some extent – good editors are there to ensure that the frolics read well and work well in the story. I don’t think your editors are doing that.
And please: Susan Thornleigh may or may not be “Lady Susan” ( questionable because her father was never an earl, having died before his father) but she is never “Lady Thornleigh” – that honour is reserved for the wife of the earl. And the earl is the “Earl of Sussex” or Lord Thornleigh but never Lord Sussex. A good editor would catch that. You use them all, which is just wrong.
Having said all this and perhaps I should I started with this, I have enjoyed the books. Just would enjoy them more if there were fewer mistakes.
C.Rogers
I’m glad you enjoyed the books anyway. I shall take a refresher course with Debrett’s. Thank you for your comments.
Dear Ms Robertson,
Love your work!!! Just finished ‘Island of Bones’ and I don’t know how I’m going to make it to June for the next book. I’ve already preordered it on Nook. Your research into the locales makes your books so real, as do the characters. Crowley is my favorite. I am an Anglophile but regretably never been to England. Fell in love with it through Agatha Christie, PD James and Dorithy L. Sayers. I loved your video tour on Youtube.
I’m sorry. I was so excited I wrote Crowley when I meant Crowther.
Thank you, Tony! Much appreciated.
I must agree with all the others here when i say that i am immensely enjoying your books! I stumbled across instruments of darkness a couple of months ago and haven’t looked back! I have just started island of bones and im gripped already. Thank you for writing such interesting and suspense filled novels that are an absolute pleasure to read. I hope that there will be more to
come!
Many thanks! I’m very pleased you like the books. The Paris Winter is out in April (not part of the series, set during the Belle Epoque), and I’m writing the next Crowther and Westerman novel at the moment. Basically I’ll keep writing as long as someone is willing to publish me! All best, Imogen
I have just read Paris Winter, which I enjoyed very much. I have read all your Westerman Crowther books and pre ordered Paris Winter and couldn’t wait for it to arrive. I live in France and now feel we must make a trip to Paris to try and re-create your descriptions. I am very excited to read you are writing another Westerman Crowther book and look forward to its publication.I buy a lot of books on my kindle, but not Imogen Robertson they take pride of place on my bookcase. Thank you
That’s very kind of you! I’m very pleased to be a ‘bookshelf’ author. I do exactly the same thing and if I read something on my kindle I really love I often end up buying a physical copy too. Hope you enjoy your Paris trip.
Can’t wait to read The Paris Winter, but also the next in the Crowther/Westerman series. Are you working on a new novel in that series, and if so, any idea of when it will come out?
Hope you enjoy Paris Winter. I am working on the next Crowther/Westerman at the moment! It should be out in the UK in April 2014. The provisional title is Theft of Life…
Great — can’t wait to read it!
Dear Reader,
Hah! Always wanted to write that. Just reviewed your ‘INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS’. On amazon.com.
Please remit payment. Kidding! Fabulous read, please take very good care of yourself so we can read many more. Not to sound morbid, but 2 of my fave authors dared to ‘pass on” in the middle of their series. So write your last book now just in case, kay?
Tongue in cheek,
Leslie, A crass American.
Thank you, much appreciated! I promise to do my very VERY best not to die. Ever.
I bought Intruments of Darkness quite a awhile from iTunes, but only just now got around to starting it… I was raised on Christie and greatly enjoy Anne Perry… Thank you for sharing your wonderful talent .
Thank you! Both great writers. Hope you enjoy it.
I am . Thank you for your response. Not normal for many famous authors
Hello Imogen I have just discovered you through Margery Allinghan whon I discovered a couple of years ago; I understand that you attended the Societies event recently in London which I was unable to come to. I am half way through your second Crowther/Westerman book and must say am very impressed thus far. I could not describe myself as widely read but am familiar (my wife says obsessed)! with Margery’s work. I assume that this author has had some influence on your work? Also I had no idea that yoiu are famous or you were going to die!!
Best Regards, Nick Marks
I’m very glad you’re enjoying the books. Yes, I’m a great fan of Allingham and read her a lot when I was a teenager, so she’s locked into my writing DNA now. She’s a great example of ambitious crime writing, by which I mean she’d not afraid of complex characters and much of her prose is just wonderful. She’s a standard to work towards.
The fact I’m going to die wasn’t too much of a surprise and it’s very kind of Patricia to refer to me as famous. I’ve been trying to claim I’m now obviously far too grand to take out the rubbish, but my husband is having none of it.
I’ve just read the Crowther-Westerman novels non-stop in 4 days– a few necessary interruptions for a meeting or two– and am delighted to find that there are two more Robertson books to dive into. My daughter is a 19th person– a dix-huitièmiste, curator of a large collection in NYC “Shelley and his Circle” so your C-W series is filling in some lacunae in my definitely 20th century literary background as well as removing me for hours at a time from a hot summer with no vacation in sight. More, please.
My daughter is an 18th century person (pre-coffee typo)
I’m delighted you’re enjoying them, and I shall keep writing, promise! Thanks very much for those kind words. Curating Shelly and his Circle sounds like a wonderful job and enjoy your coffee. Best, Imogen
[…] novelist Imogen Robertson rose swiftly in the ranks of historical mystery authors with the launch of Instrument of Darkness, […]
I’ve come to your books just lately, and have just finished Island of Bones. Beautiful writing and complex characters. And the Epilogue was so wonderful I cried – not something I normally do at the end of a mystery. Wondeful stories so far…please keep up the good work.
Thank you! Very glad you are enjoying them. Always glad to know I’ve made someone cry (if you know what I mean).
I must offer a counter-opinion to one of your critics. Your ‘desriptive frolics’ are part of the fun, and provide much appreciated incite to the reader about the time and place in which the characters live. And I think most of your fans would agree that your mixed metaphors are, as the British would say, delightful.
Thank you, Ken! Much appreciated.
Hi I love your Crowther/Westerman books and have read them all,at least twice over,are you writing more in this series?as I need my next Crowther/Westerman fix.Kind regards Gillian.
Hi Gillian! I’m just about to delete this website, so I hope you see this before I do. You’ll find me on http://www.imogenrobertson.com Anyway, I’ve actually just sent a Westerman and Crowther novella to my editor. I’m doing three. They’ll be released one by one on ebook, then all three together in one printed volume. You can find me on twitter too @robertsonimogen. And thank you, I’m very glad you like the books.