Annie Garthwaite grew up in a working-class community in the north-east of England. She studied English at the University of Wales before embarking on a thirty-year international business career. In 2017 she returned to her first love, books, and set out to write the story of a woman she had always felt drawn to- Cecily Neville. This became her debut novel, Cecily.
A startling heroine -- Sarah Moss In vigorous, direct prose Garthwaite grippingly resurrects a remarkable woman * Sunday Times * Has the new Hilary Mantel arrived? * Sunday Telegraph * I look forward to hearing more from Annie Garthwaite and Cecily * Times * Cecily is a vivid and compelling portrait of a formidable figure from the 15th century and a heroine for our times * Big Issue * In Garthwaite's hands, Neville proves as Machiavellian, manipulative and era-defining as any man * Noon * Cecily stalks the corridors of power like a female Thomas Cromwell. A vividly female perspective on the Wars of the Roses - what a feat -- Imogen Hermes Gowar An extraordinary achievement . . . I could touch and breathe Cecily's world as if I was walking in her shadow -- Carol McGrath CECILY is the WOLF HALL for the 2020s... marks the start of a stellar career -- Manda Scott I loved it . . . Annie Garthwaite writes about the past with a kind of restrained, earthy vim, and with the sort of intimacy and immediacy - and empathy - that can only come from graft and craft -- Toby Clements Cecily stalks the corridors of power like a female Thomas Cromwell. A vividly female perspective on the Wars of the Roses - what a feat -- Imogen Hermes Gowar, author of THE MERMAID AND MRS HANCOCK An extraordinary achievement . . .I could touch and breathe Cecily's world as if I was walking in her shadow -- Carol McGrath CECILY is the WOLF HALL for the 2020s... marks the start of a stellar career -- Manda Scott I loved it . . . Annie Garthwaite writes about the past with a kind of restrained, earthy vim, and with the sort of intimacy and immediacy - and empathy - that can only come from graft and craft -- Toby Clements A stunning debut. Cecily is an unforgettable heroine... a novel about the power and resourcefulness of women -- Susan Elliott-Wright An intimate, vivid, and compulsively page turning retelling of the Wars of the Roses. At the centre of it all is Cecily herself - ferocious to her enemies, loving to her family, both cannily pragmatic and willing to take the greatest of risks for the greatest of prizes -- Tim Leach Like Mantel's work, Garthwaite's memorable book leaps beyond its genre of historical fiction. Garthwaite writes with empathy and a brilliant eye for historical detail. This book is a winner--don't miss it! -- Pamela Petro Vivid and compelling -- J L Laynesmith A bold, beautiful novel -- Eleanor Dymott Masterful and majestic, here is England's unspoken history told by one brilliant woman through the life of another. This important novel blazes on every page from its brutal first scene to its glittering final act. Immense -- Chris Cleave Entirely absorbing and utterly compelling. C15th England leaps from the page, with all its political turmoil & bloodshed. I loved it -- Caroline Lea This book is really special. It covers a part of history where women are often footnotes but in this book Cecily is ALIVE, alive & flawed -- Kate Sawyer In vigorous, direct prose Garthwaite grippingly resurrects a remarkable woman * Sunday Times *