The Woman from Heartbreak House

Sunday Times bestselling author Freda Lightfoot was born in Lancashire. She was a teacher, a bookseller in the Lake District, then a smallholder and began her writing career publishing short stories and articles before finding her vocation as a novelist. She published over fifty novels, mostly sagas and historical fiction. She died in 2025 aged 83, leaving a legacy of books that continue to be enjoyed by thousands of readers.

Scarlett Courtney trained at LAMDA and won the BBC Carlton Hobbs Award. She has appeared in numerous radio dramas for the BBC, Audible and Big Finish including, The Egg Man, Madam Will You Talk, The Palliers, Stalingrad, Dr Who and Mansfield Park. Her television credits include I Jack Wright and Call the Midwife. Scarlett also has a background in musical theatre with credits including Titanic and Death Takes a Holiday.