Author of The Secrets of Sainte Madeleine, Tilly Bagshawe shares seven things about her

21 March 2022

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Tilly Bagshawe

I hated reading as a child and am still a very slow reader.

I didn’t really enjoy reading until I discovered Enid Blyton’s ‘Secret Seven’ books when I was about ten. Part of the problem was that I read so slowly compared to other kids. I don’t know why, but to this day, I am incapable of reading in my head any faster than I would recite the words out loud.

I went to school in France when I was ten.

My mum was the headmistress of my primary school and sent me off to France for a term because I was being so naughty in class! (I did actually want to go.) I learned a lot of French, but I was desperately homesick. I remember looking up at the clouds passing overhead and wondering if they would get as far as England and float over my mum and dad and my dog, Bonzo.

I had an amazing career in the City before I started to write.

I was a partner in a big City headhunting firm for most of my twenties and I absolutely loved it. You can earn ridiculous amounts of money, and it’s a great fun and varied job, but it was also quite political and stressful. This was in the ‘90s and the sexual harassment I experienced as a young woman was off the charts. I never regretted quitting to write, but I also wouldn’t have traded those years for anything.

I have written seven posthumous Sidney Sheldon novels, as well as my own books.

My American agent’s father was Sidney’s agent and close friend for most of his career, which proved highly serendipitous for me. For anyone who hasn’t read them, I cannot recommend Sidney’s books highly enough. They are gripping and beautifully written, with characters you will never forget. He was also a feminist before his time, and his love for women really shines through every page.

I love being a mum and had my first child at seventeen.

I have never regretted starting my family so young. For me, it was the right decision. I have four children now, aged between ten and thirty, and definitely see myself as a mother first, everything else second. Having said that I am sure I would have been a lot more productive if I hadn’t had so many kids. I would certainly be richer!

I’m an American citizen as well as British and have lived half my life in America.

My husband is American and we live half the time in California, which is beautiful. I miss England a lot though and can’t wait to be living there again next year.

I studied history at Cambridge and still find it fascinating

My special subjects were the Black Death and the secret history of the intelligence services, both of which were so interesting and well taught. Going to Cambridge changed the course of my life and I will forever be grateful to St John’s College for everything they did for me as a young mother.

About The Secrets of Sainte Madeleine

Elise would do anything to inherit Sainte Madeleine, the vineyard that’s been home to the Salignacs for generations. Only Laurent Senard, a distant cousin, is a rival for her heart – yet when a family rift sends her on a new and dangerous path, she risks losing them both . . .

Alexandre, Elise’s brother, can’t bear to see their capricious father put the vineyard – and Alex’s birthright – in jeopardy. He leaves to carve out his own fortune in the rich hills of Napa, California. But will turning his back on the chateau be his biggest mistake?

Laurent Senard’s love for Elise was planted at Sainte Madeleine long ago. But with the shadow of war sweeping over Europe, Laurent must leave France to fight. Through the years of longing, secrecy and tragedy that follow, he vows to find his way back – if only it isn’t too late . . .

Sweeping through the 1920s to WWII and beyond, this is the story of the Salignac family – the loves that bind them, the secrets that threaten to divide them, and the chateau that will always call them home.