Fiona Goggin grew up in the Medway Towns, childhood home of Charles Dickens. Her fascination with the Victorians began on a primary school trip to the local museum, after getting lost among the creepy dolls and the penny-farthings. A lifelong love of Victorian gothic novels followed, through university and beyond. She worked in the charity sector for a number of years before completing the Curtis Brown Creative Three-Month Novel-Writing course in 2021. Fiona lives in Kent with her husband, two daughters and a particularly enigmatic cat. She works as a library assistant in a local public library where she loves talking to fellow readers young and old, and everything in between. Fiona’s debut work, a Victorian gothic novel, The Silver Bones of Frances Winter, is published by Everything With Words (September 2026).

‘Goggin’s debut is wonderfully Gothic … All the dark, delicious tropes of the genre are present, but Frances’s preoccupations with her body, and her perception of it as something unwieldy and unlovable has contemporary resonance.’ – Daily Mail

‘A sparkling debut novel which will appeal equally to young adult readers and fans of gothic Victoriana in the mode of Stacey Halls or Jessie Burton. . . Both time and place are evoked with skilful attention to detail. . . A really enjoyable read, with beautifully descriptive passages and well-developed, colourful characters which will linger long with the reader.’ – Local Authority

‘A beautiful, empathetic novel full of intrigue and grace. I couldn’t stop turning the pages.’ –  Emily Critchley, author of The Undoing of Violet Claybourne