Linda Proud

Linda Proud (born 1949) is a British author of historical fiction. She is best known for The Botticelli Trilogy, which is set in late fifteenth-century Florence.

Early life and career Proud was born in Hertfordshire and was an only child. As a young girl, she enjoyed making up stories, and at age 14 she discovered the historical fiction of Mary Renault. Renault would become one of her chief influences as a writer.

Proud began her career as a picture researcher in 1971, during which time she developed an interest in the works of Florentine painter Botticelli. She also became interested in and influenced by the work of Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino. It was during this time that she developed the idea behind The Botticelli Trilogy and began researching Renaissance Florence. A Gift for the Magus won a second prize Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion and the Quagga Prize for Independent Literary Fiction. It was also marked as an Editors' Choice book by the Historical Novel Society.

Altogether, the process of writing The Botticelli Trilogy took over thirty years. Her writing has been compared to H. F. M. Prescott, Mary Renault, and Marguerite Yourcenar.

In recent years, Proud has lectured on Renaissance philosophy and questioned the boundaries between historians and novelists in History Today. She has also written several articles and reviews for Resurgence & Ecologist. She also leads regular writing workshops and gives talks on writing and publishing.

In September 2018 she marked a departure from the Renaissance with the publication of a novel, Chariot of the Soul, set in Britain on the eve of the Roman invasion.

Personal life Proud lives in Oxfordshire with her husband. She is a student of Neoplatonism and Advaita Vedanta, the latter of which she practices on a daily basis.