'The Queen Of Historical Fiction', ALISON WEIR, talks to Harvington History Festival

ONE of the UK’s most successful authors, Alison Weir's books have been translated into so many languages even she’s not sure of the number.

- DAVE FREAK

“I have lost count! My agent is still trying to track some of them down because I never seem to see them all. There’s one from Vietnam that seems to be very elusive,” she laughs.

“I have lots of editions in Korean, Chinese, Russian; they've also been translated into Ukrainian, and published in Poland and Italy, too - they do very well there for some reason - and, of course, America and Australia.

“I’ve been very lucky,” she smiles. “Just don’t ask me to check the translations!”

A former civil servant and teacher, Alison's history obsession stated in her teens. Relishing the research, she was quick to start writing, although rejections mounted up and it wasn’t until she was in her late-30s that her first book, 1989's Britain's Royal Families, was finally published.

Her early books were exclusively non-fiction, but since 2006's Innocent Traitor Alison has bounced between penning non-fiction and a fiction deeply rooted in fact. Highly prolific, she now has 38 books to her name (22 non-fiction, 16 fiction), the latest of which is The Cardinal: The Secret Life of Thomas Wolsey - a fictional (though extensively researched) exploration of the inner life of the man who rose from relatively humble origins to the very highest echelons of Tudor society, becoming Henry VIII's most trusted advisor.