Lauren Willig is a New York Times bestselling author of historical romance novels. Her books follow a collection of Napoleonic-Era British spies, similar to the Scarlet Pimpernel as they fight for Britain and fall in love. A native of New York City, Willig discovered romance novels when she was only six years old, while she was attempting to find books about her idol, Eleanor of Acquitaine.
Willig attended Yale University, where she majored in Renaissance Studies and Political Science, then studied graduate level early modern European history at Harvard University before entering and graduating from Harvard Law School. Willig briefly worked for Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a law firm in New York, while authoring her "Pink Carnation" series of books, until she gave up law in order to focus full time on the series.
Willig attended Yale University, where she majored in Renaissance Studies and Political Science, then studied graduate level early modern European history at Harvard University before entering and graduating from Harvard Law School. Willig briefly worked for Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a law firm in New York, while authoring her "Pink Carnation" series of books, until she gave up law in order to focus full time on the series.
Genres: Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Mystery, Cozy Mystery
New Books
Series
Pink Carnation
1. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (2005)
2. The Masque of the Black Tulip (2005)
3. The Deception of the Emerald Ring (2006)
4. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (2008)
5. The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (2009)
6. The Betrayal of the Blood Lily (2009)
7. The Mischief of the Mistletoe (2010)
7.5. Away in a Manger (2011)
8. The Orchid Affair (2011)
9. The Garden Intrigue (2012)
10. The Passion of the Purple Plumeria (2013)
11. The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla (2014)
12. The Lure of the Moonflower (2015)
1. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (2005)
2. The Masque of the Black Tulip (2005)
3. The Deception of the Emerald Ring (2006)
4. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (2008)
5. The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (2009)
6. The Betrayal of the Blood Lily (2009)
7. The Mischief of the Mistletoe (2010)
7.5. Away in a Manger (2011)
8. The Orchid Affair (2011)
9. The Garden Intrigue (2012)
10. The Passion of the Purple Plumeria (2013)
11. The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla (2014)
12. The Lure of the Moonflower (2015)
Novels
Two L (2011)
The Ashford Affair (2013)
That Summer (2014)
The Other Daughter (2015)
The Forgotten Room (2016) (with Karen White and Beatriz Williams)
The English Wife (2018)
The Glass Ocean (2018) (with Karen White and Beatriz Williams)
The Summer Country (2019)
All the Ways We Said Goodbye (2020) (with Karen White and Beatriz Williams)
Band of Sisters (2021)
The Lost Summers of Newport (2022) (with Karen White and Beatriz Williams)
Two Wars and a Wedding (2023)
The Lady Author Murder Society (2024) (with Karen White and Beatriz Williams)
The Ashford Affair (2013)
That Summer (2014)
The Other Daughter (2015)
The Forgotten Room (2016) (with Karen White and Beatriz Williams)
The English Wife (2018)
The Glass Ocean (2018) (with Karen White and Beatriz Williams)
The Summer Country (2019)
All the Ways We Said Goodbye (2020) (with Karen White and Beatriz Williams)
Band of Sisters (2021)
The Lost Summers of Newport (2022) (with Karen White and Beatriz Williams)
Two Wars and a Wedding (2023)
The Lady Author Murder Society (2024) (with Karen White and Beatriz Williams)
Collections
Novellas and Short Stories
Lauren Willig recommends

The Porcelain Maker (2023)
Sarah Freethy
"Like the portrait of the Viking at the heart of her story, Sarah Freethy's The Porcelain Maker exists on two levels: on the surface, a story about a woman's search for the truth about her parentage, tracing the forgotten by the objects they left behind, and, beneath it, a heartbreaking story of beauty in the midst of brutality and love in an age of hate as two young artists fight to stay alive and together amid the horrors of Nazi rule in 1940s Germany. A story that will move and surprise you - and leave you reaching for the tissue box as the final details unfold."

Hotel Laguna (2023)
Nicola Harrison
"Nicola Harrison captures all the turmoil of the post war world, of the women who found factory work until the men came home-- and then found themselves with no place to go, except back home. But what about the women who don't have a home to go back to? In Hotel Laguna, a destitute and desperate young woman finds an unexpected home and sense of purpose when she takes a job with an aging artist, never guessing that finding his secrets will also help her find herself. You'll feel like you've dipped your toes in the sand of Laguna Beach. The perfect book to slip into your beach bag."

The Porcelain Moon (2023)
Janie Chang
"I'm so grateful to Janie Chang for bringing to life a side of the Great War - and France! - that one seldom sees: the Chinese laborers who came over to aid the war effort and the members of the Chinese community in Paris who volunteered as translators. Chang creates a fascinating, immersive story of worlds intertwining, a story of friendship, love, found family, and finding one's own place in a rapidly changing world."

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy (2022)
Susan Elia MacNeal
"A fascinating, thought-provoking thrill ride through the fascist underbelly of 1940s Los Angeles, Mother Daughter Traitor Spy will have you glancing over your shoulder and wondering just what you'd dare--and whether you'd make it out alive."

Jacqueline in Paris (2022)
Ann Mah
"Before there was Camelot, there was a Vassar student in Paris. Ann Mah's Jacqueline in Paris paints a beautiful, richly textured portrait of both a woman and an era. Some novels are windows into a life, letting you peer through a glass; Jacqueline in Paris is an open door, inviting you to walk along with Jacqueline as she explores France, filtering myth from reality, and discerning the true strengths of both her adopted country and her own character. This book is the very best of biographical fiction!"

The Portraitist (2022)
Susanne Dunlap
"In The Portraitist, Susanne Dunlap skillfully paints a portrait of a woman struggling to make her way in a man's world--a topic as relevant today as it was in Ancien R?gime France. Impeccably researched, rich with period detail, Dunlap brings to life the little-known true story of Adelaide Labille-Guiard, who fought her husband and society to make a name for herself as a painter to the royal family, the very apex of success--only to find everything she had built threatened by the Revolution. A stunning story of determination, talent, and reversals of fortune. As a lifelong Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun fan, I am now questioning my allegiances!"
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