Sarah Dunant

Sarah Dunant is a bestselling British novelist, journalist, broadcaster, and critic. She is a cultural commentator, award-winning thriller writer and author of five novels set in Renaissance Italy, exploring women’s lives through art, sex and religion.

Sarah Dunant was born in 1950 and raised in London to David Dunant, a former Welsh airline steward, and Estelle, his French wife with roots in Bangalore, India.

Sarah attended Godolphin and Latymer, a local girls' grammar school. After graduating from Newnham College, Cambridge, she continued studying history, participating in the Footlights theatrical club.

After graduating, Dunant earned an actor's equity card and moved to Tokyo, Japan, where she worked as an English teacher and nightclub hostess. Her diverse experiences, including a journey overland through North, Central, and South America, became fodder for her debut solo novel, Snow Storms in Hot Climate (1988). This thriller explores the early cocaine trade in Colombia.

Sarah Dunant launched her broadcasting career at BBC Radio 4, where she produced the arts magazine Kaleidoscope for two years. Subsequently, she became a prominent presenter on BBC2's "The Late Show" and BBC Radio 3's "Night Waves," contributing extensively to radio discussions and occasionally presenting "Point of View" on BBC Radio 4.

As a writer, she began working on political thrillers and a BBC1 drama series in her late twenties. Notable among her early works is the Hannah Wolfe trilogy, addressing issues like surrogacy, cosmetic surgery, and violence against women. Dunant's commitment to feminism and exploring women's roles within history transcends genres.

In 2000, a transformative visit to Florence reignited her passion for history, leading to The Birth of Venus (2003), the first in a trilogy set in the Italian Renaissance. The commercial success enabled Dunant to focus full-time on writing and research, particularly delving into the lives of Renaissance women. An adaptation of her novel Sacred Hearts (2009), which centres on nuns in 16th-century Ferrara, was adapted by Musica Secreta with period music.

Dunant's recent focus involves unravelling the history of the Borgia family, advocating for historical accuracy in popular media representations. She has contributed reviews for UK newspapers and The New York Times.

Her crime novels earned accolades, with three CWA Golden Dagger award shortlisting and a silver dagger for Fatlands in 1994. In 2010, Sacred Hearts received a shortlist for the inaugural Walter Scott Historical Fiction Prize.

Her latest novel is In The Name Of The Family (2017).

Oxford Brookes University awarded Sarah Dunant an honorary doctorate of letters in 2016, where she also lectures on the M.A. course in Creative Writing.

Sarah Dunant has two daughters and lives in London and Florence.

Photo credit: Charlie Hopkinson.