In THE GOLDEN SPIDER, a murderer is targeting the Romani communities of London—making them not only victims, but central figures in the story. For Amanda, the Roma are not strangers. She and her siblings knew them in childhood, growing up alongside them as friends. Her sister Emily’s connection ran even deeper: she fell in love with a Romani man and ultimately eloped with him. It is through these personal ties that we first meet the Romani characters in the novel.

Historically, Romani families traveled through Britain in their vardos and were renowned for their horsemanship. They often wintered on the outskirts of cities—places like Putney Heath, a known winter camping ground for Gypsies in what was then distant southwest London—before returning to the roads in warmer months. Many supported themselves through skilled trades, including metalwork and the sale of scrap metal. In my story, these traditions merge and evolve: the Roma become masters of intricate clockwork mechanisms—devices so finely crafted they are rare, highly prized, and eagerly sought after.

THE TIN ROSE, a much shorter companion story, focuses on a single, pivotal night: the moment Emily runs away to marry Luca, choosing love and the open road over the life she was expected to lead.

While writing these books, I fell deep into research mode—not only to get the history right, but to treat Romani traditions with the respect they deserve. The first three titles were my original sources – I added the others to my shelves later on. Each stands as fascinating reading in its own right, offering perspectives and insights I would never have discovered elsewhere.

• The Gypsies (The Peoples of Europe) by Angus Fraser (1995) – A historical account tracing nine centuries of Romani history in Europe and their persistent resistance to assimilation despite widespread misunderstanding and rejection.
• Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey by Isabel Fonseca (1996) – A personal reportage combining individual portraits with cultural insights that documents the Roma’s thousand-year exodus from India and their history of persecution across Europe.
• The Gypsies by Jan Yoors (1987) – A firsthand account of a twelve-year-old Belgian boy who ran away to live with a Romani kumpania for ten years, documenting their customs, daily life, and struggle to survive as free nomads from an insider’s perspective.
• Gypsy Guise & Disguise: A History of Gypsy Fashion by Juliet Jeffery (2021) – A lavishly illustrated chronicle of Romani fashion spanning seven centuries, from the fourteenth to the twenty-first century.
• The Stopping Places: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain by Damian Le Bas (2019) – A personal journey through Britain’s traditional Romani stopping places that explores the author’s Gypsy heritage and bridges the gap between romanticized historical Gypsies and contemporary Travellers.

A note on terminology: The word “Gypsy” has a long history in English usage, but many Romani people find it outdated or offensive when applied to their ethnic group because of its ties to stereotypes and discrimination; most scholars and advocates recommend using Romani or Roma when referring to the people themselves. However, views vary within the community, and some individuals still embrace the term in specific regional or cultural contexts.

In these stories, I draw on a blend of historical detail, Romani language, and fictional elements. The Clockwork Corridor is a fictional London street where Romani craftsmen sell intricate clockwork devices, reflecting their skilled metalwork traditions. Putney Heath appears as a real historical winter camping ground on the outskirts of southwest London. I use Roma and Romani to refer to the people and their language; marhime describes what is considered ritually impure; and gadji/gadje denote non-Romani women and men. Vardos are Romani caravans that served as homes on the road, while a pliashka is an engagement celebration in which the bride receives a necklace of gold coins as a symbol of commitment and family honor.