About me
Julia has been sailing all her life. That doesn't mean she's a particularly talented or adventurous sailor, just that it's an integral part of who she is. Her boat, Peter Duck, is also a part of her identity. PD is a wooden ketch built in 1946 for the Swallows and Amazons author, Arthur Ransome and named for one of his characters. Julia is passionate about books. She used to run a bookshop and is the literary editor for Yachting Monthly magazine. She's a writer and a publisher. Her first book was a biography of the Golden Age crime writer Margery Allingham. Her most recent title, Stars* to Steer By, celebrates the lives of c20th British women who went to sea. It's also a social history of that century which saw so many changes in the opportunities open to women's. She's also written a seven volume adventure fiction series, Strong Winds which is currently being translated into German. Julia's work in progress is a history of Peter Duck. It's called Ghosts in the Cabin. Julia has five children and seven grandchildren. She's married to the journalist and author Francis Wheen.
