Ann Spence

Ann Spence is a novelist, born to academics in Chicago, raised in New York, London and Cambridge, Massachusetts. She studied Classics and Semiotics at Brown University, worked on excavations in Greece and Jordan, and has always resided within ten blocks of a university campus. Blessed with a pantheon of matriarchs who inspired her with their quilt-making, mandalas, and Baroque music, Ann learned from an early age to appreciate the connections between different traditions and weave among them. Above so Below is her first novel. Set in Chicago and Northern England, the story follows an estranged mother and daughter striving to best each other as they uncover the truth about a mysterious Roman artifact. A tale of murder and antiquities theft, the novel explores what happens when family secrets simmer too long and whether the past can ever truly be understood. Ann has three children. She currently lives in New York City with her husband and an exuberant but elderly English Setter.