Announcing the publication of my new work 'Monica: A Life of Monica Dickens', the first biography of this prolific and hugely popular writer. As a young woman Monica, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, chose to turn her back on the life of a debutante and become a servant. Her first book, 'One Pair of Hands', was a riotous account of her experiences which she followed up with 'One Pair of Feet', the story of her subsequent years as a nurse. These in their turn were followed by the wonderful 'Mariana' and some far more serious works which saw Monica compared to Charles Dickens himself.
I used to read these books over and over again when I was young and always wanted to find out more about Monica's real life. What was the true story? What did she do next? She wrote a memoir but it was highly selective, and so I began to research writing her biography. Her life turned out to be quite amazing...