Christine Wells

LLB

At St Margaret’s 1985 to 1991; School Captain

Christine Wells (nee Diehm) writes historical novels for Macmillan (New York) and Penguin Random House (Australia), with more than 200,000 copies sold worldwide and translations in Russian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese. Her novels include The Juliet Code, The Traitor’s Girl and The Wife’s Tale. She also teaches writing classes for libraries, literary festivals, writing organisations and business.

After leaving St Margaret’s, Christine completed a Bachelor of Laws and became a solicitor specialising in corporate law at a city firm. She began writing a novel in her spare time and loved it so much that she decided to aim for publication. She secured a literary agent in the United States who sold her first novel to Penguin (New York). 

Christine said St Margaret’s was the perfect school for her, nurturing her creative side while also challenging her academically. “Learning from teachers who were passionate about their subjects inspired me and developing a curiosity about language and history has been essential as a historical novelist.” As a keen participant in school musicals, concerts and plays, and later, as school captain, Christine became accustomed to public speaking, which has stood her in good stead for the media and publicity involved in her job as an author. 

At university, Christine won the Maritime Law prize. As a novelist, she was the first Australian to win the American Golden Heart Award, and she has been nominated for various other awards, including the RITA, American Booksellers’ Best, the Romantic Book of the Year Award and the Davitt Award.