Anne O’Brien

Anne O’Brien is a British author best known for historical novels centred on influential women of medieval England. Born in Yorkshire, she studied history at the University of Manchester before completing postgraduate qualifications in education and working as a history teacher. She began her publishing career with historical romances, but later turned to novels that reconstruct the lives of women who left only limited traces in contemporary records.

Her novels include The King’s Concubine, about Alice Perrers; The Forbidden Queen, centred on Katherine de Valois; The King’s Sister, The Queen’s Choice, Queen of the North and The Queen’s Rival. O’Brien’s fiction explores dynastic conflict, political ambition, marriage and inheritance, particularly during the Plantagenet era and the Wars of the Roses. Her work is distinguished by its focus on women attempting to exercise influence within societies dominated by royal and aristocratic men.