Hello! Thank you for visiting my website.

I am a contemporary and historical fiction writer living in beautiful Henley-on-Thames, represented by the fabulous Caroline Sheldon of the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency.

My debut novel, Another Us was published in May 2020 by the wonderful Canelo (I know, I know –  launching towards the start of a global pandemic wasn’t exactly in the plan!)  Another Us is the – hopefully! – heartwarming, poignant and funny story of a marriage at breaking point. Emma and Daniel’s son Jack has been diagnosed with autism and Emma is horrified to discover that 80% of such marriages fall apart. With its focus on family life, its humour and its exploration of relationships, I hope that Another Us will appeal to readers who enjoy character-driven books with satisfying emotional content and just a little grit. Although it is a work of fiction, I certainly learned a lot about myself by writing it! 

Then I moved onto something quite different.  The Post Office Girls – written as Poppy Cooper – is a saga set in London in 1915.  It was published by Hodder & Stoughton in April 2021 – yes, still in lockdown – and follows the lives and loves of the girls who worked in the Army Post Office’s Home Depot on The Regent’s Park sorting parcels and letters to the soldiers serving at the various fronts in WW1. The Post Office Girls follows 18 year old Beth on a journey on self discovery as she leaves her family village shop in Hertfordshire to “do her bit” and the fun, challenges and adventures that she has along the way. I loved researching and writing it; it was obviously a horrendous period of time to live through, but there were opportunities for women like never before. 

A second book in the series,  A Post Office Christmas, followed in November 2021 – my third book published in lockdown. This one is told from the point of view of feisty, East-Ender Milly as she fights both for women’s rights and to discover her place in the world. I loved writing about Milly and learning more about all the terrible inequalities and injustices that she railed against – and also about the Christmas traditions of the time.

Next in line is a new saga series which will be published by Penguin – Penguin! –  in 2024 under the name of Kirsty Dougal. Wartime on Sanctuary Lane is coming out in April and A Christmas Miracle on Sanctuary Lane will follow in November.  These are a cross between All Creatures Great and Small and Call the Midwife and follow the lives and loves of Ruby, a young munitions worker, as she attempts to set up an animal hospital in London’s East End during WW1. They have been a blast to write and I very much hope that you will enjoy them. 

You can follow my writing journey on my blog –  although I don’t update it nearly as often as I should  – or connect with me on Twitter where I spend far, far  too much time and tweet as @Kirsten_Hesketh. Come and say hello!