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Catherine Taylor

Goodreads Author

Born

in Guernsey

Website

https://www.catherinetaylor.net/

Twitter

CathTaylorNovel

Genre

Historical Fiction, Fiction, Paranormal

Member Since

June 2015

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Follow me on instagram at @catherine_taylor_author and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CatherineTay...

I was born and grew up on the small island of Guernsey, one of the British Channel Islands in the English Channel.

My mother was a professional landscape artist, who spent her life painting the beautiful beaches and countryside of Guernsey. And so I grew up in an environment where it was a very normal thing to want to make a living from your art. Which is just as well, because I’m someone who always knew she wanted to be a writer, and if I’d had parents who’d harboured hopes of me becoming a tax accountant or a corporate lawyer, they’d have been sorely disappointed.

I’ve been obsessed with words and books since the day I first learned to Follow me on instagram at @catherine_taylor_author and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CatherineTay...

I was born and grew up on the small island of Guernsey, one of the British Channel Islands in the English Channel.

My mother was a professional landscape artist, who spent her life painting the beautiful beaches and countryside of Guernsey. And so I grew up in an environment where it was a very normal thing to want to make a living from your art. Which is just as well, because I’m someone who always knew she wanted to be a writer, and if I’d had parents who’d harboured hopes of me becoming a tax accountant or a corporate lawyer, they’d have been sorely disappointed.

I’ve been obsessed with words and books since the day I first learned to read, and grew up on classic children’s authors like Enid Blyton and Edith Nesbit. As I got older I began to gravitate towards love stories with gripping plots, devouring novels like Jane Eyre, Rebecca, Katharine, Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice, about clever, independent-minded women caught up in passionate affairs with complex, Byronic men. And equally I loved sweeping epics like The Thorn Birds and Gone With The Wind. I have always been a hopeless romantic, and my favourite novels are beautiful, intelligent love stories that combine a gripping plot with gorgeous prose and wonderful historical detail to lose yourself in.

I was also a keen writer myself from an early age, penning copious stories and poems – as well as plays to be performed in the field behind our house, with parts for me and my younger brother and sister, but always with myself in the starring role (of course!).

My love of language developed into an interest in foreign languages, and I went on to study French and German at university, then to live and study in Germany for several years after that. Most recently I worked as a journalist.

Throughout my time at university I studied 1900-1945 European history and culture – a period that continues to fascinate me. I always knew that when I eventually wrote my first novel it would be a novel of historical fiction set during the first half of the twentieth century. And that it would be first and foremost a love story.

Mental health is a subject that has always hugely interested me, and from the very start I knew that Beyond The Moon would be set partly in a psychiatric hospital. As I began to research people’s experiences in mental hospitals I was shocked to find just how common it is for patients to suffer neglect and abuse in such places. I can understand that modern-day Coldbrook Hall might seem far-fetched to some readers, but I assure you, you don’t have to look far on the internet to find some appalling stories. Just recently the following articles appeared in UK newspapers: ‘Firms cash in on psychiatric care crisis’ in The Times, and ‘Care Quality Commission [the UK regulator] places two Priory Group hospitals in special measures’ in The Guardian. If I, in my very small way through Beyond The Moon, can help shine a light on this modern-day scandal, then I am very glad.

I hope you enjoy Beyond The Moon as much as I loved writing it. I love to hear from readers, so please do get in touch at catherine@catherinetaylor.net. Also, on my contact details page, you can sign up for my mailing list and receive occasional (I don’t have the time for anything more frequent!) news about Beyond The Moon and future novels.

I’m currently working on a two novel series set in Guernsey and Germany both before and during the Second World War. It’s another smart historical love story, and I’m very excited about it.

I now live in London with my husband and two children - and three cats. ...more

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Average rating: 4.18 · 3,645 ratings · 530 reviews · 1 distinct work • Similar authors

Beyond the Moon

4.18 avg rating — 3,645 ratings — published 2019 — 5 editions

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Catherine Taylor's Blog

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Just wanted to let you know that a new article I wrote about my inspiration for Beyond The Moon has just appeared on the Women Writers, Women's Books site: http://booksbywomen.org/research-for-...

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Published on April 01, 2021 04:54

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Beyond the Moon

by Catherine Taylor (Goodreads Author)

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read in August 2021

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Aug 15, 2023 02:44PM

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Catherine Taylor and 387 other people liked Nat's review of The Artist: "Reading a book written by your sister is strange, not because it's clear she's a genius (I already knew that), but because of how familiar it all feels. It's Lucy in a book, from the woman creating something amazing in secret just to prove she can, t" Read more of this review »
Jan 03, 2026 06:14AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Artist by Lucy Steeds. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Artist by Lucy Steeds <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Catherine Taylor rated a book it was amazing I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Catherine Taylor and 55 other people liked Wynne's review of American Pastoral: "This is the most self-indulgent, pointless book I have ever read. I would string together a series of poorly crafted run-on sentences to attempt to describe this terrible work, but then I would be simply imitating Roth. I wish that I had the hours th" Read more of this review »
Nov 16, 2025 01:40PM · see review
Catherine Taylor rated a book it was amazing Because of the Lockwoods by Dorothy Whipple	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Quotes by Catherine Taylor (?)

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
― Catherine Taylor, Beyond the Moon

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