Melissa Bailey
Novelist
About
Melissa Bailey is a historical fiction writer. Her first novel, The Medici Mirror, is a tale of murder, sorcery and superstition through the centuries and was translated into four languages. Her second novel, Beyond the Sea, is a mythical story of love, life, death and rebirth set in the Hebridean islands. Both were published by Penguin Random House.
She is currently working on her third novel, a dark, gothic tale of madness and revenge in 1850’s London. In the domestic sphere, it focuses on the differing treatment of men and women with mental illness, and on a more global level it studies the craze surrounding the trade in orchids from the far reaches of empire.
Melissa has taken part in a number of creative writing seminars at City, University of London and has run an independent workshop for writers to help develop and refine draft manuscripts prior to submission to agents and publishers. She is a member of the Society of Authors and The Prime Writers. Prior to becoming a writer, Melissa practised as a media and entertainment lawyer at the Simkins Partnership (becoming a partner in 2004) and was a mentor to the trainee solicitors in the firm.