Maggie Morris Wyllie is an art historian whose love of Renaissance Italy tempted her to write her first novel, The Secret of Villa Favoni.

Her grandfather was an antiques dealer, which meant that as she grew up, many beautiful and interesting objects passed through her family’s tiny flat in Glasgow. It was her fascination for these treasures that led her into the world of art history.

She admits to being a rather boring child. Her most exciting memory of those early years is having her library books marked with a stamp…and starting to read them on her way home. All this changed when she finished school and stepped on a train to Milan.

There was no turning back, the magic had struck. After Art school and University she worked in Italy, first as an art historian in Florence, Venice and Rome and then with The British Council in major museums throughout Europe.

After two decades living and working abroad, she and her husband are now back in London… a city they adore… but they do return to Scotland to visit their families, walk along the beach at Crammond, and go to the odd rugby match.