Sophie Jamesis the daughter of broadcaster and journalist Walter James. She read theology at Cambridge, where she won the Burney Prize Essay for her work on George Eliot.

In 1996 she left a PhD at Oxford to start freelancing for among others, The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, The Times, The Times Educational Supplement and Alan Ross’s London Magazine. She travelled extensively in India researching and writing about her mother’s family roots there; her travels in Bengal, particularly Calcutta and Darjeeling, inspired her second novel The Tea Jungle and her novella, Susan.

In 2001 she took her four-month-old son to live in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India and her experiences over the next two years inform her first novel, Love Hate Jaipur. 

She lives in Lambourn with her partner and son and is currently working on her fourth novel, Surrey.

For a more personal and lively appreciation of her work, click here for an interview.