Karen Harper


Karen Harper is an historical fiction and contemporary fiction author. She is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.

Personal life

Harper was born in Toledo, Ohio, and obtained her bachelor's degree from Ohio University in Athens, and her graduate degree from Ohio State University in Columbus. She met her husband Don in Columbus, and has lived there for thirty-five years, though they spend some time in Naples, Florida.
Harper previously taught English at Ohio State University and Westerville North High School.

Writing career

Harper published Sweet Passion's Pain in 1984, and it was later published as The First Princess of Wales in 2006 by Three Rivers Press. It tells the tale of Joan of Kent and her future husband Edward, the Black Prince. Harper remarked in an author's note that the novel reminded her of the love affair between Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles, as both shared a "less than enthusiastic endorsement" from senior royal figures. Harper has stated that the Tudor era is her favorite setting for her novels, and medieval England is a close second.
Harper has been praised for her historically accurate attention to detail. She states this is because she has built up a large Tudor library over the past thirty years, has undergone frequent trips to the British Isles, has full access to the large Ohio State University library, and has interviewed many people familiar with her chosen historical topics.
Karen Harper has become an acclaimed author as a New York Times and USA today best seller.

List of works

The Maplecreek series

  1. Dark Road Home
  2. Dark Harvest
  3. Dark Angel

    The Home Valley series

  4. Fall From Pride
  5. Return to Grace
  6. Finding Mercy
  7. Upon a Winter's Night

    Cold Creek series

  8. Shattered Secrets
  9. Forbidden Ground
  10. Broken Bonds

    The Queen Elisabeth I series

  11. The Poyson Garden
  12. The Tidal Poole
  13. The Twylight Tower
  14. The Queene's Cure
  15. The Thorne Maze
  16. The Queen's Christmas
  17. The Fyre Mirror
  18. The Fatal Fashione
  19. The Hooded Hawke

    Standalone novels