Jill Dudley was born in Baghdad and educated in England. She claims she learned very little and didn't seriously start her education until she was thirty.
Her husband (Harry in her books) worked in the Iraq Petroleum Company. After a year in London, she joined him. During this period she was writing plays and had what she calls 'beginners luck' when her first play was performed at the Leatherhead repertory company with good reviews in the Times. After the Iraqi revolution they came back to England and bought a dairy farm.
During their eighteen years of milking cows (with no help except a foreign student for two months for hay-making), Jill continued to set aside several hours every morning to write. She had a Radio Four play broadcast and several Radio Four short stories.
When they retired from farming they took their first holiday in Greece, followed by many more during which time Jill wrote travel articles which were published in the Independent and Independent on Sunday. Her first book Ye Gods! was published in 2006, followed by Ye Gods! II in 2008. Her interest in Greece prompted her to attend evening classes at Exeter University which she did for ten years, travelling 22 miles for the pleasure of meeting other enthusiasts. She admits reaching only a very low standard but was able to hold a one-to-one conversation slowly.
Having done what she could with Greek she then tried to learn Arabic. Something she'd wanted to do since childhood, having been born in Baghdad. So she spent a year, joining the undergraduates at Exeter University. The result of which was her book Holy Smoke! (travels in Turkey and Egypt).
Holy Fire! (travels in the Holy Land) followed as a consequence of Jill and 'Harry'joining a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Galilee. 'I find religion fascinating,' Jill says. 'Its such a controversial subject. How people with strong convictions, come to believe such unbelievable things, I find hard to understand.'
Mortals and Immortals is a satirical fantasy & true in parts memoir of life on her Devon farm when the Greek Gods come to visit. It is a light and amusing read.
Gods in Britain finds Jill travelling from England to Scotland, from Cornwall to Wales to find out about ancient beliefs and legends. As with her earlier books she continues to explore how, and even why, early Christianity took over from the pagan past, gathering myths and legends on the way.
Lap of the Gods is about the Greek islands in the Aegean. 'The islands are amazing,' she says, 'each has its own unique character, its myths and legends, as well as famous figures from antiquity.'
Gods & Heroes covers many of the well known stories of Ancient Greece. The Judgement of Paris, the Wooden horse and Helen of Troy are written about with Jill Dudley's customary light touch and sense of the ridiculous.
Behind the Masks is a study of the Greek dramatists. Their tragedies and comedies are brought to life as she journeys through Athens, to the Peloponnese, Thebes and Macedonia.
In her latest book Oh Socrates! (Tracking the life and death of Socrates and his Gods) Jill Dudley sets out to entertain as well as to inform the reader about the life and times of Socrates. Drawing on her past journeys to Greece, she sets the background to the great philosopher and describes his prosecution, trial, imprisonment and death.
Her husband (Harry in her books) worked in the Iraq Petroleum Company. After a year in London, she joined him. During this period she was writing plays and had what she calls 'beginners luck' when her first play was performed at the Leatherhead repertory company with good reviews in the Times. After the Iraqi revolution they came back to England and bought a dairy farm.
During their eighteen years of milking cows (with no help except a foreign student for two months for hay-making), Jill continued to set aside several hours every morning to write. She had a Radio Four play broadcast and several Radio Four short stories.
When they retired from farming they took their first holiday in Greece, followed by many more during which time Jill wrote travel articles which were published in the Independent and Independent on Sunday. Her first book Ye Gods! was published in 2006, followed by Ye Gods! II in 2008. Her interest in Greece prompted her to attend evening classes at Exeter University which she did for ten years, travelling 22 miles for the pleasure of meeting other enthusiasts. She admits reaching only a very low standard but was able to hold a one-to-one conversation slowly.
Having done what she could with Greek she then tried to learn Arabic. Something she'd wanted to do since childhood, having been born in Baghdad. So she spent a year, joining the undergraduates at Exeter University. The result of which was her book Holy Smoke! (travels in Turkey and Egypt).
Holy Fire! (travels in the Holy Land) followed as a consequence of Jill and 'Harry'joining a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Galilee. 'I find religion fascinating,' Jill says. 'Its such a controversial subject. How people with strong convictions, come to believe such unbelievable things, I find hard to understand.'
Mortals and Immortals is a satirical fantasy & true in parts memoir of life on her Devon farm when the Greek Gods come to visit. It is a light and amusing read.
Gods in Britain finds Jill travelling from England to Scotland, from Cornwall to Wales to find out about ancient beliefs and legends. As with her earlier books she continues to explore how, and even why, early Christianity took over from the pagan past, gathering myths and legends on the way.
Lap of the Gods is about the Greek islands in the Aegean. 'The islands are amazing,' she says, 'each has its own unique character, its myths and legends, as well as famous figures from antiquity.'
Gods & Heroes covers many of the well known stories of Ancient Greece. The Judgement of Paris, the Wooden horse and Helen of Troy are written about with Jill Dudley's customary light touch and sense of the ridiculous.
Behind the Masks is a study of the Greek dramatists. Their tragedies and comedies are brought to life as she journeys through Athens, to the Peloponnese, Thebes and Macedonia.
In her latest book Oh Socrates! (Tracking the life and death of Socrates and his Gods) Jill Dudley sets out to entertain as well as to inform the reader about the life and times of Socrates. Drawing on her past journeys to Greece, she sets the background to the great philosopher and describes his prosecution, trial, imprisonment and death.