Ariel Lawhon at a Glance

Full Name: Ariel Lawhon

Pronunciation: AIR-ee-uhl LAW-hun

Born: July 5, 1978

Nationality: United States

Education:

• Carnegie-Mellon University (BFA, Theater)

Genres:

• Historical fiction
• Historical mystery

Biography & Background

Ariel Lawhon Biography

A descendant of cattle ranchers, Ariel Lawhon was born in Taos, New Mexico, in 1978. Her family’s house lacked running water and electricity; as a child, she ran wild through the desert and listened as her mother read stories by lantern-light. Without a TV, Lawhon developed an early interest in literature and fell in love with the works of classic authors like J. R. R. Tolkien, Agatha Christie, and L. M. Montgomery. As she says of these early moments: “Those little bits, the flotsam and jetsam of my life, made me who I am today. My off-kilter childhood made me a relentless reader. It made me a storyteller. It made me a writer” (“For the Love of Reading,” ariellawhon.com).

As an adult, Lawhon earned a BFA in theater from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Her debut novel, The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress (2014), established her penchant for delving into the intricate details of specific historical events or eras and analyzing women’s roles in these contexts.