An early fan of Georgette Heyer’s Regency romances, Rebecca Jenkins began collecting diaries and journals from Georgian England as a child.

As a teenager she took a job as a dresser at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. Sewing the buckle on a spangled shoe as the Fairy Godmother made her entrance in Cinderella, Rebecca discovered a fascination with the theatre that eventually led to her account of the youth of nineteenth century actress, Fanny Kemble - The Reluctant Celebrity published in 2005. (The companion volume covering Mrs.Kemble’s mature years is a future project.)

After studying history at Oxford University, Rebecca Jenkins spent several years working alongside her father, the Rt. Revd. David Jenkins (Bishop of Durham 1984-94) during the turbulence of the 1980s. Her ringside view of Thatcherism at its height developed Rebecca’s interest in the media and in personal accounts of historical events. These two interests, along with her study of the history of Anglo-American relations, contributed to her latest book, The First London Olympics: 1908 .

Rebecca Jenkins lives in Teesdale in the North East of England where the landscape and history provide the inspiration for her Regency detective, F R Jarrett.