The ‘Shy Child’ Who Went On To Become A Top-Selling Author

Published on: 17 Aug, 2026
Updated on: 17 Aug, 2026

Kate Thompson – top-selling author of historical fiction and non-fiction – will be the special guest at Ash Library next month (September), in conversation with local author Louise Morrish.

Kate’s newest book, The Secret Society of Librarians, is inspired by a true story after she conducted interviews with Renee Salt – one of the last living Holocaust survivors.

Kate has written 15 top-selling books, inspired by wartime stories, archival research and original primary sources.

She says: “I am passionate about amplifying women’s voices, especially those hidden in the margins of history. I am never happier than when I’m perched on a sofa, interviewing a woman who describes herself as ‘only ordinary’ and listening to the unfiltered gush of social history.”

Explaining her love of books, she added: “As a shy child, in the 1970s and ’80s, I loved visiting my local library. Coming from a rumbustious household, I embraced the feeling of solitude and order. As soon as I caught the intoxicating scent of old paper and polish and heard that satisfying thunk of the librarian’s stamp, I relaxed.”

Kate says that uncovering hidden stories is at the heart of everything she writes and she says she employs assiduous research to bring these stories to life.

Her new book, set during the Second World War, is out in paperback this month (August) and is currently available in hardback.

Her interviewer at the Ash event, Louise Morrish, is a librarian whose debut novel won the 2019 Penguin Random House First Novel Competition. She finds inspiration for her stories in the real-life adventures of women in the past, whom history has forgotten. She lives in Alton with her family.

The event at Ash library takes place on the evening of September 29. Tickets cost £4.

To book, go to:An Evening with Kate Thompson Tickets, Tuesday 29 September • 7 PM – 8 PM | Eventbrite