Welcome

Hello, my name’s Hannah and I’m a writer of historical fiction set in the First World War.

I used to be an NHS midwife with a special interest in learning from practice, effective teams, and women’s experiences of care but I gave all that up back in 2017. I now write stories, mainly for myself but soon, I hope, for others, too.

To find out why I write please click here – and to understand a little of my fascination with the Great War, you might like to read this page. There’s more about my work here and, by way of a taster, a short story that I wrote a couple of years ago. I have two Instagram accounts; @mountainhares linked to this website (selected posts here) and another about my garden – so, if you’d rather look at pictures of ferns and wild roses instead of field guns and headstones, take a look @gardenonthehill over on Instagram.

Away from writing, I’m a keen walker and mountaineer. I love Ordnance Survey maps and planning, brewing coffee in carparks afterwards, and sleeping out under the stars – or clouds, or whatever. I’m passionate about footpaths, Access Land, the right to roam, and making the countryside welcoming and accessible to all, not just us crampon-ed show-offs. I’m care about immigrants and refugees, human rights, and the welfare of Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities. I’m an active member of The Labour Party and proud to think I’m continuing a 120-year tradition of solidarity, justice and tolerance. I’m desperate to keep the NHS in public hands and I’m shamed by the recent reduction in the UK’s overseas aid budget. I’ve got Irish as well as British citizenship so, thanks to my paternal grandmother, I am still European. I love the cinema, Modernist art and literature, and visiting churches and war graves. I’m deeply irritated by the Right’s nationalistic annexation of Remembrance and the narrative of military service in this country.