Peter Woodhead

I live with my wife, close to five grandchildren, and enjoy gardening and walking in our beautiful countryside. As a student of the Ancient World, I was fascinated by the story told by Roman writers of pro-Roman Cartimandua, the first known important queen in British history, and her husband, the violently anti-Roman Venutius. I wrote "Worlds Collide" to show what might have happened once they disappear from history, and to bring the first century AD to life - for example, to show what it must have been like on the opening day of the Colosseum in AD 80, or to have seen Vesuvius erupting in AD 79. I also wanted to tell the stories of individuals we know from history and to imagine other characters who could have played a part in their lives.

An independent critical review said: "a book of undoubted quality"; "excellent narrative technique"; "carefully conceived and beautifully executed plot".