Keeper of Lost Things (Hogan) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Bedford, England, UK
• Education—University of London
• Currently—lives north of London


Ruth Hogan was born, in Bedford, England. Her mother worked in a bookshop, which no doubt influenced her daughter's love of books. From the time she was a child, Ruth read whatever she could lay her hands on, which included not only children's classics but cereal boxes and gravestones. She refers to herself back then, and now, as a “rapacious reader."

Ruth attended Goldmiths College at the University of London where she studied English and Drama. After taking her degree, she worked for ten years in human resources for senior local government. "I was a square peg in round hole, she recalls, "but it paid the bills and mortgage."

After a car accident in her early thirties left her only able to work part time, Ruth turned to writing, spending her spare time honing her craft. Then, in 2012, after a nasty bout with cancer, and chemo treatments that kept her up at night, she passed her time writing. And so was born The Keeper of Lost Things, a novel grown out of her love of collecting small "treasures." She calls herself a "magpie," a keeper of things, a trait that has its roots in childhood.

Today, Ruth lives north of London with her husband and a collection of rescue dogs. You can find her writing or thinking about writing—with notebooks, scattered throughout her old Victorian house, in which she continually jots down ideas. (Adapted from the author's website.)