Best-selling author Kate Mosse reveals how Ulster-Scots writer Helen Waddell has influenced her, and uncovers the fascinating story of how Waddell's life and work intertwined. Helen Waddell's 1933 novel Peter Abelard was a bestseller, and she was feted by the literati, politicians, and even royalty. She was a pioneer of the type of historical fiction that is so popular, and respected today.

Born in Japan, the daughter of a Presbyterian missionary, Helen was among the first wave of women to study at Queen's Belfast and Oxford University. She became an acclaimed scholar, translator, and novelist, but throughout her life she faced such adversity as bereavement, discrimination, complicated relationships and illness. Kate discovers how Waddell's fascination with the famous medieval lovers Abelard and Heloise had a profound and startling effect on her own romantic life. Show less