Aileen Armitage was brought up in Huddersfield where her father's family have lived for the past 400 years. Aileen has made use of their story, and that of the town, in her well-known 'Hawksmoor' novels - the series that has earned her a reputation as 'Yorkshire's Catherine Cookson'. After gaining a BA in modern languages, Aileen taught English for ten years. When failing sight obliged her to give up her teaching career, Aileen began writing and had many magazine articles and short stories published before she turned to longer fiction. She has since been widely published in the UK and in the USA. Aileen also lectures on novel writing for writers' seminars and is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio. She is a frequent guest speaker, especially since winning UK Woman of the Year award in 1988. In 2002 she was awarded an honorary D.Litt degree for her contribution to literature. Aileen has four grown-up children from her first marriage. She is now happily remarried to the writer Deric Longden.