Essie Fox

Fox grew up in Leominster, Herefordshire.^[1] Fox attended the Minster School, completing her schooling in 1978. She graduated with a degree from the University of Sheffield in 1981.^[2]

Fox began her career as an editorial assistant at George Allen & Unwin and The Telegraph, and also worked as an illustrator.^[3] She also ran a blog titled Virtual Victorian.^[4] Fox's debut novel The Somnambulist was published in 2011 via Orion Books. The novel is a Victorian gothic mystery set around Wilton's Music Hall. The Somnambulist was selected as one of the Best Reads of 2012 on the More4 programme TV Book Club^[5][6] and shortlisted for the People's Book Prize^[7] and New Writer at the National Book Awards.^[8]

Fox reunited with Orion for the publication of her next two novels Elijah's Mermaid^[9][10] and The Goddess and the Thief.^[11] Elijah's Mermaid was a 2013 LoveReading Book of the Month. This was followed by The Last Days of Leda Grey, about an Edwardian actress, in 2016.^[12]

In 2022, Orenda Books acquired the rights to publish Fox's gothic novel The Fascination in 2023.^[13][14] The Fascination became a Sunday Times bestseller.^[15]

Orenda Books then signed Fox's sixth novel Dangerous, a thriller about the poet Lord Byron, for publication in 2025.^[16][17] Dangerous was named one of the best historical fiction books of 2025 by The Sunday Times.^[18]

Fox is married to Chris Fox of the Liberal Democrats.^[19]

^{[ISBN missing]}

• The Somnambulist (2011)
• Elijah's Mermaid (2012)
• The Goddess and the Thief (2013)
• The Last Days of Leda Grey (2016)
• The Fascination (2023)
• Dangerous (2025)
• Catherine: A Retelling of Wuthering Heights (2026)