Frances Hardinge spent her childhood in a huge old house that inspired her to write strange stories from an early age. She read English at Oxford University, then got a job at a software company. However, by this time a persistent friend had finally managed to bully Frances into sending a few chapters of Fly By Night, her first children's ... Read morenovel, to a publisher. Macmillan made her an immediate offer. The book went on to publish to huge critical acclaim and win the Branford Boase First Novel Award. The sequel, Twilight Robbery, was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. She has also written many other highly acclaimed novels including Verdigris Deep, Cuckoo Song and the Costa Award winning The Lie Tree. Show Less