Karen Essex

KAREN ESSEX is a national and international bestselling author whose novels spotlight history’s most fascinating and powerful women—those who shaped empires, commanded art, and seduced the world. The books are embraced by readers who crave both depth and passion in historical fiction.

Her work includes an acclaimed two volume biographical novel KLEOPATRA: The Early Years, the little known story of the princess’s rise to the throne; & PHARAOH: Book II of Kleopatra, focusing on the queen’s political acumen as well as her romances. LEONARDO'S SWANS, a global bestseller, puts Leonardo da Vinci’s rivalrous female muses at its core, aristocratic women who shaped the art and politics of the Italian Renaissance. The novel won Italy's prestigious Premio Roma for foreign fiction. STEALING ATHENA is a sweeping historical saga from the perspectives of two of history's most fascinating women who played key roles in the building and fate of Athens' greatest monuments. DRACULA IN LOVE retells Bram Stoker’s classic tale from the perspective of Dracula’s obsession, Mina Harker, who surprises readers with her own supernatural lineage.