Jodi Taylor

Jodi Taylor is the British author of the bestselling Chronicles of St Mary's series — a wildly entertaining blend of time travel, history, comedy, and chaos that has built a devoted and enthusiastic global fanbase. Her books are beloved for their wit, their warmth, their strong female characters, and their gleeful refusal to take themselves too seriously. Taylor worked in a variety of careers before turning to writing, and she has spoken about coming to fiction relatively late in life. Her debut novel, Just One Damned Thing After Another, was originally self-published in 2013 and became an immediate word-of-mouth hit. The book introduces St Mary's Institute of Historical Research, an organisation that looks like a chaotic English country house but is actually home to a group of historians who "investigate major historical events in contemporary time" — which is a polite way of saying they travel through time and invariably make a tremendous mess of things. The series follows Dr Madeleine Maxwell (Max) and her colleagues as they witness the Great Fire of London, visit ancient Egypt, observe the Cretaceous period, and generally career through history with more enthusiasm than sense. The books are packed with historical detail, but worn lightly — Taylor uses history as the backdrop for stories about friendship, courage, love, and the disasters that occur when clever people make terrible decisions under pressure. The Chronicles of St Mary's now comprises numerous novels and short story collections, and Taylor has also written the spin-off Time Police series, featuring the next generation of time-travelling troublemakers. Both series share the same tone: funny, fast-paced, occasionally moving, and always entertaining. What sets Taylor apart is her voice. Her writing is conversational, irreverent, and full of dry British humour. Her characters feel like people you'd want to have a drink with — albeit people you probably shouldn't trust near anything fragile or historically significant. The audiobook editions of the St Mary's series, narrated by Zara Ramm, are a highlight. Ramm's performance has become inseparable from the series in many fans' minds, and the audiobooks are frequently recommended as the ideal way to experience Taylor's comedic timing and energetic storytelling. Jodi Taylor lives in the countryside with her cats. Her books and audiobooks are perfect for anyone who likes their history with a generous side of humour and time-travel-induced pandemonium.