The Garden of Lost Secrets

About A.M. Howell

A.M. Howell has always been inspired by the stories around her, and how imagination can unlock the secrets of the past. Her thrilling historical mysteries have garnered great critical acclaim and award wins. Since her 2019 debut The Garden of Lost Secrets, A.M. Howell has fast cemented herself as a stand-out author of thrilling middle-grade historical fiction. She has enjoyed widespread critical acclaim, twice being afforded the prestigious Times Children’s Book of the Week slot, and with The Telegraph calling her “a hypnotically readable writer, who keeps the pulse racing”.

A.M. Howell is the recipient of the Mal Peet Children’s Award for The House of One Hundred Clocks which was also the overall winner of the East Anglian Book of the Year Award, the first time a children’s book has won this prize, whose past recipients include Sarah Perry.

After hearing about the discovery of a 100-year-old gardener’s notebook at the National Trust’s Ickworth House in Suffolk, A.M. Howell found herself wondering who it could have belonged to, and so The Garden of Lost Secrets was born. She continues to be inspired by the stories around her, and how imagination can unlock the secrets of the past. Her bestselling series, Mysteries at Sea is inspired by her own childhood travels on ships.

After completing a BA and MA at the University of Manchester, A.M. Howell now writes policy documents for local government. She lives in Suffolk with her husband and two sons

Image credit to Tom Soper